Life in Sweden must have been hard
not having much time for frivolous
behavior getting ready for the freezing
winter by building furniture with just a little
Allen key and a set of vague instructions.
Anyway that's my theory on why the Volvo
has always been an unremarkable automobile.
Safe but a little bit of a yawn. It may be
a product of global warming but I can tell
you the Swedes finally get luxury. The Volvo
S80 is a car that strives to compete on
equal terms with its southern neighbours
like the Mercedes, Audi and BMW.
There are also some innovative gadgets
ranging from adaptive cruise control to the
intelligent driver information system which
delays incoming messages if it detects you
are involved in navigating a demanding
curve. The Swedish finally “get it” (the luxury
market that is).
All this comes wrapped in a very stylish
exterior. Long gone are the boxy days of
Volvo and the S series has always been at
the vanguard of the new Volvo “Swedish luxury”
claim. Once again, the exterior is surprising
for a Volvo but if the same design
carried a Mercedes Badge one wouldn't be
surprised. “Clean surfaces and harmonious
designs”, claim the Swedes and it would be
hard to disagree.
The first thing to notice about the interior
is that it has all the hallmarks of the
Volvo design; it is simple and functional.
Let's also state it is very elegant. The layout
may be less sumptuous than say a BMW
but there is little to fault. The control panel
is clear and accessible to the driver. The
air-conditioner is directed by pressing the
head, body or legs of the “Volvo man” but
leaving that little Ikea moment aside, this is
a quality finish. The instrument cluster is a
re-design of previous Volvos and the controls
are still simple and effective.
Seating is some of the most comfortable
we've experienced both for the driver
and passenger with lots of ability to adjust
and acres of leg room. There is plenty of
boot space; the most we've seen on a car of
this class. Equal attention is also given to
the rear seating providing centre arm rests
with cup holders and of course plenty of
leg room too.
One of the most interesting features
of the S80 is the active cruise control,
using a radar system the cruise control
will keep a standard distance between
you and the car in front speeding up and
slowing down as needed. Unfortunately it
can do little about the large FWD tailgaiting
you down SZR. A level of trust
needs to be established before we tried
it out on the open road but expect to see
similar systems in other cars in the near
future. One more safety aspect is the
Inflatable Curtain which will cushion the
head and side of the passengers and
stays inflated in multiple or longer-duration
accidents.
Of course Volvo has always “got”
safety and the S80 is no exception. To
protect against whiplash there is the
new WHIPS system and if your car is hit
from behind at low speed, WHIPS
ensures the front seat follows the backward
movement of the body and tips to
cushion the head and upper part of the
body - all of which helps to significantly
reduce the strain on the spine and neck.
So now we know the S80 looks stylish
and has excellent safety features, what
about the handling? The 6 cylinder 3.2L
test car has a maximum power of 238
Hp at 6200 rpm a maximum torque of
320 Nm at 3200 rpm. This enables an
acceleration rate of 0 to 100 km/h in
7.9 secs with a top speed of 240km/h. Of
course we weren't allowed to physically
test that speed but the pick up was definitely
powerful enough to convince us of its
capabilities. The steering wheel is easy to
handle in the sense that it is so smooth
you'd finally discover what power steering
really is. The S80 handles so effortlessly
that turns could even be negotiated with
just one hand (although we're not supposed
to encourage that). The turning
radius is so small that you don't have to
worry about tight U-turns in and around the
city.
We liked everything about the S80; the
looks, the performance, the interior and,
most of all the safety features. The average
price of AED 140,000 may be slightly steep
but isn't it a known fact that luxury usually
costs a little extra?
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new car guide
