The T5 produces prodigious thrust from its high-pressure turbocharger, but the boost doesn't really come on until 4000 rpm. Mash your foot to the floor in any gear at 3000 rpm, and the T5 won't impress you until the revs climb to 4000 rpm, at which time it might even get you in trouble because the power comes on so strong. But if you're ready for it, it's way fun. You need to keep the revs up to keep the engine responsive. At 50 mph in fourth gear the engine is turning 2500 rpm, so you'll almost always have to downshift to third gear to pass on a two-lane.
One of the great features of Volvo's turbocharged engines is that, when driving sensibly, there's little penalty in terms of fuel economy. When equipped with the manual transmission, the T5 gets 21/27 mpg, which is only one point down on the highway rating from an automatic 2.4T.
The manual transmission shifter has a longish throw and is not particularly smooth, sometimes even a bit clunky.
The brakes feel soft, which makes it hard to coordinate heel-and-toe downshifts. We were impressed with the smoothness of the ABS, however. We didn't feel thrown forward in the seat under hard braking, as we have with other sports sedans, including the BMW 3 Series. An S60 AWD stopped in a shorter distance than a BMW 330i in a Car and Driver test, however.
The steering feels heavier in the S60 AWD version, which Volvo says is a result of the increased weight of the all-wheel-drive system. (Volvo prefers to say it has a more "on-center feel," which is fair enough.) The ride feels firmer on the all-wheel-drive version as well, because the shocks have been stiffened to handle the additional weight. We didn't have a chance to test the AWD model in high-speed bumpy turns, but we can say that although the ride wasn't as absorbent as in the T5, we much prefer the AWD's capability to take more challenging terrain in stride.
During Volvo's introduction of the S60 AWD on the Maine coast, a slalom course was set up on dirt for the gathered journalists, and the directional stability of the car on this loose surface was indeed excellent. Power in the S60 AWD is distributed between the front and rear wheels using a wet multi-plate clutch controlled by electronics, and the distribution varies according to conditions. With a steady throttle on dry pavement, about 95 percent of the drive is transmitted to the front wheels; but up to 70 percent can go to the rear wheels when required. The balance changes instantaneously. Of course other automakers say that, too; but the difference in Volvo's AOD (Active-On-Demand) system is the degree of "instantaneous." When one wheel slips 15 degrees, far less than any human can detect, the balance of power shifts away from that wheel, thus replacing the slip with grip.
S60 AWD comes only with the five-speed Geartronic automatic, which offers a mode for manual operation.
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