Volvo S60 now available in CKD form
It was only last week that we ran our review of the Volvo S60 T5. Our impressions of it were generally positive, and if the verdict of our review has convinced you to put your money down on one, you might be on your way to your nearest Volvo dealerships one of these days for a test drive.
As you walk in to the showrooom, you may notice that the cars you see on display do not exactly match the test car pictured and described in our review. The reason being is that the car we reviewed was a fully imported unit, whereas dealerships are now only selling the S60 in CKD form, which was officially launched yesterday.
To recap, the S60 was launched in April with a choice of two variants – the T5 at RM288,000 and the T6 at RM348,000. Currently, the fully imported units of the T5 are sold out, though a small number of T6 units are still available in Volvo Car Malaysia’s stockyards if you want one. Once they run out, there will be no more units of the T6 officially available for sale.
For the locally-assembled S60, VCM’s pick for the model mix starts with the T4 at RM220,000 before insurance. The T5 continues to be offered but priced RM33k lower at RM255,000. The differences between CBU and CKD versions of the T5 are rims with new design (but same 17″ size), a smaller central screen (5″ instead of 7″), and the omission of heated seats, which we don’t need in our climate.
Rest of the package, however, sees no difference between the local-built and imported units. The 2.0-litre turbocharged direct injection engine still pumps out 240hp @ 5,500rpm and 320Nm @ 1,800 – 5,000rpm sent to the front wheels by the 6-speed Powershift dual clutch transmission. Safety equipment are similarly unchanged, with Corner Traction Control, Pedestrian Detection, City Safety, Collision Warning with Full Auto Brake, Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) with Queue Assist and Blind Sport Information System (BLIS) all continuing to feature in the list of kit.
Meanwhile, the new T4 variant is powered by a 1.6-litre engine also featuring turbo direct injection and paired with the same Powershift gearbox. Don’t be blinded by the motor’s small capacity though, it has all the right numbers – 180hp @ 5,700rpm and 240Nm @ 1,600 – 5,000rpm. In some markets, this engine is actually deemed good enough to power the bigger S80.
Equipment-wise, the T4 comes with most of the T5’s gear, but being the cheaper model, there are naturally omissions. Buyers of this variant will need to do without ACC, Collision Warning, Pedestrian Detection, and front parking sensors among several things. This can be gleaned by noting the absence of the radar module and camera mounted on the grille as seen on the T5.
Early takers of the S60 CKD have mostly went for the T5, which accounts for 65% of current bookings. Eventually, however, VCM foresees increasing acceptance of the 1.6-litre T4, which it anticipates to eventually become the bigger seller. In conjunction with the Hari Raya season, and celebration of the S60 CKD’s arrival in the market, VCM is offering the first 60 customers of the S60 CKD (both T4 and T5) free accessories worth RM10,000.
