Owned a 04 V70R and put IPD exhaust on it. That car had me smiling every time I turned the key. Finicky car and not cheap to maintain, but I was in love.

Criminally underrated Chanel. Pinnacle of car reviews.

What a memory, I used to have one like this in silver, same interior, and my wife had a V70R, the station, in black with the orange leather. Both 6MT. Loved mine, many problems, and expensive to keep up, but that 5 with an aftermarket sounded glorious. Block prone to crack though

Yesssss there’s so few reviews of these out there ! If you could do a S40 T5 and a Saab 9-3 Aero XWD next you’ll have achieved all my little boy car dreams.

My uncle has been a Volvo mechanic for like 30 years. I asked him about these a few years ago and he said, “they had so many issues when they were new, so any surviving cars should be a great buy because they’ve already had everything replaced.”

I live in the car Mecca of the world. Nebraska. Even we have a small conglomerate of enthusiastic Volvo owners. Moose stickers everywhere. This was my Forza car back in the day. Everyone was running STI’s and Evo’s.

One thing I love about volvos is the shifters. Throws are long but they feel very solid when you put them into gear. Wouldn't say theyre one of the best but for a regular brand they feel good.

as an 07 s60r owner i totally agree with the video. I love my car and its unique features and exhaust note, but it’ll never hold a candle to a proper 50/50 awd car or rwd sports sedan

Still a really good looking car. Great review!

That engine looks like a Rubbermaid container lol

Nice review!

I'd love to see a review of the S60R's grandfather, the 850R, in wagon form of course. Always loved those cars from afar so I'd like to see how they handle and if they're worth a look.

I agree with you on the driving dynamics but as soon as you put a catback on one, the sound alone makes up for a lot of the chassis's shortcomings in my opinion. There are much more fun cars out there for sure but R's are some of the coolest highway cruisers you can get for the money. They shine in the snow though :) Great review!

Really cool alternative to a b5 or b6 S4

The car magazines here in Sweden said that the s60r was a decent alternative to an m3 e46 or Audi s4 b6. I wanted this car when I was young and wanted it to be good. 18 years later I bought one just for fun, was going to use it for winter driving and trip to the local track a few times each year. I have owned a m3E46 and I could instantly tell that the car was nowhere near the precision and speed you get with one of those. But I wanted to give it a chance, so even though a had to rebuild the motor (due to cracking cylinders) I threw a lot of upgrades to it. KW suspension, stage 2 tune, exhaust, DP, new bushings, new brakes everything. Some things were starting to make sense, the engine sound was awesome, the mid range torque was good. But after my first track day, I just decided to sell it. It was just not sharp enough. turn in was pretty bad, brakes were even with upgraded pads not good enough. General handling pretty poor. This is not an s4 or m3 alternative!

I fucking miss my S60R. Did a 3 inch turbo back catless exhaust with a flow master FX muffler. BC racing coil overs and 17inch Fsport racing wheels. Stock tune. Was making 290whp with about stock torque numbers. I was getting ready to do a stage 2 build till I got side swiped at the light and my insurance totaled her out after she was hit 2 other times honestly till that point. Now I’m saving up to get another one

My dad and I almost got one, seperately, but after reading about all the issues, glad we dodged a bullet. I got a saab turbo X and he got a xc60 t6 r design. Neither of us had any mechanical issues other than repairs based on age.

noooo people need to stop posting videos about Volvo R cars to keep the values down

I still remember the day I sold my S60R and picked up a 330ci ZHP (E46). The only thing I miss is the novelty of the 5 cylinder.

almost bought one like 8 years ago i regret not buying it

Seems like all swedish cars suffer from AWD issues - S60R/S70R and the Saab 9-3X - those differentials need very frequent servicing otherwise they go bad. Is this still the case?

Also needs more wagon…

I got two of em

lol. Back in the day. These were sleepers

Road name?

It’s needs parts and work… don’t dare compare it to whatever crap will fall apart in far fewer miles…

These could've been so much better. The engine was not especially durable , not able to be tuned much either. A quite narrow power band with very soft bottom and top end in my opinion. The control weights are all poorly matched as you said, overly light, numb steering, grabby brakes and a springy long travel clutch. Then the adjustable dampers are not great in any mode and if choose the auto they're not very durable and you loose 45 lb ft of torque And M3, C43/ C55 ot S4 are all far better. As a kid we had 250 hp S60 T5, whicb was probably overall as a quick compact saloon not trying to be an M3. If you really want a cheap, quick awd thing get a Legacy Spec C or type R or Forrester STI etc.

Ehh, I’m not sure I agree with you on putting the S60R below e46 330i ZHP or AMG C32 levels of performance. I’m not sure when it was since you drove either of those cars or other cars from the era, but the 330i and C32 are kind of similar IN PERFECT CONDITIONS WITH A RACE-SKILLED DRIVER to an S60R. The 330i especially is simply a slower car in most circumstances, and this coming from someone who’s owned multiple BMW’s of the era. The s60R was kind of odd in that it easily outpaced the 330i/ZHP/S4 class of cars, but was the definitive slowest out of the M3/C63/RS4 class, making it kind of an odd ducking. Fitting for Volvo, and that’s why we love them :)

Speaking of undervalued sleepers you should drive a C32 AMG quick, comfy, cruiser.

Steering wheel is no where close to a normal wheel. Completely different style/ and or shape to the handle of a lower trim s60

Well these just got more expensive. Every used car lot that has these listed just raised the price by 2 to 5k.

space bol

Been in the market for one of these for years , haven’t found one that isint clapped to shit by some zoomer

Eh you can get a e90/92 manual 328/335i all day for this price and if they’re in good condition or on coilovers they handle on rails.

This car might as well be FWD in terms of overall driving dynamics. The front-end plow is ridiculous.

These cars are terrible, don't buy them. 🤣 I don't want the parts to go up in price.