2007 Volvo S80

John LeBlanc

About 10 years ago, the world's most famous actor-turned-Champ Car team owner, Paul Newman, resolved to build the ultimate stealth car for getting around quickly in his Connecticut environs.

His nicely outfitted, unassuming Volvo 960 was off the showroom floor. But the honking 5.0-litre H.O. Ford Mustang V8 that supplanted the original 2.9 L inline-six in the Volvo's engine bay was Newman's own.

Once Newman divulged his secret to comedian-turned-Champ Car team owner, David Letterman, a second 960 was quickly ordered for a similar V8 transplant.

There's a long rap sheet of incidents with celebrities and cars not mixing well. But it looks like Newman's decade-old concept of a hot-rod Volvo has inspired the Swedish brand's head office to stuff a V8 where none has gone before.

When the first Volvo S80 arrived in 1999, replacing the long-serving 960, its styling startled.

Here was a Volvo that didn't look like the box it came in.

But many luxury sedan buyers dropped the Volvo sedan off their lists if only because the first S80 came only with five or six cylinders. If the first generation S80 only had a V8, it might have been able to lure more customers like the Newmans and Lettermans of the world.

At least that seems to be Volvo's thinking with the new, second generation, $65,000 2007 S80 V8 AWD.

Now, comparing Volvo's new S80 to its decade-old 960 would be like pitting an Apple Dual Core G5 against a Commodore 64.

Because although the 4.4 L V8's 311 hp, 325 lb.-ft. of torque remains unchanged from the Volvo XC90 luxury SUV that the engine hails from – as does the six-speed manumatic transmission – with power and torque peaking relatively high, the big Volvo sedan doesn't exactly leap off the line like a backyard hot rod.

Having said that, the S80 V8 AWD is plenty quick enough for most driving situations.

Combined with the efficient transmission, even when being aggressive with the throttle, the V8 is smooth, smooth, smooth. Gear shifts are very sharp and progressive; near CVT-like, but without the CVT whine.

And the V8 sounds great when given the whip, yet sublimely quiet when cruising along to Abba on the big sedan's 12-speaker Dolby Pro Logic II sound system.

Beyond the sophisticated drivetrain, perhaps the biggest driving improvement over the old S80 is in the steering department.

Plenty of feel allows the driver to be extremely accurate in placing the new S80 in challenging corners. It's not as telepathic as a rear-drive BMW 5 Series, but more in line to what one experiences at the helm of an Audi A6.

Equally improved as the steering, the Volvo's ride and handling benefits from a three-setting – Comfort, Sport, Advanced – active chassis that's part of a $3,250 Luxury Package.

Acknowledge that when pressed hard on a twisty road, the Volvo will roll more laterally than said BMW – or an Infiniti M45.

But where the Volvo does shine is in delivering a well-controlled ride, even with the suspension set to Comfort. And unlike a Volvo S60R's active chassis, the firmest setting won't rattle your fillings.

During my time with the S80, there was enough snow on the roads to experience the Haldex all-wheel drive system. Unlike the Torsen-based system in Audi's A6 that delivers power 50-50 permanently, Volvo's setup directs power to the front wheels first, then to the rear when needed. Like the engine/tranny combo, it works seamlessly.

Open the new S80's doors and settle into the cockpit and say, "Ahhh."

Instead of the usual luxury sedan design etiquette of a wall of intimidating buttons, Volvo's designers have grouped the S80's controls in a fashion that's instinctive and intuitive to the user.

The driver's instrumentation is presented as striking watch-face dials with information display screens within, similar to what Mercedes-Benz does in its E-Class. The centre console is a reiteration of the floating theme first seen in the S40. And build quality in this Volvo is way up. Without doubt, this is the best screwed-together Volvo interior yet.

Overall, Volvo has created an interior environment that exudes luxury in a relaxing, quiet fashion. It's miles ahead of the last S80; light-years ahead of Newman's and Letterman's 960s.

In lieu of seemingly following Newman's blueprint for a hot-rod Volvo, the S80 isn't some temperamental thoroughbred that needs 10/10ths driving to get all your money's worth.

On the contrary, it's a modern, obliging luxury sedan that effectively deals with the real world of unruly traffic, unpredictable weather and predictably bad Canadian roads.

Even with the new V8 power plant, Volvo seems satisfied to leaving in-your-face styling and aggressive performance to other luxury sedan competitors.

Ultimately, the refined execution of the S80 V8 AWD's drivetrain, chassis and interior give Volvo a legitimate contender in this class for the first time ever.

wheels@thestar.ca;

editors@straight-six.com

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