Shed Of The Week: Volvo S80
Big Volvo, big luxury, very little money - fancy it?
Mmm, gold
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
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
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!
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.
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.
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...
5 years and 100k miles later I finally got rid. Great cars, comfortable, reliable (intercoolers also a weak point but cheaply changed) great SOTW.
All for three lease payments on something not quite as comfy.
Best shed this year ! seems unfair to call it a shed, it looks very tidy, cant imagine it doesnt look much different from new, shed to me says rotten old heap like we had in the eighties, this is just an older car.
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...
I can confirm they're built like tanks; a Dutch registered one used my Peugeot 106 as a brake at Scotch Corner. The noise was biblical when it hit me, I half expected the little Pug to be 2 feet shorter, there wouldn't have been a scratch on the Volvo had she not hit my towing eye.
For something that comfortable and capable on long journeys - bloody great at what it's there to do.
Yes it's not a sports car but it's a SHED, that's not always the point.
Can you imagine how depressing it must be to be reading PH from another country where this cornucopia of shedness is three or four times the cost to buy/run?
Had very few issues with it beyond ABS rings (cheeeeeep!), new cambelt and a few weeks ago the AWD has gone offline. I expect a big bill. That said the car is astonishingly well made, not corrosion, quality components, very easy to spanner. Last year got some perfect newly refurbished wheels with brand spanking new winter tyres for it.
Fantastic car for a long trip, so big and comfy and quiet. Amazingly good sound system too. Rapid too, except round bends where it's very boaty.
Great shed!
- A shed
- Cheap (but still twice as much as these go through auction for)
- Solid (great minicab back in the day, can't say I've ever been in one that wasn't)
I bought an old S60 for motorway use, D5 auto, done 160k miles, I've added 6,000 miles in the last 3 months, no problems so far, returns near 50 mpg at 80+ and has the most comfortable seats I can think of in any car.
If you'd have asked me this morning, wether I like the look of the 1st S80, I'd have said: Yes!
But not anymore after I've seen this SOTW.... Same generation V70 has aged well better!
If it would be a 5cyl petrol, or an i6, it would be a great shed tough! Not so much as a Diesel, imo...
If you'd have asked me this morning, wether I like the look of the 1st S80, I'd have said: Yes!
But not anymore after I've seen this SOTW.... Same generation V70 has aged well better!
If it would be a 5cyl petrol, or an i6, it would be a great shed tough! Not so much as a Diesel, imo...
These are excellent cars, the S60 can be rather cramped and they solve that nicely. The 2.4T with 200bhp and a low pressure turbo is the one to have.
Executive models are extremely well equipped, even the sat nav on 2002 onwards models is still usable and who doesn't have need of a fridge between the rears seats?
I'm a big fan of the older saloon car as a Shed purchase (previously had a Rover 620 for exactly that reason) and these have caught my eye, in case I ever have to part with the company car.
Interesting to see that the diesel models are at Shed money. Saloon sheddery is all well and good until you need to do 25k miles a year if it's a petrol car returning 25mpg, at which point the lack of depreciation in the background starts to get overshadowed by the twice-weekly £50+ fill-up.
To add some balance, the Volvo employee could just as easily have been Barry from Finance, who is known for ragging cars from cold, uses the wrong viscosity of oil, uses kerbs to feel his way into spaces, and never uses the handbrake when slamming the gearbox into park.
One would hope it's the former, rather than the latter in this case, but always worth an ask.
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