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IMG00012-20100307-1343Over the past 15 years of driving on this planet, I have owned a lot of cars. There's my 1985 Volvo 244DL that I could beat on all day long and could never kill. My 1994 Chevy S10 Pickup that I got for free because the owner didn't want to deal with fixing it. My 1999 Mazda Miata, which is probably the best sports car you can get for the money. But none of these cars hold a candle to the one car I have loved and hated more then any of them. That car, without a doubt, was my 2004 Volvo S60R.

Some of you may be wondering why I could ever hate such a wonderful car. I will admit, I wonder sometimes myself, but when I think back and remember how it left me stranded or it got stuck somewhere, I say to myself, "Oh yeah, now I remember".

But the car was also the best thing ever when it wasn't being a pain in my butt. When the car was being good, it was fast as hell and you could pick grandma up from the airport with ease. I had so much to love about the S60R, but we will get to the downsides first.

There were a few times when the S60R made me hate it. The first time was about two days after I got the car. Anyone that knows anything about the S60R and V70R will tell you that one of the most annoying things about it is the turning radius. I found this out the hard way when I went through a drive through by my house.

The drive through was an older one. It was narrow around the bends and someone had the bright idea to put a curb on both sides of the lane. So if you had a big vehicle like a truck or a normal size car with a bad turning radius, you were going to have a hard time. Now, I have gone through this drive thru without an issue many times in the past with my 850 T5, so I did not think twice about it with the S60R. Not knowing about the bad turning radius, I go around the bend to get to the pay window and the car gets stuck.

I stop in awe. I could not believe that the car would not fit around the bend. So, I back up thinking I must be going nuts and try the bend again. Again, I can't make the turn without hitting the curb. At this point, I have no way out because the person behind me will not back up. The only thing I can do is ride the curb and hope the rim does not get chewed up on the way around. Sadly, it did not make it out without some curb bashing. I was not happy. I just kept asking myself, "Why would Volvo give such a great car such a crap-tastic turning radius?" I guess I had to learn the hard way.

But the drive-thru wasn't the worst of it. The second thing that made me hate the S60R happened about a year into owning it. It was about this time of year and we just had a bad winter, in New Jersey, with a lot of snow. This caused the roads to have a lot of pot holes. Now, my S60R had some nice 18 inch wheels on it, which looked awesome.

The problem with them, is they were not the best on bad roads. The low profile tires with the "adaptive" suspension made for a very interesting setup. When you would hit a pot hole, the suspension would not react well and the hit would just radiate through the car. Not fun at all and it gets worst. If you hit a pot the wrong way, it would blow your tire out. This happened to me once on my way to work with the front passenger side wheel and then again a half a mile later with my rear passenger side wheel. I ended up having to leave my car on jack stands in my company parking lot for a week while I waited for the tire replacement to come in and the wheels to be fixed. Did I mention both wheels bent. And the pot hole wasn't even that bad. I have hit worse with my little MIata and had no issue.

I could go on with more issues I had with the S60R during the short time I had the car. I don't even want to go into the AWD going out one me. But as much as the issues I have had have made me hate the car, in the end, I still love it more then any car I have ever owned.

The S60R is a wonderful car to own, even with it's short falls. From the factory, it is a power house with over 300 HP. But add a tune, much better intercooler and a down pipe and the car because a beast to be recond with. It has to be one of the best sleepers on the road. I remember having so much fun just pulling way from stop lights and getting on and off the highway.

When the car is happy, it is an amazing experience. I loved how you could put the car in track mode and take a corner like you were on rails. I loved how much low end torque you have with the turbo charged 5 cylinder engine. I loved how the car sounded when you would get about 4 thousand RPMs. I loved taking long road trips in the summer with the ridiculously comfy seats.

All in all, even with the issues, I love the Volvo S60R, which is why I will be getting another one someday. If you do have a chance to own either a Volvo V70R or S60R, you really should do it. Even with it's shortcomings, and it does have a few, it is still an amazing machine and a real testament to what Volvo could do in the early 2000s.

About The Author: Andrew Owendoff

AndrewAndrew has been working with us at FCP Euro on and off for many years. He brings to the team over a 10 years of automotive experience and has worked on many vehicles from Volvo, Mazda, and Ford. Beside doing normal maintenance, he his also an avid modder and has done everything from exhaust systems and stereos to tuning and turbo swaps. He can be reached at aowendoff@outlook.com


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Written by :
Andrew Owendoff

Andrew has been working with us at FCP Euro on and off for many years. He brings to the team over a 10 years of automotive experience and has worked on many vehicles from Volvo, Mazda, and Ford. Beside doing normal maintenance, he his also an avid modder and has done everything from exhaust systems and stereos to tuning and turbo swaps. He can be reached at aowendoff@outlook.com


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