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.