Category: Executive 
Price Range: £22,245 to £36,745
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.
Since a sporting drive is out of the question, Volvo has taken the opportunity to fit some of the most comfortable seats we've ever tried. Forget the granite-firmness favoured by its Germanic rivals, the Volvo's seat is soft and cosseting - and even fan ventilated for an extra £1,277.
As for the ride, we're confused. Our car came equipped with the optional Four-C adaptive dampers (£1,100) but we'd avoid that. It struggles to filter out surface imperfections even though it's softly sprung. Worse still, in the Comfort setting it feels wallowy. Hit the Sport and the body control is better, but the ride becomes overly firm. On the Advanced setting you'll feel everything. None of the settings offer a suitable compromise.
Things are rosier when you consider the long list of standard equipment. The base SE has 17" alloys, plenty of tasteful brushed aluminium, cruise control, electric seats and a premium eight-speaker sound system.
