My coworker/friend had an s60r for evaluation and i was able to hop in it for a short test drive. the car didn't feel that fast but i think that's because of the smooth power delivery. either that or the weight, which i haven't checked what it's listed at. i just expected to feel faster from a 300hp 295 ftlb engine, which are similar to 2 other cars i've been itching to test drive, the evo and the sti, so i was a little disappointed if that was what a 300 horse awd car felt like. the m3 with 333hp felt a lot faster than the volv at lower rpms. it had a lot more kick when you went WOT, from pretty much any gear.

the suspension adjustment feature was pretty cool, even though the "advanced" setting was like driving with no suspension. there was a nice improvement from comfort to sport. steering response was a little bit non-linear - the car felt slow to respond until about 90 degree steering wheel input and then lateral g's increased faster than i expected. clutch feel didn't feel natural, the pedal force vs distance didn't feel right which made it tricky to modulate. brakes were touchy as expected from the newer volvos. shifter felt ok, but going into 3rd felt like it was going into 1st (a little farther to the left than i'm used). blue gauges are cool looking. and just so you guys know i'm not totally biased, the miata and rx8 FEEL good. well, except for the electrically assisted steering on the rx8. but the chassis response, clutch, gear shifter, steering feedback are pretty much dead on. too bad i'm not enamored with the rx8's engine just yet. the 350z also feels pretty good, steering is on the heavy side though.

it sure kicks my 84 wagon's butt but i guess i have high expectations for any new car that gets my money. especially for $40k

hopefully the v50 will feel better to me. come on volvo, i know you guys can do it.

Yeah, I've been tossing it up between the S60R and M3. A couple big differences between the two is that the M3 is about 500 lbs lighter, has almost a perfect 50/50 front-to-rear weight ratio, and it's only a two-wheel drive. With the all-wheel drive, you loose some of your power when it delivers power to all of the wheels. Plus, I believe that the S60R is a front-wheel drive car when it's not using all of the wheels, which will result in less performance. Did you try the slushbox (auto trans) or the 6-speed manual? You might get better performance from the manual.

The beauty of the Miata is that it is a good-handling, sporty (&
modern+reliable) car that is also very easy to work on and modify.
The drivetrain is a longitudinal RWD setup just like our 240s,
whereas the new Volvos have a transverse drivetrain that tries
to cram too much into a too small area - this is even worse
with 4wd, I imagine. At least the engines are inline, not V-6s
like the new Taurii, where changing the rear spark plugs is, let's
say, fun.


Subarus are also very nice cars with one of the few (IMHO) properly-
designed AWD systems. The manual Subies get a hydraulic AWD with
a 50/50 f/r torque split, unlike the electronic Volvo system that's
primarily FWD with the rears engaging after the fronts start
slipping. The subaru engine is longitudinally-mounted and it a
flat-4, which is great for weight balance and compactness. The
design does make maintenence slightly difficult, but not nearly
so much as many transverse engines.


The new Volvos just don't "do it" for me. Maybe I'm just a automotive
Luddite or something :)


-b.

The M3 is as quick as a Corvette from 0-60 and in the quarter mile, it's an impressive car. I wouldn't expect the Volvo to have the same acceleration.

Myself, If I were buying a new car (like that'll ever happen), I'd like to have a WRX wagon, and about 5 grand to modify it with.
--
1991 245, 61k miles, looking for a 5 speed 92-93 245 cheap.

i've heard the steering on subaru's are also bad. i haven't driven a subie before but i'll visit a dealer one of these weekends. yeah, the wrx is a quick wagon, and one of the cars i was considering. but then they went and introduced the sti sedan without a wagon variant. bah

Eh, I could do without the STi. You can get better HP for less money just doing it yourself, and it should make the prices on the regular WRX come down some.
--
1991 245, 61k miles, looking for a 5 speed 92-93 245 cheap.