Hello everybody!

I'm new here, but not a new Volvo driver! My family has always had Volvos and I really do love them. My daily driver for the past year has been an 04 Pontiac Grand Prix GT. Recently after a trip to Colorado, the transmission began slipping quite badly. As it turns out, the tranny is more or less shot with 159K miles on it. No long trips or hard driving anymore. I really did love the car, but it's time for something different.

Right now, I have two choices. Our local Volvo mechanic has a 1997 850 Turbo Wagon, and an 04 V70 Turbo. I don't know the miles on either of them, but he has said both are in very nice condition. From a cursory Wikipedia comparison, the 97 850 seems to have more power (225 boosted up to 243?). I'm not sure what the power rating on the V70 is a bit confusing, so I'm not entirely sure what it is.

From a purely performance standpoint, which car would you guys choose? From an "amenities" point of view (heated seats, sunroof etc) which would be more "loaded"?

Thanks for the advice!

liamp51