Volvo S80 4.4 V8 (+Pics and bonus exhaust clips)

[ChrisB992]

Well hello there... long time lurker, first time(ish) poster. I've long since been a fan of Volvo's (previous car was an ex-popo V70 T5 that I put ~100k miles on) and wanted something to scratch that V8 itch. Of course that left only one option: S80 V8.

Actually there were two options, I was half-tempted by a D3 A8 4.2 having had a diesel A8 in the past (which I also loved). I think for the money the A8 is better value (spec, handling, power, etc), but it doesn't quite have the "unicorn-rare-credentials" that are always nice to have. According to howmanyleft, there are only ~100 left on the road in the UK - not that there were many more at peak.

I was searching for a couple of months with a limited budget in mind. There isn't a whole lot of choice, especially when most seem to be advertised for completely unrealistic prices (see https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&... ...). I ended up paying £4.5k for mine, which to me seems like a pretty reasonable figure for the amount of Swedish metal involved!

Without further ado, a couple of pics:





I've now had it for 6 months and covered just over 5k miles, so I'm in a position to share my thoughts of what it's like to live with day-to-day. There have been no faults (knock on wood) with the car, the only things I've had done are:

• Full service by a trusted independent. £500
• Ran some redex through. £3
• All 4 wheels had slow 'punctures'. Turns out there was corrosion on the inside of the rim. Local tyre place ground away the corrosion for a perfect seal and refit the tyres. £65

So, the good:

• Sounds FANTASTIC
• Uber comfy
• Quick enough

The not-so-good:

• Highest tax bracket (duh...)
• It is a barge, and so it handles like one.
• I've averaged about 23.5mpg... which was obviously going to be the case, and to me is acceptable and worth it.

A couple of friends have been encouraging me to get an exhaust, but I honestly don't think it needs it. I think a car like this is easy to ruin with unnecessary mods. At the end of the day it's not an RS6... nevertheless, I'd be interested to hear your thoughts!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cv7X9UwqBB0 (Startup/Acceleration/Launch vid)

Bonus 2021 exhaust clip:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKmPMs-h8ZI

Edited by ChrisB992 on Thursday 7th January 14:36

Edited by ChrisB992 on Thursday 7th January 15:11

[MJK 24]

Great cars. Drove a few back in the day.

Amazingly, yours looks to have been a retail sale when new. Many started life on Volvo’s fleet. AF, AG, AJ, AK, AN registrations are the giveaway there.

Looking forward to following this.

[Veeayt]

XC90 V8 could have been another option, no? Nice wheels Sir

[anonymous-user]

Proper q car, Yamaha developed it if I remember correctly, sounds fruity.

[Berkshire bred]

Nice, love it and I'm not normally into barges! Could be an effective sleeper if you don't know what you're looking for.

Looks like it shifts aswell, what are the numbers with this, weight, acceleration, top end, horsepower, torque?

[Croutons]

Thesprucegoose said:

Proper q car, Yamaha developed it if I remember correctly, sounds fruity.

Well, they built it to print, as per the contract. Telling Volvo they'd get some sludging thanks to crap cooling internally and to he careful externally. Which Volvo ignored, and the first batch of units (US XC90's mainly) duly sludged up.

These are fine though. I miss my old blue one, which was Volvo management.

[ChrisB992]

MJK 24 said:

Amazingly, yours looks to have been a retail sale when new. Many started life on Volvo’s fleet. AF, AG, AJ, AK, AN registrations are the giveaway there.

Interesting! A lot of what I've read about them on here seems people acquired them from ex-Volvo fleet (at massive discounts!), like you say.

Veeayt said:

XC90 V8 could have been another option, no? Nice wheels Sir

That is true. The things that put me off though were the extra 400kg and I just don't think they've aged _quite_ as well, now the new XC90 is everywhere. With that said, I did park up next to an S90 (T8!) a few weeks ago, which admittedly did make the S80 look ancient! Oh well.

Berkshire bred said:

Looks like it shifts aswell, what are the numbers with this, weight, acceleration, top end, horsepower, torque?

Weight: ~1750kg, BHP: 315, Torque: 440nm... There seems to be conflicting stats online for anywhere between 5.5 - 6.5 seconds 0-60. I'll have to do a timed run myself at some point. It feels relatively quick to me, but I haven't had the most exciting car history.

[thebraketester]

Love it..... was that clumber park in the video?

[spreadsheet monkey]

ChrisB992 said:

I ended up paying £4.5k for mine, which to me seems like a pretty reasonable figure for the amount of Swedish metal involved!

Cool car, love the rarity value of these. I think that's a good price, compared to similar age Audi or BMW V8 barges.

[anonymous-user]

That pic up there just shows how well older Volvos age. I'm still not struck on the rear lights on the new models either.

[S100HP]

Another Volvo fan here. Nice car!

[spreadsheet monkey]

ChrisB992 said:

A couple of friends have been encouraging me to get an exhaust, but I honestly don't think it needs it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cv7X9UwqBB0 (Startup/Acceleration/Launch vid)

No need for an exhaust. Car sounds great as it is, particularly the launch at the end of that video.

[anonymous-user]

Massive fan of this OP. Looks fantastic, great spec and price. A proper Q car and comfortable. Seriously considering something similar to take over some of my car's duties.

[CarlosSainz100]

I drive an S60 diesel bought from a fellow piston header...your video is making me look at the classifieds and to hell with the mpg, the noise from your V8 is epic!!!

Brilliant

[PorkRind]

Nice sounding car but why so low bhp, id expect more like 400 out of a 4.4 v8?

[thebraketester]

PorkRind said:

Nice sounding car but why so low bhp, id expect more like 400 out of a 4.4 v8?

Well I guess you could whack a few turbos on it like in the noble m600....

Bmw 4.4L that was used in the x5 for example only made ~300bhp.

[Parisien]

ChrisB992 said:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cv7X9UwqBB0 (Startup/Acceleration/Launch vid)

Ooooooohhhhh yes, what a glorious sound, the nicest sound track out there, you have my permission to go for it!!!

But the exhaust on it doesn't sound standard, if so magnificent!


P

Edited by Parisien on Tuesday 2nd October 11:21

[ChrisB992]

thebraketester said:

Love it..... was that clumber park in the video?

Yep, well spotted!

PorkRind said:

Nice sounding car but why so low bhp, id expect more like 400 out of a 4.4 v8?

I thought the same when I first looked up the figures. Kind of hoping that not being quite so "highly strung" will help on the reliability front (and fuel economy isn't properly abysmal).

[ChrisB992]

Update over a year on, after approaching 3 years of ownership:

All still running well. No nasty surprises (knock on wood)... just routine servicing and tyres. I have an intermittent engine management light (comes/goes ever other month or so) that relates to fuel rail pressure. Haven't concerned myself overly with getting it looked at. I've now covered about 25,000 miles in it and honestly, it's great. I've continued to average about 23mpg, which I can live with, especially in covid times.

There's nothing on the market new or otherwise that would tempt me away. Part of me thinks a D3 Audi A8 with the W12 would be cool, but not sure I dare tempt fate with the bills something like that could produce.

Anyway, here's a few more pics and an exhaust clip:







and

[thiscocks]

Very nice. Good quality vid. I like the fact it has the same exhust tips as my V70! 23mpg isnt that bad either really for a heftyish car with a 4.4 V8. What's the gearbox like? Guess they modified it a bit over standard?