Category: Executive 
Price Range: No data available
Good fuel economy, low emissions, punchy performance, comfortable seats.
Fidgety ride, not as good to drive as competition, frustrating electric handbrake.
The best S80 in the range still lags behind the competition.
The new 2.0-litre, unlike its larger diesel brothers, is only available with a six-speed manual. This means it comes standard with an electronic handbrake - so prepare to be frustrated.
In a colossal failure in basic ergonomics, Volvo has hidden away, under the dash and beside the steering column, the button for the electronic handbrake. Drive away and, unlike the competition, the handbrake doesn't automatically release, needing a quick touch of a button to avoid embarrassing rear-wheel-dragging incidents. Worse still, the driving position means you have to lean forward every time the handbrake needs operating - which is often, as there there's no hill hold.
Handbrake annoyance aside, the least powerful diesel, like the rest of range, offers a competent if uninspiring drive. Tip the S80 into a corner and the remote steering suffocates any communication between driver and front tyres. But push too hard and you'll find the least powerful diesel surprisingly more sensitive to the throttle than more nose-heavy S80s. It's still only competent and in no way as sporting, capable or enjoyable as a BMW 5-Series.
Against the clock, the figures for the big Volvo seem reasonable. Powered by the 134bhp 2.0-litre diesel, the S80 reaches 62mph in 10.4 seconds and tops out at 124mph. On the road, thanks to the maximum 236lb-ft torque peak delivered at a low 2,000rpm, the Volvo feels brisk enough to make the larger, barely quicker, 161bhp 2.4 diesel an indulgence, but compared to the class benchmark - the BMW 5-Series - Volvo looks decidedly slow, losing 2 seconds to it on the 0-62mph test.
