The story so far: I last drove a Volvo S80 almost exactly two years ago, and what I remember most clearly about it is the way it refused to be rushed. I described it as "dull and lifeless" when it was being asked to do anything other than continue in the same direction at the same speed, and found that it was at its best when being driven slowly.Now, the S80 is marketed as a luxury car, so you wouldn't necessarily expect owners to be interested in high-speed stuff. All the same, this did seem to be taking matters to an extreme. It seems that Volvo thinks - or has been persuaded - that this was the case, and its new policy is well illustrated by the revised S80 D5 SE Lux Premium tested here.Aside from the trim level, there are two main differences between this car and the D5 SE I drove in 2007. First, its 2.4-litre twin turbo diesel engine has been uprated to produce a maximum of 202bhp, 20bhp more than previously. This would not have had much effect on the S80 without the second change, which is the introduction (on some models, though not the range-topping Exclusive) of what Volvo describes as a Lowered Dynamic Chassis.Lowered Dynamic Chassis isn't a thing in itself, but is a fancy name for a series of adjustments including lowered ride height (by 20mm at the front and 15mm at the rear), stiffer springs, uprated dampers, larger anti-roll bars, higher-ratio steering and harder bushes on the subframe mountings. Even if you don't understand what any of this means, you'll probably gather that it's all in the interests of making the S80 more racey than it was before. And the results are outstanding.I'm not saying that the S80 has suddenly become sporting. Volvo, despite its long tradition of racing and rallying, doesn't really do sporting road cars - even, I venture to suggest, when it's trying to. Boy racers will not be at all interested in the S80 despite all that has been done. But it is so much more nimble and precise than it was in the pre-Lowered Dynamic Chassis days that it has become a car one might drive simply for the pleasure of doing so.At the same time, it has not become harsh. All the major controls still have a familiar vagueness to them (but the vagueness and the effort required to use them are about the same in each case - Volvo is very good at this nowadays) and the comfort levels are as high as they always were. Okay, I'm trying to compare cars driven two years apart, but I do not have any sense that the feeling of luxury has been compromised in the slightest.That feeling is further enhanced by the Geartronic automatic transmission which strikes me as a good alternative to the standard six-speed manual. Changing gear in a large Volvo is generally a laborious process, so the very fine quality of the Geartronic shift comes as something of a relief.Yes, it adds one second to the 0-62mph time, but are you really that concerned about 0-62mph times if you're thinking of buying a car like this? Similarly, there's a negative effect on fuel consumption, but a combined figure of 42.2mpg is still impressive for something of this size. And the additional £1400 you have to pay for Geartronic is a small matter when the basic car costs over £30,000.The German opposition remains formidable, of course, and there are several ways in which the Volvo lags behind. Its styling, for example, is very restrained, and you have to gaze at the lines for some time to appreciate them (which may of course appeal to you, especially if you also prefer to distance yourself from the associations of an Audi, BMW or Mercedes-Benz badge). And a luggage capacity of 422 litres is frankly feeble, given that there are much smaller saloons on the market which offer more space.But the Lowered Dynamic Chassis, and to some extent the revised engine, have made the S80 D5 a much more serious contender in its class, and that's an achievement that should not be lightly dismissed. Engine 2400 cc, 5 cylinders Power 205 bhp @4000 rpm Torque 310 ib/ft @1500 rpm Transmission 6 speed semi-auto Fuel/CO2 42.2 mpg / 178 g/km Acceleration 0-62mph: 8sec Top speed 143 mph Price From £33756.00 approx Release date 01/06/2009
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