Volvo V70/S80 (2013) – Facelift Friday

The appearance of the Volvo V70 as a model was in itself a facelift, namely that of the 850 from the 90s. At the renewal round of 1996, that car was called S70 (sedan) or V70 (station wagon), depending on the body shape. This edition was followed in 2000 by an all-new V70, which, together with the sedan brother S60, also appeared in this section before. Today it is the turn of the last V70, which was presented in 2007. Interestingly, the sedan equivalent of the somewhat legendary station wagon was again renamed: this time it was ‘S80’, and thus it was the successor to the model that was still considered the bigger brother of the S60 at the time of the previous V70. gold. That doesn’t make much sense, but we have to deal with it.

royal family

With that choice, the V70 also grew considerably in length when it entered its last generation. The 2007 model was therefore more than ever before an alternative to cars such as the BMW 5-series Touring and Audi A6 Avant, models that are attacked even more directly with the arrival of the successor V90. As befits a real Volvo, the last V70 was sleek and tidy. As far as we are concerned, it is therefore still a very representative appearance. The straight rear is typical V70 and that also applies to the high rear lights, which were fitted with LED technology right from the start. The S80 is also still a sleek appearance, which, thanks to its modest appearance, was often and gladly used as business transport in the Netherlands. Yes, also by the Royal Family!

Second update

After an earlier, much smaller update in 2011, the first real facelift was announced in February 2013. The main ingredient: chromium. Both the V70 and the S80 received a whole load of it. It was divided over the grille, front bumper and even rear lights, where the V70 in particular was given a thick, shiny edge. New LED technology brought lights for this model that now burned from top to bottom, where previously only the lower part was used for the actual rear lights. The headlights were stripped of their orange reflector in countries where this was possible. The above ‘sliding plate’ shows a facelift V70 with halogen headlights, on which the orange seems more present than with the more popular xenon viewers. This relatively simple version is also not equipped with the chrome in the bumper, which more expensive versions did receive. It is also clear what the differences in design are. For example, the grille is much wider and the three separate cooling openings at the bottom of the bumper have been fused into one sleek whole. Better? The word is again yours!