When we first drove the S80 one of our biggest criticisms was the level of company car tax a driver would be paying compared to the sector’s best – the BMW 5-series.
Volvo has now gone some way to fixing the issue by offering a 136PS 2.0-litre diesel engine as its entry diesel where previously it was a 163PS 2.4 diesel.
The best news is the 2.0-litre suits the car well. It’s powerful enough for motorway work and has first-class refinement.
As for tax, the S80 in £23,805 SE spec sits in the 21% band meaning a monthly bill of £166 for a 40% tax payer. Not bad, but still not as low as a BMW 520d SE owner who’d be paying £162 a month, despite the 520d costing £3000 more in the first place.
Verdict: The pick of the range, but still no serious rival for a 5-series thanks to cost per mile of 50.6p
