Engine, Drivetrain, Fuel Efficiency - Volvo S80 V8 road test

Engine

The S80 V8 possesses a 4414cc, naturally aspirated transverse V8 that produces 315bhp@5950rpm and 44.9kgm@3950rpm. It sends its power through all four wheels, all the time. (Grin.) We haven’t driven anything like this before, it’s ridiculously fast for a saloon! It does feel restrained and in control when cruising, and it’s got bursts of acceleration that take you from zero to warp speed before you can say ‘Volvo S80 V8’. It’s the fastest saloon in India at the moment, barring substantially more expensive imports like the C63 AMG.

The engine is silent at idle and when cruising, but floor the throttle and you’re greeted with something you’ve never heard before – a delicious V8 growl to die for that makes us salivate every time we play the noise in our heads. To quote one awestruck passenger, “It’s straight out of NFS!” Volvo sent the engine back to Yamaha after development was complete because the engine was too quiet – this should tell you how refined it is!

Stick it in D in the city and it potters around like a docile pet in the city. Below 3000rpm it’s like any other car, getting from A to B in refined comfort. Overtaking will never be an issue – floor it, the gearbox wakes up and you’ve passed ten trucks before you know it!

Drivetrain

The S80 V8 possesses a six-speed automatic with manual shifts available once you tip it to the left while in D. It shifts up automatically at the redline in manual mode, and will not downshift even in manual mode if the engine is spinning above 3500rpm. Upshifts at the redline are a safety feature, but it needs to hold on to the gear a little in manual mode, because it can tend to upshift mid-corner, which will unsettle the driver. It also won’t let you upshift to fifth or sixth if you’re below 3000rpm, which is another safety feature since you’ll end up starving the engine. The gearbox is slow to respond to throttle inputs, and even when you shift manually, it takes its own sweet time to shift. We’d like to see Powershift on the Volvos ASAP, please.

The wood and chrome shift lever is fantastic – it is sculpted just right and feels oh-so-good to hold. The way the release button is integrated into the design is brilliant. It felt a little hard and noisy through the gate, especially from Park to Drive. In manual, it’s just right – not rubbery, not springy.

Fuel Efficiency

If you're out to save the planet, don't buy this car. The V8 is automotive hedonism at its very best, but imagine our surprise when it returned 9.5kpl on the highway! Must be all that Japanese know-how at work. It gave us less of a shock within city limits, where it went 5.5km to the litre. An overall figure of 6.5kpl for 315bhp is not bad at all, and we're mighty impressed - except when you give it stick. Our testing runs (plenty of stick and plenty of stupid grins) returned 3.6kpl, and gave our chief accountant a mild heart attack. We've not told him we've asked for the XC90 V8!