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Volvo will release its heavily revised S60 this July, and claims the car will better to drive than ever. The manufacturer says virtually the entire suspension system of the car has been upgraded in a bid to stop the steering being tugged to and fro under hard acceleration. Revised settings for Sport models also mean a more nimble driving experience, Volvo says. – What Car?

New front and rear shock absorbers, springs, anti-roll bars and bushes all aim to provide a sportier drive, something that has alluded even the S60 R until now.Those shock absorbers are 24 per cent stiffer and are said by Volvo to increase the S60’s torsional rigidity {I believe they mean roll stiffness?] by 25 per cent. Solid steering bushes are to reduce torque steer and improve steering feel.Volvo claims that the S60’s ride quality has been maintained. – Autocar

Strangely, the luxury [Kia Sedona] EX model that we drove had a less sporty feel despite its one-inch-taller wheels and lower-profile tires. – Automobile

...Mercedes-Benz has improved upon the winning BMW formula. With the exception of the brakes (we’ll leave the styling of these two up to you), the S550 outclasses the 750Li in every way. COMAND is far more manageable than iDrive, and the Merc is faster and more capable than the BMW. The massive brakes on the 750 are still best-in-class, but the Benz’s capable chassis exposes the suspension flaws of the BMW. In sport mode, the big Bimmer rides too harshly over rougher surfaces, while comfort mode makes the car too soft. The Mercedes manages to find a happy medium. – Automobile

I’ve always been more critical of steering than of any other control because you’re using it every moment the car’s in motion, but it wasn’t until I injured my back a few years back that I became more sensitive to seat support and ingress/egress.

It astounds me that given how integral the comfort of the driving position is to the connectedness and relaxation you feel behind the wheel that its so rarely mentioned in the media. Perhaps that’s why so many of today’s cars have inexcusably poor seats, visibility or ways of entry and exit.

Last month I spent time behind the wheel of three cars on extended road trips – the $16K Suzuki SX4, a $30K Pontiac Grand Prix and a $20K Hyundai Sonata and of all the things that made an impression it was the seat comfort. Read the rest of this entry »

...the steering. For a start you have to grip an almost comically large steering wheel, reminiscent of a mid-70s Mercedes-Benz. Even though the SRT changes include reduced hydraulic assistance, the steering still feels mushy around the straight-ahead position. Lob it into a corner and there’s less clarity and more vagueness than you’d hope for. Instead of being able to hold a line confidently through a long, sweeping corner, you find yourself having to make a number of small adjustments to keep repositioning the big saloon where you need it. – 4Car

...can be found here in 4car’s gallery.

Note that the normally aspirated Cooper gets BMW’s state of the art valve lift and timing mechanisms VALVETRONIC and Double VANOS but the turbocharged engine doesn’t. (Turbo’s are plenty good at filling the cylinders with air).

I’m reserving judgement on the car’s aesthetics til I see it in the flesh but my first impression is that it looks comparatively awkward and that the interior is even more cartoony and busy – same mistake BMW made with the current 5 series…

If you’ve read the recent comparison test in Car and Driver, you know that their editors found the handling of the new Turbo too prone to pendulous, delayed tail wagging and concluded that the overall driving experience was less exciting than you’d expect.

Now evo has published more criticism. Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve carped before about how absurdly unweildy the TL feels in stock form, and suggested a way to fix the problem (do a search for A-spec).

Now Acura’s released a Type S model TL with the sharper suspension from the factory. Just one problem: the car gets a power and torque boost but no AWD.

I’ll let you know once I’ve driven one but I suspect we’d all be better off waiting for the next generation model (hopfully they’ll fix the car’s visibility, torque steer and large turning circle next time around).

The Evo’s a tricky blighter to launch. A ball of pent-up energy, it’s all too easy to let the engine flounder off-boost, cremate the clutch, or send such a jolt through the transmission that something pops. But John Barker learned the knack from an engineer some time ago, and it’s something he’s passed on, Yoda-like, to the rest of the evo team. The secret is to hold the car against the handbrake, clutch biting, engine boosting, any slack on the drivetrain taken up, before simply releasing the handbrake and punching away from the line. It’s a bit disconcerting at first, but surprisingly kind to the car. – evo

pushing into understeer through tight bends, floating slightly through fast sweepers… you can adjust its attitude by playing with the throttle, but it always feels, and behaves, like a front-driver rather than a four-wheel-drive car, albeit a front-driver with excellent traction from apex to exit. – evo