Orlando Sentinel's view

Quietly, Volvo continues to evolve. That evolution is sometimes so under-the-radar that a car such as the 2007 Volvo S80 sneaks up on you. Gone but not forgotten are the boxy, tanklike cars that made so many friends in the 1970s and 1980s, replaced for a while by competent but moderately anonymous cars that did not quite fit in.

The evolution began, I would submit, with the S60 and continued through a roster of very nice wagons, including the SUV-ish XC90. The flagship S80 always looked and felt like a car awaiting a revelation, and for 2007, that revelation has come: This is not a flagship because it’s big and expensive; it’s a flagship because it’s an astoundingly good car.

Built on a new platform assembled from Ford components, the S80 is offered with Volvo’s superb 4.4-liter, 311-horsepower V-8 engine, the first time Volvo has sold a sedan with V-8 power. The transmission is a six-speed automatic. The standard engine on the S80 is a new 3.2-liter inline six-cylinder with 235 horsepower, but this is one time I vote for spending the extra money to get the V-8.

That V-8 drives all four wheels in the test car, but you can get an S80 with front-wheel drive. Again, I vote for spending more on all-wheel drive. The test car’s base price of $47,350 includes the V-8 and all-wheel-drive, but it had enough options to raise the total to $56,025, including shipping. And even at that price, the Volvo is right there with comparable Audi A6, BMW 5-Series and Mercedes-Benz E-Class competitors.

The heart of the S80 is the excellent powertrain built, incidentally, in Japan. The power comes on immediately, the engine works nicely with the transmission, and the all-wheel drive guarantees traction.

The S80 has an adjustable suspension, but I generally left it on the softer setting, which offered an excellent ride and beyond-competent handling. The S80 loves twisty roads as much as any BMW.

Inside, the perforated leather bucket seats are heated and cooled. There is plenty of leg and elbow room up front, and in the rear, two adults will be very comfortable, three slightly less so. The view isn’t so good, though; typical of Volvo’s dedication to safety, the front seats have huge, nonadjustable headrests that are about all the rear-seat passenger can see.

Speaking of safety, the S80 comes with stability control; anti-lock brakes with electronic brake distribution and assistance; side and side-curtain air bags: and pretty much everything else you can imagine. That said, I contend that the best safety features are those that allow you to avoid a crash, and the all-wheel-drive and crisp handling contribute to that goal. One feature I like a lot, though others don’t, is a blind-spot sensor: A small yellow light located near each side mirror illuminates when a vehicle is to your immediate right or left rear, outside the area a mirror might reflect. It provided just that little bit of extra assurance when changing lanes. It’s an extra $595 but worth it.

Options on the test car included some I would forgo, including the adaptive cruise control ($1,495), which I think is more trouble than it’s worth. And in the South, the heated windshield-washer nozzles and high-pressure headlamp cleaners wouldn’t be missed. A package that includes 18-inch wheels and Pirelli tires, ventilated seats, leather, xenon headlights and an active suspension is, at $2,495, money well-spent.

For the first time, Volvo is prepared to play head-to-head with its midsized European luxury rivals. Nicely done.

CONSUMER INFORMATION

Base price: $47,350. Price as tested: $56,025. EPA rating: 17 mpg city, 25 mpg highway. Details: Front-engine, all-wheel-drive sedan with a 4.4-liter, 311-horsepower V-8 and a 6-speed automatic transmission.