VOLVO S80 Review

Summary:

What we like: V8 performance, styling, safety

What we don't like: rear-seat legroom

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VOLVO S80 review in detail:

Volvo does not want to be seen as just another entrant in the German luxury car market, so the new Volvo S80 has a Scandinavian theme.

The topline power plant is a hot 4.4-litre V8 with the sort of acceleration once only available in sports cars. Volvo says owners have been demanding a V-8 to keep up with European rivals. A five-cylinder turbo-diesel economy unit is also available, so here's plenty to choose from.

Interior space is good in the front but legroom should have been increased by about 3 inches to fit better into this class of luxury car. The boot is enormous, however, and fairly easy to load.

The suspension feels a little uncertain on rougher roads, but on normal roads - especially on freeways - the S80 provides a smooth ride.

One of the newish safety systems is adaptive cruise control, which a variety of cars now offer. With ACC engaged, it warns when you get too close to the vehicle ahead, either because it slowed down or you sped up. The system applies your brakes or slows your engine to keep a safe interval between vehicles. The system is teamed with collision avoidance control, which doesn't require you to engage cruise control. If too close to the vehicle ahead and an impact is anticipated, a red light in the dash along the windshield flashes and a beep sounds to get you to apply the brakes. It also optionally comes with BLIS (blind-spot information system) which goes crazy in heavy traffic as it warns of surrounding cars entering your blind spot. It is possible to turn it off, but then easy to forget to turn it back on!

If you do have a crash, the Volvo S80 comes with a complete set of airbags, including special double-chamber side 'bags, calculated body-crumple zones, neck supports and much more.