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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories 10 things to know for Monday Calendar: Monday, Nov. 3 Who you going to call? School has its own rodent-buster Day of the undead: Thousands pack downtown Ashland Oregon Climate proposes carbon cost be redistributed Education Who you going to call? School has its own rodent-buster And the winners are ... 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Grizzlies drop-kick Eagles Southern Oregon University Putting himself on the line Grizzlies roar into playoffs with rout of Eagles Raiders move up to No. 5 in Top 25 No. 11 SOU volleyball team returns home for two key matches Ashland mourns death of former coach Stan Gida Opinion Latest Stories Mark L. Hopkins: George Washington spoke, we listen Letters to the Editor, Nov. 3 Our View: Preparing for the worst Herb Rothschild: Tell us how they vote Granlund cartoon: Election winners Editorial Our View: Preparing for the worst Our View: Divestment is just a gesture Our View: Keeping the lid on Other Views: Help for Oregon's forests Our View: The Hills are alive Letters Letters to the Editor, Nov. 3 Letters to the Editor, Oct. 24 Letters to the Editor, Oct. 23 Letters to the Editor, Oct. 21 Letters to the Editor, Oct. 21 Guest opinions Herb Rothschild: Tell us how they vote Guest Opinion: Oregon poised to mandate GMO labeling Guest Opinion: Three ways to take action against carbon pollution Guest Opinion: An aristocracy of the people Teaching the First Amendment Revels Latest Stories Q&A: The John Dough Boys Spookadelic Halloween Funktacular promises a lively dance party Best bets for things to do around Ashland Listings for Varsity Theatre and Ashland Street Cinemas 'I'm in this for the love' Theater New plays debut at ANPF Music Book review: 'The Next Elvis,' by Barbara Barnes Sims Best bets for things to do around Ashland The Farr Side: On ‘1989,’ Taylor Swift lightens up 'I'm in this for the love' Repertory singers prepare 'powerful' opening concert Visual Art Movies Movie review: ‘Nightcrawler’ delivers on creep factor Christopher and Jonathan Nolan go ‘Interstellar’ Listings for Varsity Theatre and Ashland Street Cinemas 'St. Vincent' is a revelatory experience Movie review: ‘Whiplash’ hits high notes Food and Drink Cruelest Month: Poetry Blog Lifestyle Latest Stories It Is What It Is: Big moments are everywhere you turn Get a Life: Avoid sweating the small stuff Ride & Drive: 2015 Volvo S60 sedan Ride & Drive: 2015 Lincoln Navigator Jeff Vrabel: What’s the deal with the Giant TV Thing? Aging Happens Inner Peace Column Inner Peace Blog Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » Obituaries Photos Videos Blogs NEWS NOW Calendar: Monday, Nov. 3 ... Our View: Preparing for the worst ... Herb Rothschild: Tell us how they vote ... Calendar: Monday, Nov. 3 ... Our View: Preparing for the worst ... Herb Rothschild: Tell us how they vote ... Volvo V60 R-Design is all work, all play By Silvio Calabi More Content Now DailyTidings.com By Silvio Calabi More Content Now Posted Oct. 27, 2014 @ 7:19 am By Silvio Calabi More Content Now Posted Oct. 27, 2014 @ 7:19 am » Social News The V60 is the vagon, er, wagon version of Volvo’s S60 junior-executive sedan. It’s available here in several trim levels and three models. The starter V60, somewhat misleadingly called the T5 Drive-E, has a four-cylinder engine and no electric boost, but it is turbocharged to 240 horsepower. With front-wheel-drive only and an eight-speed automatic transmission, it is capable of high fuel efficiency. The mid-level V60 T5 AWD, on the other hand, really does have a five-cylinder engine (also turbocharged, and good for 250 horsepower), along with all-wheel drive and a six-speed automatic transmission. The third model, this T6 AWD R-Design, with a 3.0-liter turbo V-6 rated for 325 horsepower and 354 lb-ft of torque and a six-speed autobox, sits atop the V60 line. It ticks every box on the involved driver’s wish list, and it is to squared-off Volvo mom-bombs of yore as chocolate truffle cheesecake is to pumpernickel. Like smooth cheesecake, this Volvo disappears fast. Off the line, the T6 R-Design flings itself toward the horizon with distinctly un-Swedish abandon, its twin-scroll turbocharger making immediate power and its torque-vectoring AWD applying it to the ground with grip all around. The acceleration just keeps coming. While you’re enjoying this, corners come up awfully quickly, and then a gentle but firm push on the brakes, to rub off speed; an intuitive evolution into the bend—unaware of turning the wheel, no body lean to speak of, no over- or understeer—a flick of the left-hand shifter paddle, to change down, and then pour on the throttle as the road straightens out. The deep-dish leather chair keeps the driver anchored, and the view out the raked windshield and past the skinny A-pillars is reassuring. This may be a wagon, but it thinks it’s a rally car. A deluxe rally car. The other two V60s get high marks for ride and handling, but what puts the R-Design on a higher plane is its thorough fine-tuning by Polestar, Volvo’s racing and performance partner. This is an exception to the old rule that Volvos can be driven fast, but not hard. If there’s a price to pay—beyond the sticker, that is—it’s in fuel efficiency that drops into the high teens in city driving. For an AWD wagon, the V60 is neither long nor tall, nor all that heavy either. Good engineering can make even massive SUVs dance, but at a cost of more weight and more complexity. The V60 needs considerably less such attention, but its size can play against it too. If “wagon” means to you a roomy vehicle for the family, the dog and a vacation’s worth of flip-flops and beach toys, look elsewhere—to the Volvo V70, for example. The cargo bay of the V60 is smaller than some sedan trunks and the back seats are best for two, not three, people. Think hip empty-nesters or DINKS (double income, no kids) with ski condos. To go with its sexy body, on the inside the R-Design cabin is as functional and luxurious as a premium European car’s ought to be—if toned down a bit by Scandinavian minimalism. Volvo’s long menu of safety, convenience and luxury upgrades for the V60 can rapidly move the sticker from a low of around $35,000 for the base T5 Drive-E to $45,000 for the sophisticated R-Design and to 50 grand and beyond, with the Climate and Technology packages or the all-inclusive Platinum trim. Volvo calls this V60 a “2015.5” model, thanks to a mid-year refresh that puts the latest generation of infotainment (Sensus Connect) and telematics on every car. This includes a smartphone app—Volvo On Call—that can send the car’s location, the status of its windows and door locks, trip information and fuel level and use to iOS, Android and Windows devices. It can also pre-program the navigation system, start the engine remotely and blow the horn and flash the lights to summon help. After what seemed to be a long transition to new ownership, this 2015-and-a-half V60 is a strong sign that not only has Volvo gotten its feet under itself again, it’s also not abandoned one of its core competencies, the station wagon. Silvio Calabi reviews the latest from Detroit, Munich, Yokohama, Gothenburg, Crewe, Seoul and wherever else interesting cars are born. Silvio is a member of the International Motor Press Association whose automotive reviews date back to the Reagan administration. He is the former publisher of Speedway Illustrated magazine and an author. Contact him at [email protected]. By Silvio Calabi More Content Now DailyTidings.com By Silvio Calabi More Content Now Posted Oct. 27, 2014 @ 7:19 am » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with DailyTidings.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Alerts Email alerts RSS feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2014 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 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