"Safety" is perhaps the most impressive impression that Volvo Cars has brought to Volkswagen, and it is also the most prominent label that has always been attached to Volvo. It is undeniable that Volvo's safety performance has indeed reached the ceiling of the car field, but the overemphasis on safety attributes has also led to the neglect of its other strengths, such as handling.
As a car brand from the Nordic ice and snow world, volvo has laid the highest priority for the driving control of Volvo car products due to the unique environment and climate of Nordic ice and snow covering the road all year round; in other words, if safety is volvo's genes engraved in the bones, then control is Volvo's instinct to melt in the blood.
In order to experience a purer driving pleasure, this time Volvo chose the test drive track in Changbai Mountain, known as "China's Little Switzerland", the protagonist is known as "the best control volvo sedan in history" S60, in the face of extremely cold and complex ice and snow road conditions, how does volvo S60 perform? Can you take on the name of Volvo's "Control King"?
In fact, when many joint venture luxury brand products are introduced into the Chinese market, in order to meet the needs of domestic consumers, the body will be lengthened, and although the body lengthening can bring more space to a certain extent, it will also weaken the performance and handling of the vehicle. Compared with other models of the same level, Volvo S60 did not choose to extend the treatment, the body size selection is consistent with the overseas version, its length, width and height are 4761/1850/1437mm, the wheelbase is 2872mm, the compact and sporty body proportion can reduce the transfer of the vehicle's center of gravity when cornering, and the ice and snow road cornering will be more flexible, which is the advantage that the long-axis version does not have.
Of course, it is not enough to have extreme handling with only a compact and sporty body proportion, the power configuration and chassis tuning are the key. The new Volvo S60 is equipped with two powertrains and four power configurations. The model of this test drive is the T8 version, T8 is the only model in the same class equipped with a plug-in hybrid system, through the engine to drive the front wheels, the motor to drive the rear wheels, mutual cooperation can also achieve full-time four-wheel drive, and in different road conditions the front and rear power can also be intelligently distributed. This high-performance plug-in hybrid system has a maximum comprehensive power of 288kW, a peak torque of 640N·m, and the official zero-hundred acceleration only takes 4.7s, and the book data is quite "luxurious".
In the chassis section, the new S60 features an aluminum double wishbone front suspension and a composite vane spring rear suspension unique to the SPA architecture. Compared to traditional McPherson suspension, double wishbone suspension is more complex and costly, but offers better roll resistance and wheel grip. The biggest difference between the composite vane spring and the traditional coil spring is that the composite vane spring reduces the weight of the suspension parts, greatly reduces the weight of the vehicle, achieves lightweight, and provides a more effective guarantee for the comfort in the car and the handling of the vehicle.
The test drive is mainly divided into two parts of the experience, one is linear acceleration, brake stop, around the pile, U-shaped bend, the other is a small ice and snow track experience, because the test drive is carried out throughout the ice and snow road, the adhesion of the wheels and the road surface will be lower than the ordinary road surface, a little careless may appear out of control, so all test drive vehicle tires replaced by Hakkapeliitta R3 series 235/40 R19 size tires from Finland Norget Hakkapeliitta R3 series, with stronger grip.
Driving on ice and snow roads, the most common problem is the starting slip, even if it is replaced by snow tires, it cannot suppress the phenomenon of vehicle tire slippage. In this case, the four-wheel drive system of the S60 T8 model plays a key role. After opening the four-wheel drive mode, when the wheel is slightly slippery, the four-wheel drive system will immediately intervene to ensure that the four wheels do not lose power, so that the body can quickly return to steady state; and whether it is starting to accelerate or turn, this four-wheel drive system can "drag" the body to prevent the vehicle from getting out of control. Only after experiencing it for yourself will you know that driving on snowy and snowy roads, four-wheel drive and two-wheel drive are completely two concepts.
The second common problem is that when cornering, the vehicle has a serious push head or tail flicking phenomenon. At this time, it is necessary to mention the ESC SPORT mode equipped with the S60, which can grasp the vehicle status more accurately than the traditional ESC, and correct the "understeer" or "oversteer" in time.
When passing the U-shaped bend, under normal circumstances, as long as you step on the throttle a little deeper, the rear will quickly swing backwards, due to inertia, the body will also begin to oversteer and laterally move, but after opening the SC SPORT mode of the S60, the AYC side slip angle monitoring and II.TCS traction control system will intervene in time to ensure that the correct route is maintained when cornering, so that the vehicle will be more relaxed when passing the U-shaped bend, even if I do not have rich driving experience. Female drivers who are taller than bending skills can also easily pass.
However, in order to highlight the driving pleasure, once esc sport mode is turned on, the vehicle automatically turns off the body stabilization system. Without the body stabilization system, the wheels will slip, but if the speed is faster, it will be no different from the feeling of "drifting". Don't worry, this is when the four-wheel drive system and snow tires are the key to maintaining the stability of the body.
After the U-turn, there is a straight track of full oil acceleration and braking. Here to mention, volvo S60 engines are using oil Overboost supercharging technology, that is to say, when we accelerate at full throttle, the engine will add an additional 25-30N·m of torque, so that the rear acceleration is more explosive, even in the ice and snow road, you can still feel a strong sense of push back, the whole process is absolutely passionate.
However, it is easy to drive and difficult to brake, especially on ice and snow roads, because the adhesion of the vehicle on the ice surface is reduced, and sufficient braking distance must be left when braking, which is a great test of vehicle performance and driver technology. The electronically controlled brakes used in S60, compared with the traditional wire-controlled brakes, the electronically controlled brake system can achieve a braking response of 0.15 seconds, the braking speed is 2 times that of the past, and the driver can be given enough confidence in the hardware, and the moment of full force stepping on the brake pedal, you can clearly feel the strong intervention of the electronic system, and the response is direct and rapid.
This ice and snow test drive, Volvo S60 not only withstood the test of sub-zero severe cold weather, inherited the "safety gene" in Volvo's bones, but also took into account the control and driving pleasure that a sports car should have, known as the Volvo family "control responsibility" is absolutely worthy of the name, but the "safety" label of Volvo products is too deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, resulting in everyone ignoring its control strength.