Volvos used to be the un-car for people who were concerned with safety first and style last. Volvo styling came direct from the Lego play book with three blocks for sedans and two for wagons. Through the years Volvo’s design team figured out how to blend safety and style into an attractive package. The latest fruit of their labor is the second-generation S80, Volvo’s flagship sedan.
While safety used to be considered boring and low on the scale of automotive enticements, Volvo has remained true to the cause becoming the clear pioneer in this field turning safety into a highly desired attribute. During my time with the S80, I discovered safety is still not exciting, but the Volvo driving experience is more stirring this time around.
Envelope is sealed
“The new S80 is all about evolutionary design – all the shapes and materials represent a continuous development of our design language,” says Steve Mattin, Volvo Cars’ design director. “On the outside we have given the S80 a more youthful, dynamic stance.” While this sounds like manufacturer hype the S80’s flowing flanks caught a fair share of second glances on the street. The contoured fenders end in shapely taillights and make the rear the best angle of this car.
Safety leadership
In nearly every area of occupant protection the S80 puts an exclamation point on Volvo’s leadership in preventative and protective safety. This time around the innovations include a new side airbag with dual chamber construction for enhanced hip and chest protection. Volvo engineers specified a structural design that employs four different grades of steel for exceptional crash energy absorption. The S80 also features the next generation of WHIPS rear impact protection and new approaches to pedestrian safety.
Taking a cue from Infiniti, Volvo offers adaptive cruise control. The system works via a radar unit mounted on the front fascia to measure the distance between your car and the vehicle directly in front of you automatically adjusting speed to avoid contact. Collision warning with brake support works in concert with the system, alerting you and when you depress the pedal, it applies full brake force if required. One great feature that actually saved me from trading paint with another car was the Blind Spot Information System (BLIS). More cameras near the outside mirrors detect vehicles that might be in a blind spot and alerted me (with warning indicators), that moving into the right lane would be a bad idea.
Eight is enough
The front wheel drive S80 test car came powered by a high-tech and compact straight-6 engine, a first for Volvo. The S80’s 3.2-liter engine has a larger displacement and delivers more power than the first-generation 5-cylinder predecessor. This little 3.2 musters 235 horsepower, which is an increase of 27 hp over the old engine, while torque remains 236 pound-feet. A sweet six-speed automatic transmission with “Geartronic” is standard on the S80 3.2. Fuel economy is good for large sedan at 19 mpg in the city and 28 mpg on the highway. The best choice is the S80 V8 all wheel drive (AWD). Volvo’s first V8-powered sedan comes with an impressive 311 horsepower and 325 pound-feet of torque. Both engines are designed to meet the stringent ULEV II emissions standards.
Cabin is all business
Like an uptight boss the S80’s interior is strictly by the book. The design is crisp with appropriate real wood and aluminum accents but devoid of any excitement save for the thin “ribbon” center stack. The leather seats were the interior standout as they were “easy chair” comfortable yet supportive. A power driver’s seat with memory, power font passenger seat and power moonroof are among the list of standard amenities. Also included is a high performance sound system with 6-disc in-dash CD player, auxiliary input, MP3 capability, a 160-watt amplifier and eight speakers. Do yourself a favor and check off, or look for an S80 with the Audio/Communication Package featuring a premium Dynaudio sound system with 6-disc CD changer, a 650-watt amplifier, Dolby Pro-Logic II Surround Sound and 12 speakers-fantastic sound. A Sirius Satellite Radio is also included.
A curiosity was the Personal Car Communicator (PCC). Volvo created an advanced pocket-sized control module sends and receives information from the car that provides security information to driver. By pressing a button, the PCC can determine whether the car is locked or unlocked, if the alarm has been activated and if someone is in the car. The latter uses a high-tech heartbeat sensor and an advanced calculation process. While this is a safety plus it causes the fob to balloon in size to that of a small cell phone.
On road performance catching up
While Volvo has its eyes set on the top luxury tier the ride of the S80 is still a little behind. The 6-cylinder runs smooth and quiet, however it just doesn’t have enough horses to run with other top six cylinder luxury cars or even lower priced sedans from Nissan, Toyota and Saturn. Again, if you can handle the higher price, the V8 powered model is a premium choice.
The test car came with the Four-C adjustable suspension that allowed me to set the ride various ride levels. Skip the mushy Comfort setting as it causes the car to float too much over the road. I felt that the sport setting was the most responsive for controlling body sway, but I did notice some excessive movement over rough surfaces and heavily patched road surfaces.
The S80 test car with the 3.2 liter six started at just over $39,000 including destination. The V-8 AWD model starts at $48,000 with destination charges.
Making the jump
Make no mistake the Volvo S80 is a premium car it’s not quite a tier one luxury car yet, rather it is near luxury plus car. The quality and safety leadership of the Volvo line is unquestioned. Audi has successfully made the climb, but Volvo needs a bit more flare, better driving experience and luxury features to compete with Cadillac, Mercedes-Benz and Lexus.
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