1999 Volvo S80 Walkaround Review at Automotive.com
»Locate a Dealer»Find a Used Car»Get Financing
Volvo
S80
1999

1999 Volvo S80 Review: Exterior

Below is a full, detailed 1999 Volvo S80 review and road test from New Car Test Drive. A full evaluation of price, equipment, the driving experience, and specs are all here in a structured, easy-to-navigate format from journalists with limitless expe ...     read more
Find a Car
 

1999 Volvo S80 Review

This once utilitarian Scandinavian warms up with style.
Walkaround
Unless you're facing the signature grille, with its chromed vertical bars and diagonal slash, it's difficult to identify the S80 as a Volvo at first glance. Gone is the box-on-box construction that distinguished the Volvo profile for a generation. It's replaced by softer, less decisive lines: a gently sloping hood line, steeply raked windscreen, slightly bowed roofline and almost coupe-like rear window line. A short rear deck-lid completes the seductive silhouette. Every corner has been rounded to ease the severe angles one expects from a Volvo. And lightly sculpted doors and side panels flank its body in sensuous contrast to the big, slab-sided Volvos of old.

Flared wheel-wells circle 215/55R16 all-season tires. Our test car sat on classically styled alloy wheels featuring an interesting scalloped edge detail. The wheels, like so much of the S80, manage to be understated, and yet stylized, simultaneously.

All of the styling gambles Volvo took in designing the S80 culminate in the rear. Prominent, jewel-like taillights sit high on either side of the trunk, the lenses themselves forming the car's rear corners. They're molded in an interesting notched shape, giving the S80 a distinctive flavor that sets it apart from anything else on the road.

The S80 currently is available in two versions. The $36,395 S80 2.9 comes with a 2.9-liter 6-cylinder engine that produces 201 horsepower. The $40,960 S80 T-6 is equipped with a twin-turbocharged 2.8-liter that delivers 268 horsepower.

Volvo's navigational system is available for either model for $2,495. A Homelink Security System is available for $595. Dynamic Stability Traction Control is a $1,095 option, while 17-inch alloy wheels are available for an additional $395. Next Page


1999 Volvo S80