I share your feeling about the s80, it is a solid car. I have an '01 s80 and an '98 s70. Ovearll the S80 has been much more reliable, though the s70T5M is much more fun, as the right foot goes down the smile gets bigger.

On the oil change, yes you have to drop the skid pan to get to both the drain and the filter, it is kinda of a pain. Before you try the job, get the proper oil filter wrench, I have the IPD one and it works great. The filter is really hard to get off by hand, it is a plastic filter case which seals to the engine with an o-ring. The o-ring drags (rubbs) along the sealing surface for a good four turns of the filter so it is real tight to turn off and on. I think volvo sells a tool also but most of the posts (and my local volvo parts dept) recommend the IPD tool.

Good luck and happy rolling