New Delhi: Are autonomous cars the future? Well not right now and certainly not for a few decades to come but semi-autonomous technologies are already here and sold in a few cars in India. Volvo started offering radar-based safety equipment many years ago with its flagship SUV while the same was filtered through its range later. Thus the entire Volvo range- including the new S60 gets the self-steering autonomous feature along with a whole host of other tech. Volvo is launching the new S60 next year and we drove the car to find out how much of this technology is really useful.
A few of the top safety features include adaptive cruise control, pilot assist, city safety, lane-keeping aid, and oncoming mitigation by braking. Some of these are semi-autonomous where the car technically drives itself though you have to put your hands on the steering wheel.
It is a complex process of cameras and sensors. First of all, it actually reminds you to keep your car in the lane by nudging you if you are going wayward. Then the more impressive bit is the Pilot assist where it helps you drive the car on a highway with correct lane marking after being selected to maintain the distance/speed with the car in front. It takes time to get used to it, but basically, this feature is for a more relaxed drive in the motorways. It scans the lane markings and the vehicle in front of you while steering the car. You do have to put your hand on the steering wheel from time to time and it is not a fully autonomous feature. However, on clearly marked roads, it works just like in the other Volvo cars.
And that is not all, the tech fest continues! It will brake if it senses a collision of any kind and will constantly warn you while scanning the road ahead. It is basically an imaginary driving teacher which keeps a close eye on you! It will warn you of traffic while reversing while it keeps an eye out for traffic in your blind spot or even displaying road signs. The S60 like any Volvo does a lot and brings us a wee bit closer to autonomous tech while most of these features are genuinely useful. With so much on offer, you can actually forget about the rest of the car but there is plenty to like about the S60. Compared to the previous S60, the new one is bigger while having the new Volvo platform plus the design language.
It is very stylish and looks different from its rivals. However, it can be easily mistaken for the bigger S90 with virtually no difference but if it looks this good- we are not complaining. The typical Volvo grille and the headlamps look attractive while the side or the rear-end styling gives it a look of a much bigger car.
Inside it is just like any new Volvo with a large vertical touchscreen and a very plush cabin. The all-black cabin looks a touch bland but when you get in, you are impressed with the sheer quality on offer. Volvo has given it a proper premium cabin just like its 1cr XC90 SUV. The leather, chrome, and the quality of switches plus the soft-touch materials used are brilliant. It is a class best here. The massive touch-screen has controls for everything and the quality or responsiveness is very good.
The all important rear seat is another plus as being front-wheel-drive the S60 has a more spacious rear-seat with good space for two passengers (a big centre tunnel spoils the space for the middle passenger). Aside from the safety tech, the S60 offers you a lot of features which include a massive panoramic sunroof, a brilliant Harman Kardon audio system, four-zone climate control, wireless charging, and more. We would have liked connected tech else the S60 offers you everything a luxury sedan at this price is expected to plus more.
The S60 offers no diesel worldwide and for India there is only T4 turbo petrol on offer. The 2.0 turbo makes 190bhp and 320Nm. The S60 is down on power when compared to most of its rivals but the S60 puts its focus on being more of a luxury car rather than a sports sedan, which its rivals are. It is fairly quick with the 8-speed automatic but pushed hard the engine gets a bit noisy and it is best driven sedately; like a good cruiser. It has drive modes but comfort mode is the best. The S60 overall prefers being a more comfort-oriented luxury car which is fine.
