_2007 Volvo S80_

2007 VOLVO S80
BASE PRICE: $48,045
AS-TESTED: $56,025
DRIVETRAIN: 4.4-liter dohc V8; awd, six-speed automatic
OUTPUT: 311 hp @ 5950 rpm, 325 lb-ft @ 3950 rpm
CURB WEIGHT: 4,065lbs.
OPTIONS: Sport/ZUBRA package including 18” ZUBRA alloy wheels, ventilated front seats with leather, active bi-xenon gas discharged headlamps, speed-sensitive steering ($2,495); audio package including premium sound system, 12 speakers, amplifier, surround sound ($1,550); Adaptive Cruise Control ($1,495); climate package including heated front seats, rain sensing wipers, headlamp washers, heated winshield washer nozzles ($725); electric silver paint ($625); blind spot info system ($595); personal car communicator ($495)

“Take the new S80 for a coupla days and write a blog about it,” came the directive from road test editor Natalie Neff. I proceeded to go out to the parking lot where I promptly walked by this thing a few times before I realized I wasn’t looking at the old S80. Sure looked familiar. It’s all new? Looks like a slightly sleeker, less flabby version of the old car. So I read up on Volvo’s flagship and found it is indeed an all-new car top to bottom, now sharing basic architecture with Ford’s corporate C1-plus platform, also in the new Ford Galaxy and S-Max minivans. C1-plus is itself a bigger version of the C1 platform (Mazda 3, Volvo S40 and in some variation even the Land Rover LR2—Ford is really getting some mileage out of this whole C1 thing) and can be had with front- or four-wheel drive.I slid inside and fired it up and holy crap: the dash and center console lit up like a proverbial Christmas tree. I can’t remember ever seeing so many green and orange and yellow warning lights flashing at me. The interior, by the way, is handsome and well done; the main instruments have pretty chrome-look rings around them and most functions are activated with buttons on the floating center console, like in the S40. Anyway, this baby has more techno-gadgetry than any car I can remember; being a Volvo, much of it is aimed at safety. There are new side-impact airbags, a bunch of other airbags, dynamic stability and traction control systems (carry over), adaptive cruise control (I hate that—I can control stopping distances myself, thanks), a blind-spot warning system, personal car communicator—it’s all here. Wait a sec, what’s personal car communicator? This is a system for the truly paranoid: It tells you not only when your doors are locked, but also can detect the heartbeat of any murderers that might be hiding in the back seat (or if there’s anyone locked in the trunk). When I laughed at the ludicrousness of this, a colleague reminded me of the old saying: Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they ain’t trying to kill you.Our test car here in Detroit had the Yamaha-built 4.4-liter V8 (added no doubt to better compete with the Audi A6, BMW 5 Series and Mercedes E-Class), shared with Volvo’s XC90 ute. All-wheel-drive is standard with the V8. A Ford 3.2-liter inline six is also available and Volvo thinks 70 percent of S80 buyers will opt for it.The first night I got lucky with a little overnight snow dusting, perfect for trying the 311-hp V8, the six-speed automatic and the awd system. In the dry, Volvo says the S80 will blast to 60 mph in 6.5 seconds. This morning in the snow I found I could tromp on the gas and this baby would just smoothly hook up and go; excellent grip and a nice growl coming from the V8. The automatic damping has three positions, normal, sport and dynamic, but I liked the normal mode best: Not too harsh, but the car didn’t wallow and there wasn’t much body roll. I didn’t drive it enough to need to fill it, but the little miles-per-gallon meter on the dash said I averaged 15 mpg. Not great.Overall, it felt quite German, which I’m sure was Volvo’s aim in the first place. There were a couple little glitches: One, this particular car actually had a couple squeaks and rattles, one of which was in the B-pillar right by my left ear—extremely annoying. With less than 2000 miles on the car that kind of surprised me. Two, when I left the office a warning flashed on the dash: “Headlamp failure—get service immediately.” I got out and checked the lamps and they looked fine and I never saw the warning again.Do you want one? With a $48,045 base price ($56,025 as tested) it’s nearly ten grand cheaper than most of the main competition, the BMW 550i (base price $58,500), Mercedes E550 (base price $59,775) or A6 (base price $55,300). The Volvo doesn’t have quite the driving dynamics of the Audi or BMW, nor quite the Mercedes’ panache, but it’s a good combo at a good price.