CALL US ON
6533 5878

Volvo S80 3.2 Review: Now For Sale: Swedish Tanks That Are Driver-Friendly

Far from being the proverbial flying piece of brick that Volvos were long associated with in the past, the S80 is just as tough on the inside. Having received delicious styling cues inside out, we grabbed the 3.2 litre variant for the weekend to see what good it is.
OneShift Editorial Team
OneShift Editorial Team
09 Feb 2007

Cruisin' without a bruisin'

The adaptive cruise control is definitely worthy of mention in the S80. The cruise control buttons are conveniently located on the upper left spoke of the steering wheel.

At first glance, they might be perplexing but once you take a few seconds to analyse what those buttons mean, you'll find that this function comes in very handy, especially for those ventures up north.

You are able to set your cruising speed, as well as the distance of the car in front of you. The latter takes priority when the car finds itself closing in to the rear of a car in front of you at too rapid a speed. Then, the Volvo then decelerates the car to maintain a safe following distance.

This worked really well when we were on any highway that wasn't so populated. Alas, the recommended minimum SAFE distance proved to be too far from the car in front of us during peak period situations, where lots of lane cutting and braking is involved.

Safely said, no one should be using the cruise control function at this situation, and we were just being the itchy behinds that we usually are.

It got really irritating when we found that cars kept cutting in front of our car due to the rather lengthy, minimum (for peak period situations that is) following distance from the car in front of us, causing the S80 to further decelerate itself, and then taking an even longer time to accelerate and compensate.

We aren't complaining though, as I thoroughly enjoyed my morning cup of coffee during the drive up to a nearby destination in Johor Baru, with the ACC on in the Volvo, without so much as a drop of it being spilt.

Also, very rarely would you expect cars like these to have good steering feedback, but pay a little bit more attention and you would realise the amount of detail it gives. It would be as if it were gently whispering, “There’s a little bump over here” and “the road surface here’s a little rougher”.

Steering response is a little bit light when driving fast but it feels sturdy and confident. And so is the braking. Gently prod it and you wouldn’t slow down much, but go a little harder on it and you soon find yourself almost coming to a standstill.

At the end of the day, after a hard day at work and a soothing drive home, one might forget to lock the car. And there’s no need to panic.

If you’re not too far from the car, just reach into your pocket and you can find out from the Personal Car Communicator if you had locked it, or even if someone’s in your car, thanks to its heartbeat sensor. What a thing!

Credits: Andy Hum, Amery Reuben

Cars in this article
Volvo S80 3.2 (A) 2008
UNAVAILABLE

Volvo S80 3.2 (A) 2008

car icon
Sedan
car icon
Petrol
car icon
Authorised Dealer
Why sell your car with Oneshift?
bullet
Convenient and Hassle-Free

We know that visiting multiple car dealerships can be a real hassle! We’ll help you obtain the highest price for your car within 24 hours from our network of 500+ certified dealers from the comfort of your home.

bullet
Consumer Protection

We say no to unethical dealers. We employ strict quality control when validating the used car dealers in our panel and only work with trusted and reputable LTA-approved partners.

bullet
Transparent Process With No Obligation

We respect our customers and understand that at times, you may have doubts or need more time to decide. Don’t worry—we will never force a sale on you. Our dealer partners will only transact with you when you are satisfied with the final offer.

Sell your car for the best price in Singapore

Get the best price for your used cars from 500+ verified dealers, all within 24 hours

W
William Teng
2 weeks ago
The quote for my car was fast, responsive and the highest. The transaction was fast and explanation was clear. The person who inspected my car was friendly and professional. It was a good experience with OneShift.
W
William Chan
3 weeks ago
The transaction was very smooth from the minute I get on to their website trying to sell my car till the car ownership transferred and have the money paid by Pay Now into my account. It only takes less than 3 days. The person attending to me are very professional, Jon at the phone in their office and Sean Tan who came down to view and test the car. I am very happy to have decided to sell my car through "One Shift By Carousell"