Category: Executive 
Price Range: £22,245 to £36,745
Comfortable ride, powerful yet quite economical, a good car for chauffeurs.
Engine not that quiet, wallowing of comfort chassis, slow-reacting auto gearbox, lacks flair, not as desirable as Volvo's estates.
Great to be driven in, not so great to drive.
Volvo's S80 saloon has been updated for 2009, and the new D5 diesel engine is a key addition to the range. This five-cylinder, 2.4-litre twin-turbo delivers 205bhp and 310lb-ft of torque, and has piezo-electric fuel injectors and ceramic glow plugs which give more efficient - and quieter - cold starts.
More economical and cleaner-running than the outgoing D5, the new S80 D5 is offered alongside the continuing but uprated 2.4D (175bhp, single turbo) and new 1.6D DRIVe (109bhp) diesels, as well as the 2.0 Flexifuel, 2.5T and V8 AWD petrol models.
A much-modified sportier suspension system is now standard-issue in the SE and SE Lux models, with a softer-sprung Comfort chassis a no-cost option in those versions or standard-fit with the top-level Executive trim. For 2009, all S80 models have also received a redesigned front grille with larger Volvo badge, new chrome detailing and a refreshed interior.
Sales of these revised S80 saloons begin in the UK in June 2009, with the ultra-economical DRIVe diesel following in the autumn.
