Volvo S80: Venerable and Visually appealing
By Paul Borden

Volvo long ago established a reputation for producing cars that were at the top of the list when it came to reliability and safety.

That the vehicles themselves looked like boxes on four wheels was just something you had to accept if you wanted to reap the benefits of owning a car that would give you well into six figures in mileage with few problems. Volvos were the "sensible shoes" of the automotive world.

Then, in the late 1990s, Volvo designers apparently decided that "sensible shoes" could come in styles other than steel-toed clodhoppers. They began putting out some startlingly fashionable vehicles with sleek profiles and attractive interiors. Even their wagons took on a more modern look, and their convertibles were elegant. But the engineers didn't forget what had built the company's reputation. Safety held sway, and still does.

No better example of that is the company's new flagship sedan, the 2007 S80.

Moving into its second generation after a long initial run (the S80 was introduced in 1998), the S80 is not radically different in appearance from its predecessor on the outside. Tweaks give the exterior a "more youthful, dynamic stance," in the words of Volvo Cars' design director Steve Mattin, but overall it's not a radical departure from the styling of Volvo's sedan line of recent years. If you're familiar with Volvo's look at all, you're not going to be wondering what kind of car that is when the 2007 S80 passes by.

But the interior gets a significant updating with a heavy dose of what Mattin calls "Scandinavian luxury."

That means wood inlays, premium leather and a thin center stack that features very intuitive controls for audio and climate functions. Volvo isn't going to send you to the owner's manual to find out how to turn on the radio. You use simple knobs to change radio stations or adjust temperatures and blower for the air conditioner (or put it in auto - matic mode).

The cowling over the instrument cluster has the same flowing lines as the exterior prfile, helping create an overall pleasant atmosphere. The seats are comfortable and rate high in ergonomic support—again, the sensible shoes factor. The rear seat is roomy enough to seat two, but probably not three (unless they are very good friends), adults comfortably.

You can also get heated seats in an optional climate package, and the ventilated front seats with their perforated leather cool the surfaces.

Equipped with a 4.4-liter V8 rated at 311 horsepower and 325-pound-feet of torque, the S80 is a sporty performer, going from zero-to-sixty miles-per-hour in six seconds while delivering a smooth, quiet ride. The optional Four C suspension system (Continuously Controlled Chassis Concept) gives the driver a choice of three settings—comfort, sport and advanced—to adjust suspension firmness with the push of a button. You won't confuse the S80 with a sports car, but it's quite nimble for a midsize sedan.

The V8 version comes with all-wheel drive as standard while the 3.2-liter inline six-cylinder (235 horsepower, 236 pound-feet of torque) is front-wheel drive. Both engines are mated with a sixspeed automatic transmission with Volvo's Geartronic system that allows for manual selection of gears, and both take regular unleaded fuel. The S80 rides on 17-inch wheels as standard with three versions of 18-inchers available as standalone options or in a package.

What really sets the S80 apart from its competitors, however, are the "gee-whiz-wow" safety features available as options.

Start with BLIS, an acronym for Blind Spot Information System. With just about any car, you can adjust your side mirrors to pick up most, if not all, vehicles that approach your blind spot from either side. What BLIS does is step that up a notch. Cameras near the outside mirrors detect vehicles in the blind spot and send a warning through a small light that a driver can see at a glance. It's just a little bit more of a heads-up to keep you from making a quick swerve to the right or left than you get from using the side mirrors alone.

Also, a collision warning system with added brake support operates in conjunction with the optional adaptive cruise control. The system sets off an alarm and fl ashing light to alert a driver that it is time to make an emergency stop. This is particularly valuable if the driver's attention has been diverted to one side or the other from the front of the car, or even if the driver has nodded off. (The warning chime is rather loud. If you think it becomes too sensitive, you can turn it off, though we cannot imagine why you would want to.)

Finally, the S80 can even give you protection before you get into the car. Can't remember if you locked the car? With the optional PCC (Personal Car Communicator), you simply press the key fob and it will let you know if the car is locked and the alarm system on. A bit wary as you approach your car in a dark parking garage? Simply press the key fob and the system uses a high-tech heartbeat sensor to detect if someone is hiding inside.

As we said, those features are optional and add to the base cost ($48,045 for the V8, $39,400 for the inline six-cylinder, including destination and delivery charges). The safety packages plus an upscale audio and Sport package (which included speed-sensitive steering with the Four C Chassis system) ran our test V8 up to $56,025.

But the PCC adds only $495 to the base MSRP, the BLIS only $595, and the adaptive cruise control (to get the collision warning) only $1,495, which puts you just over $50,000 for the V8.

Included as standard, of course, in both V8 and six-cylinder versions are such safety features as dynamic stability and traction control, side curtain airbags, side impact protection system, whiplash protection and a tire-pressure monitoring system.

Among standard convenience features are dual-zone climate control, front and rear 12-volt outlets, leather seating surfaces and leather-covered steering wheel, eight-way power adjustable front seats with lumbar support and a tilttelescopic steering wheel with duplicate audio controls. A navigation system and rear-seat entertainment systems are among other options.

Bottom line: The S80 is still sensible shoes, but with style, too.

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Volvo S80: Venerable and Visually appealing