Some of life's most complex decisions: Evolution or creation? Mary Ann or Ginger? Tastes great or less filling?

It's purely a matter of taste. And so it came to be that the Volvo S60 tied with the Lexus IS 300 for third place; both were formidable contenders but for very different reasons. Whereas the Lexus provided driving thrills to match Europe's best offerings, it was low on luxury content. The Volvo, on the other hand, provides you with plenty of toys and a lux feel, but no one will be taking the long, circuitous route home just to fool around with it a bit longer.

Of course, Volvos aren't particularly known for their racy appeal. Previous Swedish cars had about as much charisma as the bobbed-hair mom from ALF. Volvo claims that it's in the midst of a "ReVolvolution," starting with injecting sinuous curves into dowdy sheet metal. To help along the transformation, the S60, which shares the P2 platform with the S80 and V70, was engineered from the ground up to attract younger buyers, the not-necessarily-sensible crowd who want their transports to be sporty and fun, as well as possessing the reputation for safety for which Volvo is known.

Certainly, they have succeeded in crafting a striking exterior. Short front and rear overhangs connote athleticism. It has the most distinctive design cues, from the sloping roofline to the broad shoulders on the side of the car.

Inside, front seat comfort received the highest accolades, with a perfect amount of cushioning and a myriad of controls that allowed our variously sized bodies to fit comfortably. Volvo has the driver seat down to a science. There were two settings for heated seats: regular and extra crispy. The only complaint arose from a short-legged driver who claimed that the front seat cushion was too long, annoyingly grazing the back of her knee.

Rear seat accommodations could be improved, however; with only 33.3 inches of legroom, your passengers will be squirming. At least they have rear climate controls to while away the time, and the seats themselves were mighty comfy. There's tight clearance for the handle of a baby seat but there's minimal side-to-side lateral movement, on par with the Millenia.

Yes, the S60 veered toward luxury, and plenty of it; there was a pen holder on the dashboard, for heaven's sake! Although some editors thought the dash material and the A-pillar cover sounded hollow and cheap when thunked, we all concurred that the car was assembled with the utmost of care. The S60 even had the requisite spritz of eau de cowhide from the fragrance fairy, and its scent lingered on our clothes long after we left the Volvo. Some complained about the pachyderm-hide-like leather, others liked it fine. The controls were nicely weighted, and although the pictograms depicting the function of the buttons could be difficult to understand, once we figured it out we found them rather charming.

The trunk has a small opening, but is buoyed by convenient grocery bag hooks, strut type hinges, a ski pass-through and 60/40-split rear seats. Liftover is on the tall side, so make sure you get Sven to load your luggage for you.

Powering our Volvo was the T5 engine, a 2.3-liter turbocharged inline five that makes 247 horsepower and 243 foot-pounds of torque. Its horsepower peak hits at 5,200 rpm, and all drivers commented on the initial turbo lag, evidenced by the undistinguished 7.2-second 0-to-60-mph acceleration time. It almost makes up for it in the quarter-mile, however, completing the run in 15.5 seconds at 92.4 mph, the second best in the test. It's not butter-smooth at idle, with an audible and palpable churn. Its passing power is plentiful once you get the revs spooled up.

The T5 with the manual transmission is known for its spaceball shifter, a lovely exercise in design. Our test vehicle was equipped with a five-speed automanual, which often plods along in both automatic and manual modes. Our drivers noted over-revving at full throttle between the second and third upshifts, although in most other instances the shifts were crisp. Automanual shifting is correctly on the driver side, but shifts took too long to engage in our opinion. Most drivers preferred to leave it in auto mode.

Like other cars whose power is delivered to the front wheels, this one is marred by the strong presence of torque steer. The steering offers little road feel, the rack is a bit loose and has about an inch of play off-center. It was also overboosted beyond our taste. Brake feel was hailed, with linear pedal activation and confidence-inspiring gripping action. Its halting distance of 124 feet was the third shortest, with good straight-line stability.

The S60's MacPherson strut front and multilink rear suspension setup with stabilizer bars and anti-dive geometry handled most of our street driving well, although anything more than a small bump transmitted suspension noise and harshness into the cabin. On twisties, drivers felt uneasy about the abundant body roll, saying that it was definitely tuned more for luxury than sport. Hustling this car down a mountainside lacked the go-kart thrills of some of its competitors and didn't contribute to a sense of confidence to push the car to its limits. Its slalom speed of 60 mph — one of the slowest — attests to this.

Shod with Pirelli P235/45R17 tires, the S60 provided a soft ride around town and progressively scrubbed off speed in turns by pushing over onto the sidewalls. They were the only tires in the test whose treads and sidewalls were somewhat worn by the end of the flog.

Of course, it wouldn't be a Volvo without a veritable legion of active and passive safety features. Helping you to avoid collisions are Electronic Brake Distribution (EBD) and a Stability Traction Control system to maintain control of the car. Should an impact be unavoidable, the whiplash-reducing front seating and seat-mounted side airbags and inflatable curtains for front and rear occupants should hopefully keep you in one piece.

While the Volvo provides some thrills, it's certainly not amongst the jocks of the group. It veers toward a wafty, comfortable ride, more suited for cruisin' than bruisin'. Plus, at $39,175, it's among the priciest of the test, and treads in the same waters as BMW. An esteemed colleague said of the C70 coupe that "it's the car you'd want your mom to drive." We'll bet she'd like the S60, too.

