Volvo S80 D5 SE Lux Geartronic | Road Test Review

“To the manor born — that’s what
it feels like to travel in Volvo’s
S80 saloon. But it’s not just the
passengers who are cosseted;
and this Volvo can do more than
just waft...”

THERE'S SOMETHING APPEALINGLY UNRUFFLED about Volvo's S80 saloon. Whereas the ruling triumvirate of executive sector favourites — Audi A6, BMW 5 Series and Mercedes E-Class — all tend to emphasise their performance credentials, the S80 offers a more laid-back driving experience for those whose on-road priorities are not about how quickly they can get from A to B but who value comfort and ease of driving while they're en route.

Not that the latest S80 isn't up for some point-to-point driving when there's a need to get you to the church — or wherever — on time. As hinted at by its stance, the S80 serves up handling that's as stable and predicable as it is safe — but more of that later.

Visually, the S80 reminds one of the bigger Audis — they also exploit uncluttered styling to produce lean-looking bodies. And like Audi, Volvo also understands about cabin architecture and combining form with function in a user-friendly way.

And the S80's interior doesn't disappoint. Sit inside the bright and airy leather-trimmed cabin and you feel immediately de-stressed. The inviting ambiance was enhanced, on our test car, by light-coloured soft leather upholstery and smart cross-brushed aluminium trim. A generous range of steering wheel and electric seat adjustability (three memory settings for the driver; 8-way power adjustment and manual lumbar adjustment) means a first-rate driving position. The smooth, leather-trimmed wheel has just the right rim width and feels particularly good to hold. The rear-view mirror is auto-dimming and includes a compass display in the top right corner that, if you don't need to know East from West, can be turned off.

Clear, simple silver-on-black dials — a speedometer on the left and rev-counter on the right, each with digital displays for key driver information such as fuel level, range, the current Geartronic mode/gear selected, outside temperature, etc — ensure you can take in all the information you need at a glance. And you can set the door locking (drive-off, global locking, etc) and lighting (approach/coming home duration, etc) to suit yourself.

The big, comfortable and well-padded seats are soft on the outside but firmly supportive on the inside. It's very roomy in the front and, despite the sloping rear roofline, back seat occupants enjoy more than enough space to guarantee their comfort including a decent centre armrest with storage cubby and cup-holders, proper outer armrests on the doors and dedicated rear air vents in the B-pillars. Even a fifth 'piggy in the middle' can feel at home in the back although two, as usual, is the perfect number. What is immediately apparent is that the S80's cabin has been designed for quality long-distance travel so, Welcome aboard, settle back and enjoy the trip.

Most of the major controls are sited on the so-called 'floating' centre stack but at first glance there seems quite a lot of buttons although most are for the phone. Two rotary knobs control the hi-fi; two more the temperature. Remote control buttons mounted on the four-spoke steering wheel control (on the left) the cruise control and (on the right) the audio and phone. There's also dual-zone electronic climate control with Volvo's Air Quality System, three-stage heated and three-stage ventilated front seats (Ł300 option) that can, incidentally, be used together — for instance, to dry out damp clothing.

“Driven in a hands-on
manner the D5 feels more
than willing...”

Or you can set the A/C to cold and, literally, chill out in your seat. If you fancy some real, good old-fashioned air then you'll appreciate the glass sunroof (Ł850 option): opening and closing takes just one quick press of the button. And no, Volvo hasn't forgotten the essential AUX socket: it's in the lidded centre storage box (topped by an armrest) between the front seats. There's also a USB/iPod interface and the CD unit plays MP3s and features a built in 6-disc autochanger.

Like us, no doubt you'll find that the soft storage pouches attached to the front seat bases come in handy — in fact, it's surprising what you can hide away in them! Other nice features include heated, power-fold mirrors that park neatly out of harm's way when you lock the car, drive-off automatic central locking, one-shot up/down operation of all four windows and a front centre armrest that flips back 180 degrees to double as a sturdy tray for rear seat passengers. These and other user-friendly touches make the S80 a very easy car to live with on a daily basis.

As befits a full five-seater saloon, the boot — at 422 litres — is also suitably accommodating. For extra load-carrying duties the rear seat backrests (split 60:40) can be tipped forwards by pulling handles conveniently located in the upper boot aperture, and there's also a load-through hatch. Very useful is the sturdy, self-supporting vertical flap that folds up from the floor to divide the boot widthways into two separate load areas; it also has a stretchy non-slip rubber strap and bag hooks for keeping smaller items in place. Oh, and the front passenger seat also folds down.

