Super TestCar reviews - Volvo - S80 - sedan rangeVolvo modelsOverviewVolvo's S80 re-emerges as a fair-dinkum luxury fighter, complete with V8 firepower16 Feb 2007 By CHRIS HARRIS VOLVO has been in the luxury car doldrums for far too long and the flagship of the second-generation S80 is evidence of just how serious the Scandinavian maker is about eroding the market supremacy of large sedans like BMW's 5 Series, the Mercedes-Benz E-class and Audi A6. Finally, the new S80 brings V8 power and all-wheel drive traction to the menu of Volvo's flagship, while a new straight six with AWD reduces the V8's already-outstanding sub-$100,000 pricetag by a further $20,000. Throw in a grunty-but-frugal front-drive turbo-diesel option for a starting price of $72,000, plus a host of cutting edge safety features, and there's no reason this super-comfortable, well equipped and highly refined Volvo kingpin shouldn't finally make BMW and Benz sit up and notice. Model release date: 1 February 2007 to 1 November 2013 All car reviewsAlfa Romeo Abarth Alpine Alpina Audi Aston Martin BMW Bentley Chevrolet Chery Citroen Chrysler Dodge Cupra Ferrari DS Ford Fiat FPV Foton GWM Great Wall Holden Haval HSV Honda Hyundai Hummer Isuzu Infiniti Jeep Jaguar Lamborghini Kia LDV Land Rover Lotus Lexus Maserati Mahindra McLaren Mazda Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-AMG Mini MG Nissan Mitsubishi Peugeot Opel Proton Porsche Renault Ram Rover Rolls-Royce Skoda Saab SsangYong Smart Suzuki Subaru Toyota Tesla Volvo Volkswagen Previous modelVolvo's original S80 led a short but eventful life Down Under. Launched in May 1998 in 150kW/280Nm 2.9 six-cylinder and 200kW/380Nm 2.8 T6 guises, it was joined by the 2.9 and 2.8 T6 SE in July 1999, but was let down by a four-speed auto, too-light steering and underdone suspension. A 75th anniversary 2.9 in December 2002 and a 154kW/320Nm 2.5T (complete with five-speed auto and a new $75,950 starting price) couldn't help the big front-drive Swede's decent into discontinuation, which was complete by July 2005. |
Super TestClick to share
|
Facebook Twitter Instagram