Volvo S80
VOLVO likes to call itself ''the world's smallest car company,'' although judging by all the rumors of mergers and takeovers, that may be about to change. It also likes to think of itself as the manufacturer of the world's safest cars.
During a recent visit to Volvo's headquarters in Gothenburg, I discussed safety with the company's design boss, Peter Horbury, an Englishman brought in to make Volvos look sexy. The Volvo S80 sedan, its new big car, which Horbury styled, had just been launched. So had the new Mercedes S-class, which the German company had also been promoting hard on its safety. It is probably true to say that the Volvo S80 sedan and the S-class are the two safest cars in the world, at least in terms of cushioning their occupants from injury. They even have airbags in their roofs.
Given a choice, I asked, which seat would you rather be sitting in the Volvo's or the Mercedes's in a head-on accident with a big truck? Horbury replied: ''I'd rather be sitting in the truck.'' An Englishman bringing a sense of humor to Volvo! A man given the task of making Volvos sexy! And he has succeeded.
Volvos were once anti-style design objects, all straight lines and right angles and tank-like heaviness. They were bought by people who didn't really like cars and who ventured forth onto the road with the same sort of foreboding that early mankind must have felt every time he stepped out of the cave.
But all that tank-like utilitarian talk started to pale when everyone else started to take safety seriously too. Volvo had to reinvent itself, while not losing its renowned primacy in health care. Enter Horbury. Exit the Volvo tank.
The Volvo S80 sedan is typical of the new Volvo ''style language.'' Rounded has replaced angular. The hood and trunk lids sit proud, the inward-curving upper edges form distinctive shoulders. The taillights are dark-bordered and look vaguely like jet afterburners.
The novelty extends to the mechanical specifications, too. There is no other new car today with a six-cylinder, transversely mounted engine driving the front wheels. The seats on the test car were beautifully upholstered in soft suede and, what's more, instead of the unyielding park-bench-style cushions that carmakers have been foisting under our backsides for years, the Volvo's seats are soft and squishy, rather like an old-fashioned sofa. At Home in the Cabin
The dashboard too is handsome and, like all good designs, simple. The cabin abounds in fine details, including center-pillar air vents for the rear passengers. Push a steering wheel button and a screen slowly rises from the top of the dash, for the optional satellite navigation. Unlike old-style Volvos, which had utilitarian and uninviting cabins, the Volvo S80 sedan has a cockpit that positively encourages you to make yourself at home. You half expect a butler to appear, silver salver in hand. The rear compartment is especially large, and the trunk is huge.
So far, so good. If only the Volvo S80 sedan was more invigorating to drive! It grips O.K., goes O.K., stops O.K. and cruises the freeways just fine. But there is just no enjoyment to be had from driving it. The controls all have different weightings, most notably the brake (light) and accelerator pedal (heavy), which doesn't do much for driving flow. The steering wheel doesn't feel connected to anything in particular, including the front wheels, and the ride isn't all that clever either, getting quite agitated on broken city roads. A BMW, an Audi, or even a Mercedes, are all much more involving to drive.
So Volvo has now got the style to go with the safety. All it needs is driving flair, and the German manufacturers who still dominate the prestige sector will really have something to worry about. A new owner (or partner) may just be able to teach it that.
Volvo S80 sedan. About $45,000. Six-cylinder engine, 2922cc, 204 bhp at 6,000 rpm. Turbo model also available. Five-speed manual, or automatic, transmission. Front-wheel drive. Top speed: 233 kph (145 mph). Acceleration: 0-100 kph in 8.3 seconds. Average fuel consumption: 9.8 liters per 100km.
International Herald Tribune January 22, 1999 Gavin Green
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