Friday 28th April 2017

Shed Of The Week: Volvo S80

Big Volvo, big luxury, very little money - fancy it?

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There might be plenty of miles on the clock, but that doesn't mean there aren't plenty more yet in the old girl.

Mmm, gold

That's what Mrs Shed's Dad told Shed on his wedding night, with his warty old index finger delicately poised on the trigger of the ancient shotgun that now sits in Shed's actual shed, dissuading unwelcome visitors to said shed, like Mrs Shed.

Apart from possibly being some sort of world record for the most mentions of the word 'shed', that sentence also contains an enduring principle of automotive wisdom, which is that you should never ignore a car just because it's been to a few more places than some others.

Which brings us to this Volvo S80. AFASK, this 170,000-mile specimen marks the SOTW debut for the S80, Volvo's entry into the then red-hot exec market dominated by the BMW 5 Series and the Mercedes E-Class. It was the front-wheel drive replacement for the angular 960 saloon and visually quite different to it, what with its naughty adoption of curves and such.

When it first appeared on British roads, the S80 seemed like an outrageously large car to Shed, but then he went to Los Angeles where it suddenly became a much attractive compact vehicle, especially in bright colours. It was an odd phenomenon, and there's probably a name for it - environmental displacement syndrome, perhaps.

Mmm, beige

Anyway, if you chose the right version, the S80 was a very comfortable alternative to the usual suspects as long as you weren't looking for ultimate handling prowess while you bashed out the motorway miles between Reading and Runcorn.

The S80 was an interesting car in some ways. This example is from the middle of the first-gen S80 run, which spanned the period between 1998 and 2006. Besides state of the art safety tech like SIPS, WHIPS and for all we know CHIPS, though that might be something else, the S80 was unusual in the choice of engines Volvo put on offer. Initially there was a 2.4 petrol five-cylinder in two states of tune - 139hp and 168hp - that could also be had with CNG or LPG fuelling; a 2.9-litre straight six petrol producing 193hp, a 2.8-litre twin-turbo lump generating 268hp in the T6; and a 138hp VW-sourced 2.5 diesel.

The year 2000 brought a 200hp light-pressure turbo 2.5T, followed a year later by the car we have here, the 2.4-litre five-pot D5 common-rail diesel pumping out 161hp. As usual, Shed will be donning his tin hat in readiness for the complaints about these numbers all being wrong. If they are, then his defence is that they must surely be right at some point in the cars' various lifetimes. The important point being that it must have been murder working in Volvo's engine development department back then.

Mmm, Volvo

Anyway, our Shed's engine has 251lb ft of torque and a combined mpg figure of just over 43, numbers that will be music to the ears of the tight-fisted Shedman. With 31mph for every 1,000rpm, the D5 is very much an easy like Sunday morning mile-muncher, offering supreme comfort from those big squishy chairs and a massive (for the time) spec, including a top-kwoll stereo.

The build quality is very good. In fact these early cars could represent some kind of S80 sweet spot, being relatively unencumbered by the electrical complication that has bedevilled the motor industry over the last decade. Some folk reckon there's not that much S80 interior space for the size of the car, while others say they've had five big blokes in there no problem.

But let's not keep banging on about Mrs Shed. Mechanically speaking, 'Geartronic' is not a word guaranteed to fill you with an airy sense of everything being right with the world. They do have a bit of a reputation but you can delay or forestall problems by enhancing transmission oil cooling. The cooling system is modular, which means you can tack on extra modules to boost capacity. It's almost as if Volvo expected this system to play up, or something.

Mmm, £850!

Poor D5 starting could be an indicator of Bosch injector trouble. That was a known thing on pre-2002 cars and can be very expensive to rectify. Our Shed is a 2002, so make your own call on that. You also need to keep an eye on timing belts, tensioners and pulleys. Four years/60,000 miles is the accepted interval. The tensioners are supposed to last for eight years or 96,000 miles, but reality says otherwise.

This particular car has had a little preventative suspension maintenance done but otherwise the MoT history is pretty spotless. Volvo did a couple of recalls in the early 2000s to sort out steering and suspension issues. As Shed will grimly confirm, you really don't want issues with your ball joints.

Here's the ad.

Absolutely fully loaded, luxurious, comfortable, reliable gold Volvo S80 D5.

Brilliant smooth, virtually bulletproof D5 5 cylinder diesel engine which has tonnes of torque and a very good, smooth through-the-range power delivery. It's never missed a beat in the 40,000 miles I've run it for.

Full service history with a folder full of receipts: maintenance has been consistent and impeccable the first owner working for Volvo.

MOT until September 2017

Just about every option you could imagine:

Electronic climate control
Heated front seats
Foglights in front spoiler
Trip computer
Headlamp cleaners
Volvo floor carpets / protection carpet set
Two illuminated vanity
Superb 10 speaker Dolby Prologic HU80X Dynaudio Hi-Fi- system, fitted with Yatour iPod.iPhone/SD card autochanger / adapter (SD card can be configured as 10 'CDs' each containing up to 99 mp3s)
Electronic auto dim rear view mirror
Air quality system
16"Sirius alloy wheels
Very clean for the age of the vehicle, full grey leather upholstry
Electric heated door mirrors
Factory fitted electric tilt/slide sunroof
Leather steering wheel
Neck rests
Cruise control

MOT until September 2017

As you might expect, this is not a new car, being 15 years old there are age related marks etc. Having said that, the overall condition is very good, interior is clean, leather is good and Volvo dip/galvanise all their cars so absolutely no rust on the bodywork.

[Maldini35]

Yes!

I've been shedding in one of these for the past 12 months and can confirm they are fantastic.
The most comfortable car I've ever driven.
Ubiquitous burgundy paint and hearing-aid beige interior might put some off - a mate asked if it came with a complimentary colostomy bag - but for munching the miles it is superb.
Like all good Volvo's the cabin heats up instantly on cold winter mornings, it has a huge holder for my morning coffee bucket, the radio is crystal clear, heated seats keep the inevitable lower back pain in check and the suspension smoothes out all ruts and potholes.
Of course it handles like a super tanker but there's even fun to be had playing with the not inconsiderable weight transfer - especially on wet roundabouts.

I thought I'd run mine for a few months as a stop gap but I genuinely love it now.

It's the perfect antidote for my other cars which I'm slowly ruining by trying to make them handle better on hypothetical track days...