2007 Volvo S80 2.5T and 3.2 in Malaysia

I have always been fascinated by the fact that quite a few of my senior and some veteran colleagues (GPs, physicians and a few consultants) seem to fancy Volvo 240, 360, 740, 760, 850, S70, V70 and even the S80 of recent times. Could this have something to do with safety being Volvo's core philosophy through the ages? As such, I couldn't resist posting this "better-late-than-never" piece of news.

Before we bid goodbye to 2007, Volvo's flagship sedan, the S80 has been completely revamped from ground up. As large as the Mercedes-Benz E-Class or the BMW 5-series, this front wheel drive executive saloon is available from Volvo Car Malaysia (VCM) in 2.5T and 3.2 powered variants.

The 'basic' S80 is the 2.5L turbocharged 5-cylinder with 200bhp @ 4800rpm and 300Nm @ 1500-4500rpm, mated to a 6-speed Geartronic auto 'box. Claimed performance figures are 8.0secs from 0-100km/h and top-end is 210km/h.

Higher up is the all-aluminium 3.2L inline-6 (as pictured above) capable of 238bhp @ 6200rpm and 320Nm @ 3200rpm. The extra horses enable this locally top-of-the-line S80 to achieve a higher Vmax of 240km/h, while the century dash is a hair-breadth's quicker at 7.9secs.

No V8 models are available for the local market, for obvious reasons of pricing and larger capacity engines attracting punitive annual road tax.

The locally-assembled S80 2.5T is priced at RM268,500 while the fully-imported S80 3.2 goes for RM398,000.