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The S80 has served us well. It's a 2005 and we purchased it used off of a Volvo dealer in 2008? with 72,000 miles. We figured if someone traded it in on a new Volvo then they must have been happy enough with it. (Contrast that with when you see a used Volvo for sale at a Toyota dealer - not a good sign.) Then again it may have just been an off-lease vehicle, I don't recall the dealer's story about it.
When we bought it our local Volvo mechanic told us to go for the 2.5T and avoid any 6 cyl or dual turbo engines. I think that was good advice.
We now have about 205,000 miles on it. Replacing the radiator about five years ago and the heater core a year or two ago have probably been the biggest repairs needed since we've owned it. The car still makes the frequent 850 mile trek between TX and GA without hesitation and we've found it can earn us speeding tickets quite easily. Cruising at 82 MPH is no sweat and it will get about 29 MPG highway in the process. But as we sit and add up what the car needs to bring it back to like-new condition, we are starting to think it's getting about time to start shopping for a replacement - front suspension work, motor mounts, subframe bushings, typically crappy Volvo radio, HVAC unit that is allowing outside air to flow into the passengers foot well, worn leather on drivers seat, noisy radiator fan, noisy P/S pump, hood won't stay up because of weak support struts, and probably more that I can't think of at the moment. But dang, the car still looks really nice! A 2015-20016 S80 with the 4 cyl turbo and 37 MPG highway looks really attractive.
We also own a 2003 V70 which is a good car in its own right and very much like the S80. However there are some differences between the two. The S80 just "feels" a bit heavier and more solid than the V70. You sit up a bit higher in the S80. There are some subtle build quality differences also. For example are the inside door levers - the V70/S60 cars have a cheap plastic actuator that is mounted to the back side of the inner door panel and is prone to breaking. On the S80 the actuator is beefier and is actually mounted to the metal door structure, as it should be. I think the S80 has more extensive insulation and sound deadening. More rear seat leg room in the S80 vs an S60. More comfortable and probably a bit larger front seats in the S80 than the V70/S60.
That would be my take on it. Good luck.
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Current rides: 2005 Volvo S80 2.5T, 2003 Volvo V70 2.4NA, 1973 Volvo 1800ES (getting ever closer to road worthiness)
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