Volvo S80: "Play it safe". That's the mantra for Volvo and it's paid great dividends over the years.
Among the paranoid middle classes, Volvo is the ideal choice. It sends out a message that you care more for your children than others. It's the belt and braces marque of family motoring.
Yet you can't help wishing the Swedes would let their hair down once in a while and go mad. It's time Volvo built a V10 supercar. Somehow the brand seems just too polite for anything that raucous. Of course, it has the R series cars, but they're still suited in the motoring equivalent of sweater and cords.
Not that there's anything wrong with this. Many brands would die for the chance to steal some of Volvo's thunder in terms of safe family motoring. The Swedish brand has rightly earned this reputation over the years. After all this is the company that gave us the safety cage in 1944, the three-pointed seatbelt in 1959 and four years ago they even got a crash test dummy pregnant. Now that's dedication to family motoring.
Yet, there seems to be a realisation within the brand that playing it safe is no longer enough. And there's the rub. It seems that it's not only the engineers who have been working to the mantra: it has also seeped into the mindset of the design team.
Design is the soul of the modern car and in that regard the S80 is up against some stiff competition. Not only do the Germans have a brand presence and image many would kill for, but newcomers like the Citroën C6 and Chrysler 300C are wowing buyers with their sheer head-turning presence.
Up against such models the S80 doesn't make much of a statement. That's partly because Volvo has opted for quietly spoken styling throughout the range, but it's largely because this new car is very hard to tell apart from the old one.
Certainly the front lights have changed and the rear haunches are more stylish and pronounced. The designers claim the car is now more muscular, as if the old version was sent to the gym for a few months hard work on the weight machines.
Impressive: but not bold enough considering the sort of statements that are being made by other designers in this segment.
In fact, the new S80 looks very similar to the current S60. So similar in fact that you'd have to wonder why Volvo bothers to build cars so close to each other in so many ways: there's only €4,000 in the difference between the 2.5T SE S80 and similar sized S60 SE - and the S60 gets 10 more horsepower.
Our particular test car was powered by the range-topping 4.4-litre V8 and with 311bhp on tap, it's certainly no slouch. Matched with Volvo's All-Wheel-Drive system it's an excellent mix of mile-munching cruiser and sporting drive, though the AWD system does add significant weight to the car.
The six-speed Geartronic gearbox is smooth and lets the engine run relatively free and there's an almost immediate response to throttle pressure. There's none of the deep-throated growl you'd expect from such a large engine, but that's partly due to the levels of soundproofing in the car. It's hard to hear anything but the hum of the air-con in the cabin. The end result is that you can't help wondering why you'd bother opting for anything higher than the 3.2-litre.
At its launch some months ago in Sweden, we had the chance to drive the V8 along some interminably straight and mind-numbingly boring Swedish motorways.
The car was perfectly suited to the journey, munching at the miles and cruising without a care. When we did encounter other traffic the adaptive cruise control slowed us down and kept our distance until a clear road opened up and we were off again. All we had to do was steer and enjoy the comfort of the ride. For many motorists that's enough. But if you're not going to use the extra horses, there's no point in having them tied up under the bonnet.
Of course, in line with the "play it safe" mantra, the car also comes with a host of safety features. These include a new collision early warning system that prepares the brakes and provides an audible alert along with flashing red lights in the case of trouble. The system uses the car's adaptive cruise control radar and it's useful, if a little expensive. Similarly, the new car also comes with blind spot alert system as an option.
Inside, the car has certainly increased in stature, though it's still not class leading.
Volvo does one other thing really well: it makes really comfortable seats. While we've no credentials to comment on the physiology of car seats, we'd be pretty confident of pointing any sore backs towards the S80 if only for the seats. The new S80 also features the "floating" central console of which Volvo is so proud. It's a neat design feature but in the cold light of day it offers little extra in the way of space or flexibility.
Boot space is ample, as it is with all its rivals and 440 litres is enough to accommodate any golfer's desire. However, it doesn't quite match the likes of the Audi, BMW or Mercedes, all of which offer over 520 litres.
Three specification levels are on offer from Volvo, but buyers should consider the level of luxury they want from their car and more importantly the level expected by the used car buyer when they trade it in.
The entry level S model has all the safety features but you really need to opt for automatic in this segment, which adds €2,365 to the price. Invariably the SE specification is a must and it's pretty good value, considering the added features such as an eight-speaker radio/CD, leather seats and 17" alloys. It's entry-level for the 3.2-litre and V8 versions and €4,000 more on the 2.5T and D5. Best to spend the money.
As for the likes of adaptive cruise control with its early collision warning system, that's €1,900 more and only available on auto versions. With regular cruise control as standard on all models, it's not really worth the extra. Similarly the blind-spot indicator may be a worthwhile feature, but €945 may seem a little steep for most buyers.
While this V8 is the standard-bearer for the new range, smart money will opt for D5 versions or even the 2.5T SE.
In terms of driving dynamics, the BMW still has the competition pipped to the post, while for sheer comfort and even performance, in a like-for-like basis the Lexus GS450h wins the day for its high-level of standard specification and awesome overtaking ability. However, that's just in a direct comparison with the V8 version and Lexus can't compete on price when it comes to the diesel and smaller petrol variants of the S80.
The S80 may lack charisma when it comes up against the Germans and newcomers like the 300C in company car parks, but it's an alternative statement to Teutonic dominance in this class, particularly in the smaller engine versions. This Volvo is a welcome executive option, but it lacks the sparkle to be anything other than an also-ran.