Volvo has dressed up the S80 for 2010 with sharper, bolder trim. Most noticeable is the Volvo trademark spear-and-shield logo in the center of the grille, which is now much larger than before, becoming the visual focus for the front end. A subtle bright strip now connects the foglights below the bumper, at about the same level as the now-standard bright trim piece on the lower doors. Around back, bright accents underscore the tail lamps and emphasize the dual exhausts.

The Volvo S80 may be the best looking sedan in the mid-range luxury class. It's arguably the most distinctive. Younger people may find that surprising, but folks with longer memories will not. From the late 1940s, well into the 1970s, Volvos ranged from functionally handsome (recall the 122 and 144 sedans) to quirky-sexy (the 1800 ES Sport wagon). For a while after that, as tighter budgets for new-model development forced Volvo to de-prioritize styling, the company cleverly promoted packing-crate ugliness as a self-righteous virtue. It was a successful strategy, and it bought the independent Swedish automaker another 20 years of survival. Thankfully, however, sometime in the 1990s Volvo rediscovered curves.

Americans got an eyeful of Volvo's slinky new style when the first-generation S80 debuted in 1998. It was low and sleek, and rounded at the nose; but with broad shoulders and slab sides suggesting the much-loved 122 of 1956. Strikingly distinctive taillights followed the tapered contours of its rear quarter panels. About all the S80 seemed to share with the Volvos of the previous two decades were its six-window greenhouse and the diagonal stripe across its grille. Visually, it had more in common with a Jaguar than with any Volvo in a generation. And it set the style for every Volvo that's come since.

The latest S80, which debuted for the 2007 model year, dispenses with even the six-window roofline, favoring the semi-fastback profile of the smaller Volvo S60. As a result, perhaps, the current S80 looks a bit like a bigger version of a little Volvo. But it's also even sleeker than previous S80's, and the new roof is said to work better in the wind tunnel. The current S80 is also rounder in the corners, and higher in the tail, where it retains a less massive rendition of those intriguingly three-dimensional tail lamps. Up front, a domed hood still flows into a rectangular grille transected by Volvo's trademark diagonal stripe. The bumpers are clear of arbitrary detail. Bright moldings highlight the lower doors.

The S80 is comparable in size to the 2010 Mercedes-Benz E-Class, Cadillac CTS, and Lexus GS.

Wheels on the S80 3.2 are a 17-inch design Volvo calls Cassini, with a bright-finish, nine-spoke pattern. The T6 moves up to 18-inch wheels, and a pattern called Odysseus, which looks a bit like a five-bladed fan. The V8 comes with 18-inch Balius wheels, with a turbine-rotor look, that are included as part of the Executive Package on the six-cylinder cars. The 18-inch Fortuna Diamond Cut, optional for the S80 3.2 and T6, has seven spokes with machined surfaces at the tips.

The Personal Car Communicator is an electronic key fob that can lock or unlock the S80 from distances up to 110 yards, and can tell you what state the locks are in. It can activate the alarm, and can sense the presence of a human heartbeat inside the car.

Interior

For 2010, Volvo has added more jewelry to the S80 interior. Silk metal trim, a metallic surface with a softened gloss, outlines the center console and highlights the steering wheel spokes, resulting in a more expensive, up-market appearance.

The instruments in the S80 are mounted in the traditional Volvo trapezoidal binnacle, and Volvo's watch dial instrument faces are standard on all S80 models. The freestanding center stack that connects the dashboard to the console is a key design element, adding a Bang & Olufsen kind of elegance to the interior. An analog clock at the center of the panel is available on some models.

The switches, controls and instruments follow traditional Volvo themes, but everything is contemporary, including the tachometer and speedometer, more classic and less industrial than in previous designs.

The navigation system, when ordered, pops up out of the dashtop, either by using the steering-wheel-mounted controls on the right rear of the wheel or the provided remote control, which stores in the console. We found the steering wheel controls fussy and hard to use, but owners will figure them out quickly. Revisions for 2010 include a new start-up screen with more user-friendly icons and more distinctive menus.

A menu system also tailors the seats, rearview mirrors, climate control, audio, navigation, and, the amount of steering wheel feel in the V8's speed-dependent power steering system.

The sumptuous surroundings in the S80 are amplified by the wonderfully comfortable seats and the generous front and rear legroom that helps to put the S80 squarely in the luxury class. The seats are available plain, heated, or heated and cooled.

The 160-watt, eight-speaker sound system will play MP3 files and has an auxiliary input for iPods and other players. A USB port has been added for 2010. Also available is a five-channel, 12-speaker Dolby Pro Logic II surround-sound system developed with Dynaudio.