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 In India , Volvo is a name synonymous with comfort , luxury and effortless cruising thanks to the brand building done by their range of inter-City coaches. This has worked in both ways for the passenger car division of the Swedish giant. On One hand , the above mentioned qualities come attached with the name tag , however on the other , most people end up associating the marque with trucks and buses. The moment they see the same badge on a luxury limo , it is sometimes hard for them to digest the fact that it competes well with the likes of the oval ring , the white and blue logo or the three-pointed star.
Myths are often shattered. i have always had a soft corner for the Volvo S80 and even the XC90 for that matter. In fact , when we had pitted the new Mercedes E with the Volvo and the other two German rivals in December 2009 , I fell in love with S80 and was impressed by its abilities to pamper and spoil the occupants perfectly. That however was the tyre shredding V8 variant , the one which drank a litre of fuel every 5km if you drove with a heavy right foot. The diesel option was on avail , however , the competition had better engines which were not only more efficient but punchier and powerful as well. All that is passé now , as last month , Volvo rolled out a slightly refreshed S80 D5 variant with the most important changes being under the long hood.
With 11 percent more power and five percent more torque , Volvo S80 D5 comes as no surprise that the new S80 diesel is a delight to drive. Powered by a 2.4-litre , in-line five-cylinder engine , it develops an impressive 205bhp of power and 420Nm of torque , translating into a 0-0100km/h acceleration in just over 8 seconds and a genuine  top speed of almost 230km/h. Though the cubic capacity remains the same , the inclusion of a twin-turbo (among other changes) results in this hike. At the same time , the engine runs efficiently as well , delivering 9.5kmpl in the city and 14.5kmpl on the highway. For the few days I had the car with me , I drove it almost everywhere but failed to get the fuel needle to the red zone. With a 70litre tank and a good fuel economy , this was expected! Coming back to the engine , the D5 , though claimed to be eight percent quieter than the previous version , is still on the noisier side. Nonetheless , it is a lovely motor and frankly is much more responsive than I expected. In fact , I often found myself driving the car in a more spirited fashion than what it was probably meant for and seldom did it disappoint me. The auto ‘box isn’t bad , downshifting quickly to my right foot inputs.
The changes to the exterior are very subtle – a bigger iron mark grille , chrome lining around the fog lights , lamps , etc (which was standard on the V8 variant) and of course twin pipes at the rear. Our test car drew quite a few admiring looks on the road in the span of the three days I had it with me. On the inside , the S80 remains as plush as ever with a new seat design in Napa leather being even more soft and comfortable. The steering is new , though the dated central console remains along with the tiny screen. However , it gets chrome embellishment. The front seats also get three memory settings and the premium audio system felt up there with  the best in this segment. Rear passengers get their own air-con as well as audio system controls. Our test car also came with a small folding middle seat with a strap on for a child seat. Very clever! The car also comes with IAQS (Interior Air Quality System) which effectively reduces the amount of particles , pollen , gases and certain unpleasant odours in the air that enters the passenger compartment.
The S80 has always been about comfort than outright agility. It is of course not as dynamically proficient as some of its German counterparts , but it is a plush limo-esque car that offers a lot for its Rs 37 lakh (ex-showroom , Delhi) price tag - a lakh cheaper than the outgoing model. The only chink in the armour remains in the form of Volvo’s relatively small dealer network. There are currently seven dealers across India and the company is working on adding four more this year. There are other options at almost the same price in the market , but trust me when I say that there’s definitely something clinically beautiful about the S80. It will undoubtedly remain in my shortlist for a long time to come.
More photos:
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Myths are often shattered. i have always had a soft corner for the Volvo S80 and even the XC90 for that matter. In fact , when we had pitted the new Mercedes E with the Volvo and the other two German rivals in December 2009 , I fell in love with S80 and was impressed by its abilities to pamper and spoil the occupants perfectly. That however was the tyre shredding V8 variant , the one which drank a litre of fuel every 5km if you drove with a heavy right foot. The diesel option was on avail , however , the competition had better engines which were not only more efficient but punchier and powerful as well. All that is passé now , as last month , Volvo rolled out a slightly refreshed S80 D5 variant with the most important changes being under the long hood.
With 11 percent more power and five percent more torque , Volvo S80 D5 comes as no surprise that the new S80 diesel is a delight to drive. Powered by a 2.4-litre , in-line five-cylinder engine , it develops an impressive 205bhp of power and 420Nm of torque , translating into a 0-0100km/h acceleration in just over 8 seconds and a genuine
top speed of almost 230km/h. Though the cubic capacity remains the same , the inclusion of a twin-turbo (among other changes) results in this hike. At the same time , the engine runs efficiently as well , delivering 9.5kmpl in the city and 14.5kmpl on the highway. For the few days I had the car with me , I drove it almost everywhere but failed to get the fuel needle to the red zone. With a 70litre tank and a good fuel economy , this was expected! Coming back to the engine , the D5 , though claimed to be eight percent quieter than the previous version , is still on the noisier side. Nonetheless , it is a lovely motor and frankly is much more responsive than I expected. In fact , I often found myself driving the car in a more spirited fashion than what it was probably meant for and seldom did it disappoint me. The auto ‘box isn’t bad , downshifting quickly to my right foot inputs.
The changes to the exterior are very subtle – a bigger iron mark grille , chrome lining around the fog lights , lamps , etc (which was standard on the V8 variant) and of course twin pipes at the rear. Our test car drew quite a few admiring looks on the road in the span of the three days I had it with me. On the inside , the S80 remains as plush as ever with a new seat design in Napa leather being even more soft and comfortable. The steering is new , though the dated central console remains along with the tiny screen. However , it gets chrome embellishment. The front seats also get three memory settings and the premium audio system felt up there with
the best in this segment. Rear passengers get their own air-con as well as audio system controls. Our test car also came with a small folding middle seat with a strap on for a child seat. Very clever! The car also comes with IAQS (Interior Air Quality System) which effectively reduces the amount of particles , pollen , gases and certain unpleasant odours in the air that enters the passenger compartment.
The S80 has always been about comfort than outright agility. It is of course not as dynamically proficient as some of its German counterparts , but it is a plush limo-esque car that offers a lot for its Rs 37 lakh (ex-showroom , Delhi) price tag - a lakh cheaper than the outgoing model. The only chink in the armour remains in the form of Volvo’s relatively small dealer network. There are currently seven dealers across India and the company is working on adding four more this year. There are other options at almost the same price in the market , but trust me when I say that there’s definitely something clinically beautiful about the S80. It will undoubtedly remain in my shortlist for a long time to come.
More photos:
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