Volvo S80 Owner's Manual page 103

03 Your driving environment
Gearboxes
Move the lever forwards towards + (plus) to
change up a gear and release the lever, which
returns to its rest position at M.
Pull the lever back towards – (minus) to change
down a gear and release the lever.
The manual gearshift mode M can be selected
03
at any time while driving.
To return to automatic driving mode: move the
lever to the left-hand end position at D.
Geartronic automatically shifts down if the
driver allows the speed to decrease lower than
a level suitable for the selected gear, in order
to avoid jerking and stalling.
NOTE
If the gearbox has a Sport programme then
the gearbox will only become manual after
the lever has been moved forwards or back-
wards in its M position. The information dis-
play then shifts the indication from
show which of the gears
Geartronic - Sport mode (S)
The Sport programme provides sportier cha-
racteristics and allows higher engine speed for
the gears. At the same time it responds more
quickly to acceleration. During active driving,
1 Only on the 3.0 model.
102
the use of a lower gear is prioritised, leading to
a delayed upshift.
Sport mode is obtained by moving the lever
from D position to the right-hand end position
at M. The information display shifts the indica-
tion from
Sport mode can be selected at any time while
driving.
Geartronic - Winter mode
It can be easier to pull away on slippery roads
if 3rd gear is engaged manually.
1. Depress the brake pedal and move the
gear lever from position D to the right-hand
end position at M - the instrument panel
display shifts the indication from
figure
2. Scroll up to gear 3 by pushing the lever
forward towards + (plus) twice - the display
shifts the indication from
S to
3. Release the brake and accelerate carefully.
1 – 6 is engaged.
The gearbox "winter mode" means that the car
moves off with a lower engine speed and
1
reduced engine power on the drive wheels.
Kick-down
When the accelerator pedal is pressed all the
way to the floor (beyond the position normally
D to S .
D to the
1 .
1 3
to .
regarded as full acceleration) a lower gear is
immediately engaged. This is known as kick-
down.
If the accelerator is released from the kick-
down position, the gearbox automatically
changes up.
Kick-down is used when maximum accelera-
tion is needed, such as for overtaking.
Safety function
To prevent overrevving the engine, the gearbox
control program has a protective downshift
inhibitor which prevents the kick-down func-
tion.
Geartronic does not permit downshifting/kick-
down which would result in an engine speed
high enough to damage the engine. Nothing
happens if the driver still tries to shift down in
this way at high engine speed – the original
gear remains engaged.
When kick-down is activated the car can
change one or more gears at a time depending
on engine speed. The car changes up when the
engine reaches its maximum speed in order to
prevent damage to the engine.