THIS time around, Volvo might just have the real article. The first S80 was a lame attempt at lifting the Swedish company from its middle-class image to something capable of talking on the might of Germany in the luxury sector. It ticked many of the boxes, but it missed out in a couple of significant areas – ride and handling, engine performance – and that looked even more ludicrous when you looked at the pricing. Now, an all-new S80 appears, featuring not just a suspension that has finally nailed the elusive ride-handling compromise that has always eluded Volvo, but also a brisk, 4.4-litre Yamaha V8 that drives through all four wheels to give the company flagship some genuine on-road authority. And the pricing is no longer off the planet, with the base D5 version tagged at just $72,000 and the V8 cheaper than the last of the previous T6 models at $95,000. For Volvo’s sake, let’s hope all this gives the leverage to provide an alternative to the dominant Germans.