Volvo S80
On sale August 2006

The Swedish landscape at the end of Winter, is cold, sombre, uninspiring and depressingly flat. The only colours that catch the eye, emanate from the gaily painted, timber framed houses, which sit nestled in brown woods devoid of any greenery. The only other accents of glorious colour that I could see, appeared in the warm interior of the new Volvo S80, which was recently launched on its home soil.

On sale in August this year, this premium saloon is the second generation model, and is taller and wider than its predecessor.

The first chance that potential buyers will have to see the car in the flesh, will be at the British International Motor Show in July and public reaction will be critical for the Swedish manufacturer. Although available for customer purchase in August, many buyers will prefer to wait until the new 65 registration in September, before buying their new car.

The paramount reasons why people purchase a Volvo have always been safety and comfort and the new S80, has plenty of what Volvo is calling Scandinavian Luxury, which will include three suspension settings – Comfort, Sport and Advanced. Volvo is also pushing the S80’s performance and handling characteristics.

Although driving a pre production model, I found the S80 has plenty of guts, from both the very quiet D5 turbo diesel engine, and the two new petrol engines, a 3.2 litre and a V8 4.4 litre. There are also two existing engines, a 2.4D turbo diesel and a 2.5T petrol. All are extremely quiet, on idling.

Speed dependent power steering is optional and provides a choice of three levels of assistance, high assistance at lower speeds for manoeuvring and less at higher speeds, disappearing entirely at high cruising speeds.

The interior is sumptuous and offers a world first, a Clean Zone Interior package, which has been approved by the Swedish Asthma and Allergy Association, for the increasing number of people who suffer from various forms of sensitivity.

The first thing I noticed when I got into the cabin, is how spacious it is, especially for rear leg room. The dash, which has a metal or a beautiful walnut wood trim, arcs and curves as it sweeps across the length of the cabin. The floating console sits beneath it, housing a multitude of new technology.

There are so many optional useful systems, such as a Blind Spot eliminator. A red light sited in front of the wing mirror, blinks on and off as sensors detect a car, which would otherwise be just out of sight.

Active Cruise Control(ACC) when activated, will automatically brake and keep a set distance from the car in front. In conjunction with ACC is the Brake Collision system, which has sensors on the front bumper. If the driver approaches a vehicle in front too rapidly, the system flashes red lights across the windscreen and an audible warning, which alerts the driver to do something. If the driver reacts too slowly, the system hydraulically reinforces the brake pressure, helping to avoid a potential collision.

I am impressed with the very useful range of high technology that is available on the new S80, when other manufacturers introduce systems, which I think have doubtful use.

Safety has always been the Volvo by line though and the current S80 has a wealth of features, including airbags and braking systems.

The new Volvo S80 will cost from £24,375 otr, for the 2.5 litre turbo petrol engine S trim and rises to £41,725 for the V8 all wheel drive SE Lux trim.

By Sue Cooke