Second Opinions:

Senior Road Test Editor Neil Dunlop says:
The S60 is an impressive debut into the entry-level luxury sedan market. Fed up with people calling its cars boxy and boring, the S60 and its big brother, the S80, marks a drastic departure for the Swedish automaker — it is easily the most distinctive-looking entry-level luxury sedan on the road. Unlike a lot of the vanilla sedans in the market, there's nothing subtle about the S60's muscular shoulders, short rear deck and beefy wheels and tires. The whole package is finished with an ice-sculpture roundness and solidity that is striking and commanding.

Inside, there's also an organic shaped-by-nature feeling, as if all the high-grade materials, top-notch switchgear and thick, sumptuous leather were polished by a retreating glacier. Strangely, the flat, sterile utilitarian center stack is incongruent with the rest of the beautiful, curvaceous interior. It's the only design element that Volvo got wrong.

The 247-horsepower five-cylinder inline turbocharged engine is a honey of a powerplant, delivering ample power in a self-assured manner. It's not flashy power with rip-roaring starts (characteristic of most turbos), but it's assured and strong. In auto mode, the transmission shifts a little slowly, but the manual mode makes the engine sing.

While cruising in a straight line, the S60 provides a lot of road feedback, but it becomes much less communicative in the twists and corners. In fact, it's downright mushy when cornering, demanding constant correction from the wheel. If Volvo wants the S60 to compete with marques like BMW, it'd better fix this problem fast.

And the $39,175 sticker of our test vehicle indicates that Volvo has indeed set its sights on the top entry-level luxury brands. It can compete, but it's got to fix that suspension.

Road Test Editor Ed Hellwig says:
With the car's stylish new shape and tastefully appointed interior, it was hard not to take a good look at the S60. Although not as athletic as the Germans, the Volvo's lean toward luxury put it near the top when it came down to picking favorites overall.

The Volvo exhibited predictable handling in the corners, but its softly tuned suspension needed a good set before it decided to dig in. Turbo lag at low speeds kept it from posting truly impressive numbers, and torque steer under hard acceleration required constant attention to the wheel. The transmission was solid, generating crisp shifts at all times, but like most cars so equipped in the test, its manual shift mode was worthless.

The S60's interior was easily one of the best in the test. The plush leather seats envelop you in comfort, although they lack enough support for adequate hold in tight corners. The gauges were delightfully simple, and the climate and radio controls were intuitive enough despite their unusual methods of operation. Quality of materials was also noticeably above average, although the dark colors throughout created a somewhat gloomy look. Rear seat room was only average, but again, the seats were tremendously comfortable.

The S60 scored high in my book mostly because it provided a luxurious ride with a little bit of style thrown in to boot. There's certainly enough power under the hood for passing and merging, but hardcore enthusiasts will be slightly disappointed with its lack of abrupt delivery. The suspension filters out most of what you don't want, but you give up the direct road feel of the real sport sedans in this test. Want a stylish cruiser that won't be mistaken for just another prettied up family sedan? The S60 would be a good start.

Editor-in-Chief Christian Wardlaw says:
After blasting around a racetrack in an S60 T5 with the spaceball shifter for a media event, I thought Volvo was finally onto something. That quick spin left a very positive impression on me. After driving the T5 hundreds of miles, this one equipped with an automanual, I was less enamored of the car.

Right off the bat, let me say that I hate having the thick smell of Volvo leather clinging to my clothes and hair. They really need to do something about that. At least the seats are comfortable, a Volvo hallmark. They are soft, yet supportive. Broad, yet able to hold you in for spirited driving. Outstanding. But the rear seat of this new car is awfully small and uncomfortable, which makes me wonder the point of the S40.

Oh right, price. Our test car was almost $40,000, and that didn't include the slick pop-up navigation system. But what is here is generally of high quality. The Volvo imparts a feeling of rock-solid engineering without the sense of heft which saddles most cars that feel this stout.

The turbo engine suffers from a moment of lag off the line, then quickly spools up and tries to twist the steering wheel out of your hands. Power delivery is not particularly refined, the motor transmitting a whining groan to the cabin. Our car's brakes felt a bit grabby, too, but the pedal operated in a pleasing, progressive manner. Too much suspension noise and vibration is allowed to disturb occupants, and our car exhibited a slight vibration that felt like an out-of-balance wheel or bent rim. Also odd was looseness in the steering column that could be felt when launching the car from a standstill, and on one occasion, the transmission disengaged and "freewheeled" when running hot through the curves. These things are surprising given the fact that, otherwise, the Volvo is screwed together tightly.

At first glance, the Volvo's controls seem impossible to understand, but it doesn't take long to acclimate to them. I find the station-preset function quite useful. Not only does it store 20 stations, but it's also simple to use once you learn how. I thought the door panel armrest was too short — with the seat moved back to a comfortable position for me, my elbow and forearm didn't quite fit right.

Stylistically, I think the Volvo is dramatic, distinctive and sporty. You know right away it's a Volvo, yet you're surprised that something so rakish could be made by the venerable Swedish automaker. Inside, the cabin is rather dull, with black and gray serving as the primary decor.

Overall, I didn't like the Volvo as much as I thought I would, but I can see that it is a dramatic improvement over the old S70, except in terms of passenger space. Plus, it's probably quite a safe car. But there are other safe, solid, stylish, sporty and fun-to-drive cars in the segment that don't make you stink of dyed leather after you're done driving them. Or that cost 40 large.

Stereo Evaluation - 2001 Volvo S60 T5