The Volvo S80 is now three years old, and Volvo has decided to spruce it up a bit for the current year.
Volvo has played around with the nose and body on the S80, to give a lower, wider perspective.
The new nose incorporates details similar to the XC60, declaring Volvo’s intention of a family theme. There are additional chrome details on the air intakes, the doors and under the back lights.
Volvo S80 gets tweaked for 2009
The interior has been freshened up, with play made of the high quality materials. The leather seats are new, and the leather gets carried over to the door panels.
Again, there is a degree of similarity to the XC60 with the floating centre stack’s silk metal frame.
A new set of instruments with aluminium dials and Silk Matte detailing complete the interior changes.
On the engine front, the S80 gets three new diesel engines:
The twin-turbo five-cylinder 2.4-litre D5 turbodiesel offers 205 horsepower, 420Nm of torque over a very wide range of engine revs. Fuel consumption (EU combined) is 45.6mpg and 164g/km CO2 emissions (preliminary figures).
The upgraded Euro 4-compliant 2.4-litre diesel engine will also be available with 175 horsepower, 420Nm of torque, fuel consumption (EU Combined) at 48.7mpg and CO2 emissions of 154g/km (preliminary figures).
The Volvo S80 DRIVe model will come equipped with the same powertrain – 1.6-litre diesel engine and manual gearbox – as the smaller C30, S40 and V50 but with specially tailored engine software and different ratios in third, fourth and fifth gears. The optimised powertrain is a major aid in helping the Volvo S80 significantly cut fuel consumption and CO2 emissions to 129g/km and 57.6mpg respectively (preliminary figures).
Sensible changes all round, which should breathe some new life in to the Volvo saloon.
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