Road TestCar reviews - Volvo - S80 - V8 sedanVolvo modelsOverviewVolvo shows genuine skill and daring with its all-new, luxury-class S80 sedan22 Jun 2007 By CHRIS HARRIS THIS time around, Volvo might just have the real article. The first S80 was a lame attempt at lifting the Swedish company from its middle-class image to something capable of talking on the might of Germany in the luxury sector. It ticked many of the boxes, but it missed out in a couple of significant areas – ride and handling, engine performance – and that looked even more ludicrous when you looked at the pricing. Now, an all-new S80 appears, featuring not just a suspension that has finally nailed the elusive ride-handling compromise that has always eluded Volvo, but also a brisk, 4.4-litre Yamaha V8 that drives through all four wheels to give the company flagship some genuine on-road authority. And the pricing is no longer off the planet, with the base D5 version tagged at just $72,000 and the V8 cheaper than the last of the previous T6 models at $95,000. For Volvo’s sake, let’s hope all this gives the leverage to provide an alternative to the dominant Germans. 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 in Australia. 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 descent into discontinuation, which happened in July 2005. |
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