Wilvo S80 test drive since 2011 sedan

Volvo S80 D5 AWD

Under the moon, as you know, there is nothing new. But under the hood we periodically find something curious. It is difficult to see the novelty of the updated Volvo S80 in the light of day, but under the previous contours - a new diesel and two new chassis modifications

The car was handed right to the entrance. At the wheel is a blonde Scandinavian. Sparkling with her eyes with her eyes like lakes, she immediately began to chatter like the advantages of the updated Volvo S80, and I importantly nodded and thought if she had another program. Departure from the Fairmont Hotel goes straight to the famous hairpin, for the sake of which Formula 1 teams are forced to build special chassis for the Monaco Grand Prix, since it is more difficult to fit into this turn on the cabin with the usual angle of rotation of the front wheels than to go to the needle ear. Then we proceeded along the no less famous tunnel, which, in fact, was laid directly under the hotel. Our path lay at the local automobile museum, which was located above the direct start/finish. There, right in the middle of the princely collection of unique Rolls-Royce and Bentley, a table was laid. The modest UAZ-469, the decoration of the division of military jeeps, hid in the corner behind the columns and did not spoil the Swedes of appetite. After all, not a single Volvo in the collection. I had to specially deliver a few rarities.
Dinner went under a leisurely social conversation about a new modification. In the hotel bar, a little bit of ice in glasses. They decided not to go to the casino. Not a season. Before going to bed, he went out to breathe on the balcony of his luxurious room. The bay sparkling lights is serene. Why should he worry? The sleeping areas of Monaco hover over the cliffs, like comfortable multi -storey dreams. People live here who are rich enough not to pay taxes and sleep calmly. The moon above the sea is such that its light can be smeared on bread instead of oil. I scored more air in the chest. Everything else is worth money here. Directly under the balcony splashes waves like mermaids. It is a pity that I did not throw. Or Norilsk Nickel ... What am I talking about? Oh yes, about the updated Volvo S80.

The truth about Volvo
The new flagship is always interesting. Especially when it comes to the company of the premium segment. Premium is a multifaceted and ambiguous concept. And his Swedish interpretation is generally a separate question. After all, they have socialism there, and in our bourgeois view some of their quirks - political correctness, ecology, which reaches paranoia care of security - look quite strange. However, the presentation in Monte Carlo fits into Russian ideas about luxury. Although, of course, all these azure is clear and back. The surroundings will cover the eyes. In the glamorous splendor, small flaws are drowning. But experienced journalists are used to telling the truth in any conditions. The most difficult thing is to quickly chew a sandwich with caviar, and it’s easy and pleasant to tell the truth. Especially when it looks like this: I have met little cars with such a high -quality, pleasant, exemplary salon, as in Volvo S80!
I'll start with the seat. This is not a seat, but a poem for the lower half of the body. In the sense of sciatic comfort, I am quite omnivorous, and, as a rule, in almost any car I have the feeling that it is fitted under me. In a sense, it is. I am the owner of the average anthropometry and could work as a living mannequin in some ergonomic laboratory (of course, if it is not about Crash tests; however, I would probably agree to Volvo). That is why even I, a man-etalon, Apollo of interior design, notice some irregularity, then we are talking about a clear anomaly, and not just about the private impressions of some lanky wizard, which is convenient to drive a car only from the rear sofa. Sitting in Volvo, I immediately felt that something unusual was happening to me, something very good. Sitting in Volvo is abnormally convenient. I even got up specially again. I looked. He touched his hand. It seems nothing special. Neither by eye nor to the touch can be distinguished from the same upholstered furniture in luxury competitors. And again he sat down with pleasure. The words are powerless. This seat, like the gaze of the Swedish blonde, can only be felt by the spinal cord.
However, there is nothing new in the updated S80 seat. Just before moving on to the novelty, I would like to talk about Volvo's eternal values. With any modernization, this is the main thing. Is it true?

