| First Drive | Hampshire, England | Volvo S80 T5 |

Volvo has eschewed its long-standing T5 five-cylinder petrol engine in favour of a new 2.0-litre GTDi four-cylinder unit - also called the T5. It's available in the S60, V60, XC60, V70 and the S80. We tried it out in the latter.

In the Metal

It's all about the engine here, so there's nothing much to report on the looks front. The Volvo S80 still has the same sober yet classic looks that make it very much the clean cut Swedish saloon. You'd never pick it out of a crowd, but if comfort, lots of equipment and understatement are your things, then it's got it licked.

What you get for your Money

The Volvo S80 starts at £26,740, which is competitive, but the sting in its tail is the depreciation, which can be heavy. Equipment is pretty generous, though - the S80 gets things like climate control, electrically adjustable seats and an mp3-compatible stereo even in basic ES spec.

The new engine has superior fuel economy to its predecessor and offers 35.8mpg with 184g/km, which isn't bad for a large, petrol-engined saloon. Autos are, as expected, a little less frugal, with 34mpg and 193g/km, but that's hardly blasphemous.

Driving it

Large, mid-premium saloon cars with sizeable petrol engines are a dying breed. The popularity of diesels in this sector - and the savage depreciation of any such car that doesn't have an oil-burner up front - has all but ousted such cars from this corner of the market.

We can't help but hold a candle for cars like the Volvo S80, though. Yes, you can have a diesel engine (and most buyers probably will), but there's something quite nostalgic about a big four-door with a pokey petrol lump - and the Volvo personifies that.

For a start, it's hardly short of power, as the 2.0-litre four-cylinder, twin-cam unit offers 237bhp and 236lb.ft of torque. That's enough to shift the S80 to 62mph in 7.5 seconds, which is not bad at all. Volvo has extracted the power and kept emissions to a minimum by using a very small turbocharger. The Swedish firm reckons that this generation of T5 engine has the industry's smallest turbocharger in relation to the engine's power output.

What's more, though it doesn't have the urgency of a torquey turbodiesel engine with an average-large blower, the S80's latest engine is smooth and suitably refined. Road noise is reasonably well contained, too, so in true big Volvo fashion, it's a comfortable barge that's ideal for long distance work. It truly seems like the last of the big, petrol-engined saloons, which is a little bit sad.

Worth Noting

In its efforts to improve efficiency, Volvo has fitted the T5 engine with what it calls Regenerative Charging. This involves the use of a monitoring system, located within the car's battery terminal, which works out the most efficient time to charge the battery, and does so accordingly. Such a system obviously lowers strain on the engine, and Volvo reckons it makes for a 1.5 percent reduction in fuel consumption.

Summary

It may be one of a dying breed, but we're quite taken with the Volvo S80 T5. It's quick, comfortable and smooth, which is exactly what a big, old school petrol saloon should be. A diesel version still makes more sense, especially when you factor in the lesser depreciation, but there's something captivating about a car that's as honest as this Volvo.