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Volvo takes its power hikes seriously, and it knows darn well that this latest mid-sized T6 is as fast as the transporter-man needs it to be. Hence, Volvo did what it does what it does best - cram it with safety.
Let's start with the first "dong" - Lane Departure Warning. It works by sounding an alert every single time you change lanes without signaling. We like it. It'll get on the nerves of many, many drivers who are not into the habit of flipping their indicator stalks around. It can be turned off. Unfortunately™ The more integral and interesting feature though, came in the form of a curious coffee cup indicator housed in the instrument cluster - Driver Alert Control. It'll "dong" at you when it senses that the car isn't tracking in a straight line whenever it should, perhaps when you start nodding off.
Then, there's "BLIS" - aptly named with respect to the stiff-necked driver's nirvana. Two side mounted cameras below the car's wing mirrors monitor for traffic, warning of the common "mat rempit" (read: reckless Malaysian motorcyclist) lurking in your blind spots without the need for you to actually rotate your head in any way, although we wouldn't recommend not checking, even on the crankiest of mornings.
Keeping up with appearances
Improvements over previous generation S80s are pretty obvious just by looking at it. We wouldn't say that the T6 is striking, especially because it doesn't have the upper hand over "lesser" S80s in terms of stylistic differences, but it is handsome and quite the masculine chariot. In addition, we wouldn't term it to be out of place in the hands of an up-to-date soccer mum after "lawyer daddy" passes her the keys.
Cumulating in the stylish C30, the sculpted body of the S80 mimics other redesigned Volvos of late, but the S80 showcases Volvo's technique at its best. Pay attention to the headlights - they are more angled than ever and despite the differences being subtle, it's just "one of those things" that adds up to the overall appearance of the exterior.
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Such is the mild disappointment then, when you take a look at the rear, which doesn't appear to match up to the front in terms of design revolution. These thoughts do not disappear when we cracked open the boot. While we can't call it small, it isn't exactly class leading of very big - but where two to three Golf Bags, a couple of travel suitcases and a human body or two are concerned, it is everything the Volvo driver needs it to be. Creating more space is a piece of cake with an easily accessible lever that folds the rear seats flat.
Inside
It is here that the T6 comes into its own. There are three areas that are absolutely worthy of mention. First, the dash - it flows so well into the instrument panel, all of the lines converge to create a singular, organic form. The metal gauges are authentic items and not just good looking plastic, and their central digital readouts complement the analog needles that run on an inner ring.
Attention to detail is quite evident - even the turn-signal arrows fit into an arrow-shaped cutout in the gauge cluster.
Secondly, the ergonomics of the S80 are top in its class. Lots of buttons abound - from the multi-function LCD that allows for Bluetooth telephony, vehicle settings such as power steering resistance (that's right, you get to set how hard it is to turn the wheel!), and so much more, but importantly, it's always very easy to operate and you know exactly where each function is simply by looking at it once.
No complicated menus. Just one or two-function buttons. They are of course, located on Volvo's new trademark floating center console which by means of a hollow behind, enables you to hide chewing gum. Oops™
Third, would be the sheer quality, fit and finish of everything. We're not exaggerating. The only fault we could find with the interior would be the slightly noisy and unrefined seat coolers which when turned on, blow cool air through the magnificently stitched, plush, perforated cream leathers and onto your behind - an invaluable asset in this sort of climate.
Rear legroom isn't what you might call claustrophobic, but the car is wide, and given the small, Asian frames present in our entourage, a foursome in the back would have been entirely possible.
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It Moooves!
While the interior would be the T6's forte, the old model's driving experience was nothing short of disappointing. This new one corrected a few important things like chassis response and driver dynamics, but the suspension remains to be a little soft through hard corners.
We love both the driving position and the way the steering wheel feels in our hands. It also happens to be very smooth and progressive, with just the right amount of weight in its "hardest" setting. So it might never be tack sharp like that of a BMW's and in fact it did feel a little floaty. Then again, if you buy a Volvo, chances are you aren't looking for "the ultimate driving machine." Therefore, this car just happens to be the perfect blend between power, handling, comfort and a whole lot of safety.
Bury the throttle deep into the carpet (which by the way, feels heavenly with bare feet), and even in the wettest situations, the all-wheel drive (AWD) annihilates any form of wheelspin.
In gear acceleration is ridiculously fast at any speed, thanks to the abovementioned power figures. You don't actually feel like you are barreling down the highway, but one look at the speedometer and you almost always know that you should stop what you're doing. The T6 fights hard in wet corners - way beyond the imaginable limits of such a sedan. Coupled with the standard array of safety devices like ESP, electronic brake-force and individual braking, the AWD is wired up, and the differentials are electronically controlled by the car's computer. You actually feel the car working furiously at the limit, dishing out or limiting power to each wheel as needed.
The collision warning system isn't one that can be fooled. It alerts you when a car ahead of you has rapidly decelerated and impact is imminent. A row of red lights illuminates in front of the driver, right at the edge of the dashboard, so the lights reflect off the windshield.
It will not operate, even with sudden tailgating, and so we doubted its effectiveness until early one morning while caught in merging traffic. All cars up ahead were forming up normally until one of those of the "fast-and-furious" kind, ironically, in a Volvo, abruptly cut off a Porsche in front of me.
Needless to say, the driver of the 911 utilized all of his Brembos, causing me to do the same. Without hesitation, the Volvo's lights went red, flashed, and I hit the brakes. What struck me was S80's harsh deceleration - the system assists the driver by boosting the brakes to be more effective and aggressive to the maximum of the car's braking ability when you start stomping.
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The S80 and the Singapore market
If you're looking at the $205,000, 2008 Volvo S80 T6, you're probably the kind of person who would be preoccupied with practical considerations, perhaps more so than other luxury car buyers. You also enjoy a little of that power, grin-inducing-overtaking stunts now and then, but if these things aren't your cup of tea, consider the basic S80 2.5 turbo, which retails for $164,000 this March.
Whatever the case though, this midsized sedan, you see, has almost every leading-edge safety feature you can think of that's available on the market, from the blind spot warnings to the heartbeat sensors and the collision warning devices, the S80's always watching your back. Always.