Novelty with spaces
The appearance of Volvo, speaking in truth, traditionally causes conflicting assessments: one likes a kind of Scandinavian design, others find that for luxury car the S80 looks boring. Apparently, the Swedes completely agree with the first, although decency does not allow them to completely dismiss the opinion of the latter. In any case, the 2009 facelifting did not change the appearance of the sedan in a noticeable way. Volvo designers, according to them, tried to add aggressiveness to his appearance. And for this they increased the size of the logo on the radiator grill. Ah, if all the aggression of the world was like that! Then the commanders would scare each other exclusively in the size of their cockade.
Another new feature: the Volvo letters are now standing with spaces, as if they had parted under the influence of the rarefaction that arose behind a rapidly rushing car. Metal inserts on the front air intakes, at the bottom of the doors and under the rear lights added a shine in the modest charm of Swedish socialism.
The luxury of Volvo is the quality of materials from which its salon is well cut and tightly sewn. The skin of the upholstery is delicate, like a girl’s cheek, subjected to special dressing without the use of chromium salts, and stitched with a solid stitch.
The lighting of the devices has now become blue, like the eyes of the Swedish beauties. The highlight of the interior is a hanging central panel. It is thinner than other mobile phones. Now her grace is emphasized by a metal edging. A new four -spoke steering wheel is also shine with aluminum brilliance. Everything is done qualitatively and soundly. Such a union of labor and capital suits me.
For lovers of technological innovations - a new toy: the force on the steering wheel now has three levels of adjustment. Stopping the car and rushing into the menu with the help of a simple round round, you can make the steering wheel heavy, medium and light. The experience of driving on a simple mountain serpentine quickly revealed: in aerobatic areas, a heavy steering wheel out of competition. Perhaps because additional effort masks some informative underload of the steering. The steering wheel is quite adequate, but if it can be compared with a razor, then only with safe. Which, however, is quite in the spirit of Volvo. There are people who like to shave with a scalpel. But there are hardly many. Is it true?

Sports joys
We come close to the concept that has recently become an integral attribute of premium. I'm talking about sports. It was in this area that Volvo was subjected to the most serious criticism. In this case, the Swedes did not remain deaf to the voice of the public and offered an interesting new product. In addition to adaptive chassis with adjustable shock absorbers, two specialized modifications are now proposed - comfortable and sports.
A comfortable chassis has a standard chassis. The optional sports option has a 20 mm in front and 15 mm behind the road clearance, a special setting of the steering system, more rigid and short springs and shock absorbers, more powerful reptile stability stabilizers, and more rigid bushings have been used for all fasteners for fastening.
During the test, both versions managed to test, but, in truth, it was not possible to draw any certain conclusions. The fact is that a comfortable modification turned out to be front -wheel drive, and sports - with a drive for four wheels. One of them is tougher, the second is softer, but the concept of sports is not only reduced to the ability to count all the potholes on the asphalt with its own backwards. Moreover, the Volvo S80 does not allow this even in the hard version. Alas, to say how much the difference in controllability was associated with the type of drive, and how much I can’t. In any case, this difference did not seem fundamental to me. Let's just say: they have not forgotten about comfort in either case.
And finally, I go to the most difficult part of my true story. We are talking about a new D5 diesel engine. Yes, he is economical. Yes, according to the developers, it is designed taking into account the features of the quality of fuel and climate of countries such as Russia and China. Yes, he is burdened and responsive. But, alas, he is a jumper. And after pressing the Start button on the delicate skin of wonderful seats, a light tremor passes. Still, a scheme with five cylinders in a row in advance implies problems with balancing. There is no crime in this, but the vibro-acoustics of the diesel version does not fully correspond to the standards of premium class, even with socialist. This is true.
Summing up, it should be said that after all, the S80 remains a car for comfortable trips along a good highway with a full set of all conceivable security tools, including active cruise control, a warning about the intersection of marking lines, control of blind zones, etc. etc. Now you can choose between three types of chassis, the most interesting of which is a sports modification. I believe that its advantages are much more fully revealed with powerful gasoline engines. New diesel? Excellent! This is a modern motor, designed in accordance with the most progressive principles: double turbocharging, direct fuel injection. A small detail: for example, an oil probe is not used in it. Information about the oil level is displayed on the display. Moreover, the system will tell you how much it should be added. Really interesting?

Technical characteristics of Volvo S80 D5 AWD
Dimensions, mm
4851x1861x1493
Wheel base, mm
2835
Trunk volume, l
480
Equipped mass, kg
1521-1800
engine's type
diesel L5 with turbocharged
Working volume, cubic meter. cm
2400
Max. Power, L.S./rpm
205/4000
Max. moment, nm/rpm
420/1500-3250
Transmission
automatic 6-band
Drive unit
full
Max. speed, km/h
225
Acceleration time 0-100 km, with
8,5
Fuel consumption (average), l/100 km
7,3
Tank volume, l
70

Leonid Sitnik
Photo of the manufacturer


 

Source: Avtopanorama magazine