The 2008 Volvo S80 is one of the more comfortable cars we've tested, and gets good mileage for a car of its size. Cabin tech doesn't go out of its way to work with personal electronics, but the safety gear is cutting edge.
Volvo's largest sedan doesn't present the overbearing luxury of a Mercedes-Benz S-class or Lexus LS. Instead, it works as a very comfortable and refined everyday driver that lacks ostentation.
Volvos still have a reputation as boxy safety cars, but the hard corners have long since been ironed out. There is still a hint of that former design choice in the grille and fenders.
We were very impressed with this turbocharged 3-liter inline six-cylinder engine, as it delivers good economy and power. The S80 is also available with a 3.2-liter inline six and a 4.4-liter V-8.
The cabin design is particularly nice in the S80. We especially like the satin finish on the wood trim, which looks better than a high-gloss treatment, and the floating instrument panel.
The S80 keeps it simple by only having two gauges, a speedometer and a tachometer, on the instrument cluster. Each gauge holds a monochrome display, which shows things such as the fuel level and outside temperature.
The six-speed automatic transmission generally shifts smoothly, although we did feel a couple of uncomfortable bumps from it in normal driving, as if it was confused about when it should shift.
The keypad on the instrument panel most goes to waste, merely serving to store preset radio stations. If the car had cell-phone integration, this keypad would be great for dialing numbers.
These three buttons come with the Sport package, and adjust the car among three different driving modes. Each button changes the steering response, suspension damping, and transmission shift points.
This bank of buttons lets you turn off or on some of the car's advanced safety features, such as blind-spot warning, lane departure warning, and collision avoidance.
The BLIS light turns on when a car is in the lane next to the S80, when changing lanes would be unsafe. The light is well-positioned, right where you would see it while looking at a side mirror.
Adaptive cruise control lets you set a cruising speed, then will slow the car down if there is slower traffic in the lane ahead. Here you can see the cruise control set for 70 mph, but the car only doing a little above 60 mph.
The six-disc changer plays MP3 CDs, and even shows ID3 tagging information, but you can't browse through folders. It forces you to turn the tuning knob to go through one song at a time.
