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The S80 sedan faces some tough competition in India given its rivals are German luxury cars like the BMW 5-series, the Audi A6 and the Mercedes E-class. Once you step inside the S80, you realise that every part is well-built and all switches have a nice tactile feel to them and work well. But, the dashboard design is a bit boring though, and the interiors can’t match the Germans on quality.

When it comes to seats, the S80 surpasses the Germans. Supportive and comfortable, you could be forgiven for thinking you are sitting in an armchair. Once you’ve sunk into the seats, you’ll realise it is easy to find a comfortable driving position. The wide reach and rake adjustment of the steering wheel and the fully powered driver’s seat will ensure you can fine-tune your driving position. The central console has too many buttons but main dials like that for the AC and the audio are easily reachable.

Report card Not great looking but it scores on several other aspects

The cabin on this vehicle is functional though not very fancy. It possesses an understated class and isn’t exactly what one would call beautiful. The same goes for the XC90 SUV. However, in terms of practicality, touches like 40:20:40 split/folding rear bench and the supremely comfortable seats work in favour of the car. All seats except for the driver’s fold flat and as a result, a lot of interior space becomes available and the split tailgate makes it easy to access the luggage area.

Both the S80 and XC90 are made available with the same choice of three engines a five-cylinder diesel, a six-cylinder petrol and a range-topping V8 petrol. The smaller petrol and the diesel are going to make up Volvo’s biggest sales in India. So we’ll concentrate on them.

Start the D5 diesel engine in the S80 and you hear a noise. The growl from the engine becomes more audible when you give it the beans, but it is surprisingly silent when cruising. What impresses is the linear power delivery from the 2.4-litre diesel. It pulls strongly all the way up to its 5,000 rpm redline. This is particularly good in traffic, because you know exactly how much pressure to apply on the nicely-sprung throttle to shoot into that open gap.

The petrol in-line six is not as good. It has to be revved hard to extract the best out of it. As a result, the engine is always buzzing in your ears. Once you are cruising however, this motor gets quieter. It is quite responsive, no doubt aided by the six-speed auto ‘box’. The six-speed auto works best with the D5 motor. The linear power delivery and the well-matched gear ratios work well to make overtaking on our roads a simple exercise.

The diesel S80 costs Rs. 39.8 lakh in Mumbai and the high-end V8 variant costs Rs. 46 lakh. The XC90 costs between Rs. 47 and Rs. 54 lakh. In addition, both cars come with a 24-month/unlimited mileage warranty, and a long list of features such as ABS, eight airbags, emergency brake assist, emergency brake light flashing, dynamic stability and traction control and whiplash protection system are standard on all S80s. The XC90 even gets Roll Stability Control, which can brake and accelerate individual wheels, so that it will understeer rather than become unstable and roll over.Yes, it’s true that these Volvos do not have the street presence or brand appeal of a Merc or a BMW but if you want a good car that doesn’t draw too much attention, the Volvo should suit you just fine.

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