Forget hybrids, all-electric, hydrogen, steam and the rest — in the real world it is fuel-efficient diesels that are currently the 'new black'. Even Porsche has gone with the flow and shoe-horned a diesel under the bonnet of its macho Cayenne model.

Volvo offer two diesel units for the S80: tested here is the five-cylinder 2.4-litre with 182bhp and a gutsy 295lb ft of torque. Bearing in mind the S80 is a full five-seater executive saloon built for comfort and strength and weighing 1,696kg, the official fuel consumption figures for the six-speed Geartronic automatic transmission model are very good: 38.7, 28.5 and 47.9mpg respectively for combined, urban and extra-urban.

A week's mixed driving produced an average figure of 33.9mpg — not at all bad. While we're talking figures, the D5 S80 Geartronic will, road and law permitting, run to 140mph. Step-off is smooth and it's also quite quick — the 0-62mph sprint takes a brisk 8.5 seconds.

The five-cylinder turbodiesel D5 — started and stopped, incidentally, using a stop/start button on the fascia — also provides, thanks to the generous amount of lugging power available from 2,000rpm, strong mid-range performance. Mated to the six-speed Geartronic autobox, it delivers an unexpectedly eager drive. Work the engine or accelerate hard and the D5 emits a pleasing growl that's distinctly un-diesel-like.

If you want more control, simply nudge the selector lever over to the left of the gate for manual shifting. Driven in a hands-on manner the D5 feels more than willing but return the selector to Drive and it will waft along (at cruising speeds you really wouldn't know there was a diesel engine under the bonnet), shifting fluently without disturbing its passengers.

The S80 manages to be both comfortable and reasonably sporting, the latter trait helped by steering with decent turn-in and feedback which, while not out-and-out 'sports saloon' grade, is nevertheless enough — combined with strong grip and well-controlled body movements during cornering — to make the S80 surprisingly easy to push along twisty roads. In fact, press on and the S80 proves to be more competent than you may have been expecting. The brakes, discs all round and ventilated up front, are fine. When you need to stop, you do just that — quickly and without any drama. In other words, they're just right.

The ride's good enough to shave the rough edges off of the UK's second-rate tarmac although that doesn't mean speed humps and sharp ridges can be taken in a cavalier manner. And the seats feel as if they contribute as much towards the ride comfort as does the absorbent suspension.

Overall the S80 D5 has an easy-going performance that doesn't make the driver feel they have anything to prove. It laps up the miles on longer motorway trips and if your passengers happen to fall asleep it's not your lack of conversational skills that's sent them off but the ergonomically-designed seats and the soothing cabin ambiance.

From a driver's point of view the S80 is a pleasant place to be — the Geartronic makes light work of driving, particularly around town; the brakes are progressive enough that you never really notice them; the driving position is very good and everything is where you want it. Admittedly the electronic parking brake — situated on the lower fascia to the right of the steering wheel — is a bit of a stretch, but at least you can drive off without manually releasing it.

The SatNav screen retracts into the fascia when not needed; in use it sits atop the centre of the fascia in easy view. The driver can command the navigation using out-of-sight, fingertip-operated controls mounted on the back of the steering wheel. Alternatively, there's a hand-held remote that also makes it easy for passengers (even when seated in the back) to operate the system on the driver's behalf. The RTI SatNav system is a Ł2,000 option.

This is a Volvo and, whatever else it is good at, you can always be sure that it will have your personal safety well and truly covered. Airbags? A full set: two-stage front, dual-chamber front side and curtain. Dynamic Stability and Traction Control, ABS, Brake Assist and the new Ready Alert Brakes feature — which places the pads next to the discs if you come off the throttle sharply — are all standard fitments. So, too, are the active (turn with the steering) Bi-Xenon headlights that make night driving that extra bit clearer and, consequently, safer. In addition, the S80 has a whiplash protection system, rear parking sensors, rain-sensing wipers and water-repellent front side windows.

A worthy alternative to the big-selling executive saloons from Audi, BMW and Mercedes, the S80 offers a pleasing blend of ride comfort, refinement and capable handling along with all the safety you could wish for. And, unlike the ubiquitous Germans, you won't see one on every driveway. — MotorBar

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