SA Road Tests

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This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. We drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under South African conditions. It also just happens that most of the vehicles we drive are world cars as well, so what you read here probably applies to the models you can get at home.
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*Please remember too, that prices quoted were those ruling on the days I wrote the reports.


Mini test: 2011 Volvo S60 2.0T Powershift

Turbo rushes and silky shifts

The drivetrain: The engine is the medium-output version of Ford's EcoBoost inline four. Volvo calls it GTDi for 'gasoline turbocharged direct injection.' It's a 1999 cc, 16-valve, twin independent variable cam timing (Ti-VCT) unit with double overhead camshafts driven by a single-row chain. Boost is courtesy of a Borg-Warner K03 low inertia turbocharger.  Power output peaks at 149 kW at 6000 rpm with maximum torque of 300 Nm developed between 1750 and 4500 rpm. 320 Nm is available during transient overboost.

The gearbox in this application is a six-speed twin clutch device developed in association with Getrag. Operating as two parallel manual gearboxes, Powershift has twin wet clutches that work independently of one another. One clutch controls the odd gears (1, 3, 5 and reverse) while the other handles the even ratios (2, 4 and 6). They operate alternately with one engaging while the other disengages, like a slip clutch. This means that as the engine gets full power and maximum thrust in first gear, second is placed ready to be engaged. When second gear has been engaged, third is readied and so on. This gives a continuous flow of power without disruption or loss of torque.

The body: It's a four-to-five seat saloon in the popular 'four-door coupé' style; 4628 mm long, 1865 mm wide and 1484 mm high, built on the Volvo Y20 (Ford EUCD) platform. In South Africa, the S60 has the European-issue 'dynamic' chassis as standard. This differs from North American and Asian 'comfort' versions in that dampers and front and rear subframes are somewhat firmer. The 380-litre boot is long, wide and fairly shallow with a 10 cm sill. Loading level is just above knee height. There is no spare, just a temporary repair kit. Rear seats are sculpted for two, although three belts and head restraints are provided.
Safety equipment: It's a Volvo, so six airbags, ABS with EBD, dynamic stability and traction control with EBA, side impact protection, whiplash protection, adaptive brake lights, ISOFIX mountings and City Safety are all included. This last item applies brakes automatically to lessen the impact when the brain-dead driver ahead of you stops for no explainable reason, just as you glance away to make sure nothing else is approaching.

The experience: Despite coupé styling, head- and knee room in the rear is plentiful although foot space, when the driver's seat is adjusted all the way down, is restricted. This can make exiting the car a little inelegant for those big of foot and tall of build. Ventilation slots on the 'B' pillars and a pair of 12-volt sockets are provided for rear seat passengers' comfort and convenience. Out test car had the optional R9 000 Excel package fitted, so both front seats could be warmed and the driver's chair was electrically adjustable with three memory settings. Automatic wipers, rear parking assistance and 18" alloy wheels with 235/40 tyres to replace the standard 16" items rounded out the package.

The Volvo's firm ride and weighted steering took a while to get used to after the boulevard cruiser we had just given back, but one adjusts. Zero to 100 km/h in 8.2 seconds sounds pretty ordinary by today's standards, but it is still quick and the turbo rush through silky gear changes feels almost seamless. There are no paddles on the steering wheel, but flicking the stick for instant shifts while dashing from corner to corner, is satisfying as always.

The numbers:
Price: R371 900 basic or R380 900 as tested
Engine: 1 999 cc, DOHC four cylinder, turbocharged, petrol
Power: 149 kW at 6 000 rpm
Torque: 300 Nm between 1750 and 4500 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 8.2 seconds
Real life fuel consumption: about 10.3 l/100 km
Tank: 67.5 litres
Warranty and Maintenance: 5 years/100 000 km



What We Do

This is a one-man show, which means that road test cars entrusted to me are driven only by me. Some reviewers hand test cars over to their partners to use as day-to-day transport and barely experience them for themselves.

What this means to you is that every car reviewed is given my own personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.
Every car goes through real world testing; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads as well.

My articles appear every Wednesday in the motoring pages of The Witness, South Africa's oldest continuously running newspaper, and occasionally on Saturdays in Weekend Witness as well. I drive eight to ten vehicles most months of the year (press cars are withdrawn over the festive season - wonder why?) so not everything gets published in the paper. Those that are, get a tagline but the rest is virgin, unpublished and unedited by the political-correctness police. Hope you like what you see, because there are no commercial interests at work here. As quite a few readers have found, I answer every serious enquiry from my home email address, with my phone numbers attached, so I do actually exist.

I am based in Pietermaritzburg, KZN, South Africa. This is the central hub of the KZN Midlands farming community; the place farmers go to buy their supplies and equipment, truck their goods to market, send their kids to school and go to kick back and relax.
So occasionally a cow, a goat or a horse may add a little local colour by finding its way into the story or one of the pictures. It's all part of the ambience!

Comments?
Want to ask a question, comment or just tell me you thoroughly disagree with what I say? That's your privilege, because if everybody agreed on everything, the world would be a boring place. All I ask is that you remain calm, so please blow off a little steam before venting too vigorously.