It was back in 1998 when I first tested a Volvo S80, a breakthrough in more ways than one. It took the company into the luxury class and led to a new direction for Volvo styling. That direction has now taken another step forward, albeit evolutionary, with the 2007 S80, just launched in Geneva.

Autoweek tells us the new generation has a wider track, longer wheelbase and more sweeping lines but is no longer than the current model. Which, in my book, is a worthwhile accomplishment. The S80 also, says Autoweek, "incorporates many features never before seen in a Volvo, including several optional active safety systems."

This is the first Volvo sedan to be offered with an optional 4.4-liter, 315hp V-8, developed in concert with Yamaha, and gets an all-new 238hp inline six as standard. (The horsepower hounds will insist the V-8's the one to have but recalling my earlier test, I'd opt for the V-6.)

Volvo officials say the new S80 is much more agile than the old one. Interesting, since the S80 shares its platform, a stretched version of the European Ford Focus platform, with two European Ford minivans.