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Speak of Volvo in India and the first quizzical response is ‘normal or multi-axle’ ?

Most of you would have got the joke but for the uninitiated, Volvo is better known as a luxury bus maker in our country, more than anything else. Although they have been selling their sedans and SUVs for almost half a decade to us, the brand is yet to register itself into our heads as a serious luxury car maker. Totally forgivable was then the recent incident, where my friend and CEO of an IT company, asked his accountant to transfer some funds for purchase of a Volvo. Instant was the reply- Are you gonna buy yourself a bus Boss??? The coy boss-man couldn’t help but laugh it off.

Even for a car lover like me, Volvo has never been the first name at the idea of getting a car in 30-50 lacs bracket. Not that I doubt the Swedish on their car making expertise but for the fact that they never launched a car in our country which exudes the kind of flash value, which we Indians are too fond of. Not for nothing does the Audi’s LED shine through everyone’s eye, or the 3 pointed-star pulling most high-heeled into its rear seat or a Beemer which does nothing but acts as gravity to skilled drivers, on the lookout of some unadulterated driving fun.

Now the million dollar question is who is Volvo targeting their products at ?

 If asked to answer in a word, I could only gape. And to solve the riddle, I called up my friend and asked to let me take a drive on his brand new 2012 Volvo S80 D5. For the luck I carry, he obliged and the very next Sunday morning, he tossed the key-less remote to his Magic-blue car which stood before me, all clean and shiny (the dust you see in the pics are courtesy me and my recklessness). To begin with, even though she doesn’t have that ‘in your face’ effect, she sure has an aura about her. A selfless charm which says ‘I prefer to be this way’.  The front end indeed is very boring to my taste but the streamlined headlamp cluster, the long bonnet and a slanting windscreen does make for a minimalistic designed high-end car. Walk to the side and you start liking the design. The long flowing line with a very high order of paint job does make it striking. The chrome rim around the green house lends an unmistakable upmarket feel while the 17 inch alloys adds to the unintended sportiness. Walk around to its rear and you realize the design is growing on you. Distinctive is the word that comes to mind looking at its derriere. Although subtle but nowhere close to the subdued front end. In fact the rear three quarters is where she looks her best from.

Enough of ogling, I slid myself into the luxurious cabin and instantly found myself a position spot on. Just like the exterior, the interior carries a clam effect helped by an uncluttered dash layout. No way are my words to be misunderstood as pale for the materials used are all top notch. Run your fingers around and in no time you realize the quality is of very high order. The dials are legible and have the new signature blue effect in it. The thick leather wrapped steering wheel feels great to hold and the large seats feel adequately supportive and comfy. Special mention for the wood inserts in the dash and the water-fall style centre console, very classy job at that.

It was time to let go and I thumbed the 2.4 litre, 5 cylinder diesel motor to life. Off we moved on the winding MC road and I must say, the S80 behaved in a very mature way. Ride quality is plush and it felt obedient even at more than moderate speeds. The engine felt smooth, maybe not in the league of a six pot motor but way better than a four. The six speed automatic transmission though a bit slow but shifted seamlessly and went on its job rather meticulously. About 25 miles and I was already getting bored of its uneventful nature. So there came my last resort to make this drive a bit more interesting and I slotted her into sport mode, which also turns the shifter into manual override. Voila!! In a jiffy her nature changed from tamed to what I would call wild. Thanks to the engine now revving all the way to its red line changing the game plan completely. I could keep her nailed forever through the apex, screaming her lungs out and then shift up on entering the straight at my will, only to gain a new surge of power from its twin turbo engine producing a staggering 42.82 kgm of torque.

 
The 205PS S80 crosses the ton in sub 9 secs and finding the needle parked past 150km/h wasn’t a herculean task even on not-so-straight roads. Though composed in nature, she isn’t eager to throw around her 1.8tonne body mass or read quick lane changes and rather leaves the crown for flickability to the Beemers.

It has to be mentioned that the noise levels on the S80 isn’t what I expected. She gets pretty audible at higher revs and the cabin insulation wouldn’t hold a candle to the serene atmosphere you find inside an E class. But that said, while lazing in the auto mode shifting around 3000 rpm, your conversation hardly gets disrupted. Talk acceleration and deceleration comes into the picture rather automatically and this car sheds speed with no drama whatsoever. In fact the braking felt totally sure-footed and stopped in the most predictable manner.

The proud owner Flt Lt. Binu Jacob

Interestingly enough, my friend (owner of the car) couldn’t stop talking about various gizmos, which apparently makes this car one of the safest places to be in while out on the Indian roads. Our discussion on Nordic race had to be left midway as our 90 minute drive came to an end pretty soon.

Now I am back typing my first impression of the S80 while also thinking of an answer to whom Volvo caters its cars to. After driving for about 100 odd kilometres, I vouch that this car looks decent, is spacious, has a powerful and efficient diesel motor, rides well, is tech laden and is well priced too. It does almost everything well and that’s exactly what the problem is. Coz I can’t think of an area where it does things better than its competitors leaving aside the safety paraphernalia it comes equipped with, which I wouldn’t dare try unless ofcourse destined for the unfortunate. Or what I am trying to say here is that instead of being focused to any particular trait, Volvo has chosen to play it safe with its S80 acting an all-rounder to please all n sundry. 

That said, I guess it’s more to do with the lack of aggression at Volvo India’s marketing team which keeps their product stuck at dealers stock yard. With such high quality and an off-the-shelf dealer price, I say it’s a steal. 

So, the targeted audience for the ‘safest car’ maker seems to be a bunch of sensible and self-effacing car buyers scattered around the green planet. But if a head-turning device is what you are looking for, then the Germans would serve you better. 
British the best..!!