I'm about to replace my 2000 Honda Civic DD for a Volvo 850. Would like the space of a wagon & a bit more power than my little Civic coupe. I've liked the look of these 850's for quite some time now. Few Q's for yall:

*Should I go for the turbo model?
*How reliable are they compared to the NA model?
*How much HP/TQ do the 850's make?
*Any differences thruout out the 850 model years?
*Any tips/recommedations I should be looking out for on my purchase?

 

Hey there...i don't know if this might help...
i recently purchased a 1995 850 wagon....it has the 10 valve engine (mostly here in canada)...it is n/a not turbo.I don't know how it compares to the turbo models, but it drives quite well. It may not be as peppy as your civic, but i once had a civic and it was the biggest POS i ever drove( sorry no offense). The civic might be a bit more reliable compared to a volvo though. So far my wagon has held up well. Some advice:
always get it inspected!
check to see if it;s a 10 or 20 valve...usually if it's the 20, on the cover of the spark plugs is written 20 valve..if not, it's the 10 valve (10's are known for consuming oil!).
with the engine warmed up, open the hood and pull out the dipstick, if it's puffing white smoke, the PCV (crankcase ventilation) might be blocked and costs money to fix!!
see and smell fluids to see if they're okay or not
if "tracs and.or ABS" lights are lite up on the dash, they might need to be repaired
hmm what else...all&all it's a good solid car, rides more solid then the honda's..trust me!
The roomness of the wagon is crazy!!!! i ended up fitting a love seat perfectly in my car..the kid at the store was FLOORED when he saw that it fit!!!
Tinting the windows give it a nice look (you can see pics of my car in the sights& sounds section
hmm what else? anyone else car to help this person out?
g'luck
fabs

 

I would go for a 96 or 97 turbo one. They are as reliable as the Non-turbo ones. My wifes(White one in sig pic) has over 230k on it and as far as I know still original turbo.

They have some vent system problems most due to lack of maintance.

If you keep them up they will last for a long time.
Check out the link for the HP specs. But tha is only for the turbo models. The link is for their ECU upgrades.
http://www.ipdusa.com/Volvo-850/Perf...p-72-143-2183/

 

Thanks for the link! I see your a Mustang owner. I currently own 4 Mustangs lol! My 90 LX has gone 11.30 all motor. I'm hopin for a 10.9 soon with my current weight reduction & all new 3" exhaust & drag suspension!

Another Q for ya. Are there turbo models that have the 5 speed?

 

There is very few turbo's with the 5 speed tranny's. Alot of people out there just convert them to a 5 speed though.

Yes I am a stang owner as well. Although right now mine is sitting in the garage waiting for me to pull the motor to convert it to a HO motor(Long story) But at the same time it is getting a ported cobra intake,65MM throttle body,Crome upper rad hose and a few other things.

It is a 87 Coupe dropped 2 inches with full urathane bushings in the front. I have APC racing seats in it and a Grant steering wheel that matches the seats. Thats about it for now. I plan to push the SD system to the max. I really dont want to convert to Mass Flow unless I really have to.

 

Judging from your reply to tech about the Mustang, I am going to tell you right now, do NOT get the NA model Volvo!!! You definitely want the turbo model, no doubt about it. Even my daughter who has driven my cars since she was 16 test drove a 95 850 NA model in great shape and ended up buying a 95 850 Turbo in not near as good of shape. Once you drive the Turbo and the NA you will see for yourself.

Now about the five speed. If you really want an 850 Turbo 5 speed wagon, then look for a 98 V70 T5 with a five speed, sometimes referred to as the T5M. My son has one in the S70 (sedan) and loves it. The V70 in 98 was basically the same car as the 850 but it had the trim pieces the body color instead of the grey/black trim. Also in 97 and 98 the GLT models have a low pressure turbo which is fine. My 98 V70 GLT has the low pressure turbo and it's got enought power. 93-96 GLT's were not turbos.

I am always on the lookout for a Red 98 V70 T5M and found one once, but didn't have the money to buy it at the time.

 

I had a 95 GLT for about two months.

i sold it because I wanted a turbo wagon.


I went all over Hell's half acre looking for one.

I eventually found one I wanted. A 96 T5 system Nautic blue pearl on black. It's gorgeous in the sunlight. Seems to be a very rare color

I've done a lot of recent maintenance. Still trying to get the fuel economy up though. The AVG gauge says about 21, but I know its capable of more. Next to do is the fuel filter and o2 sensors.

 

So besides the cosmetics, is the 98 V70 the same as a 97 850 Turbo everywhere else? Turbo, drivetrain, suspension, HP/TQ, etc...??

 

It is exactly the same. The changes took place in 99. The 99 will look just like the 98 but there were many changes. You want to stick with the 98 if you go the V70 route. You want to find one with 53 in the 6th and 7th positions of the VIN. On the 850 you want one with 57 or 58 in those positions on the VIN.

 

TURBO!


JPN

 

So a 1998 V70 is basically the same as a 1997 850. More Q's:
*I see the bodies look just like the 850's. Are 1998-2000 V70's all the same?
*Are they all turbo models?
*What to look out for?

 

Just to add my experience:

I have replaced my 96' 850 n/a wagon with 94 Turbo and I feel day and night difference. My wagon was a mint mint vehicle so it was hard for me to part with it but as soon as I test drove this Blue Turbo (profile pic), there was no second thought of switching to turbo. I am having some small issues with it for now but I am quite sure that I will be able to bring it to the same level as my wagon was before the start of summer

I will definately reccomend a TURBO for you if you have even a small interest in terms like torque, power, stability etc...

This might interest few people, I was hunting specially for 1994-1995 850's because they have the onboard diagnostics which means that you won't have to go to "stealerships' to pay for clearing/reading codes. On my wagon, I had to pay someone twice to remove codes and I felt so handicapped.

 

A $70 ODB-II reader takes care of reading and clearing codes in the 96 - 98's.

 

OBD Reader can only do engine codes and mostly related to emmision systems only. A volvo tool is still needed to clear ABS, SRS, Climate control, Powers seats etc etc....

The onboard diagnostics on 94-95 can do all that for no extra cost.

 

So is a 94-95 better than the OBD II 850's? I heard the same for my previous Acura Integra GSR.

 

I think you would be making a mistake to let whether or not it has ODB-II sway your decision. You want to find a car in decent shape with a good maintanence record. I think the 97 and 98 Volvo's are two of the best years ever made. I have had an 85 760 Turbo Diesel, 89 760 Turbo Intercooler, 94 850 Turbo, 95 T5R, 97 850 R and 98 V70 GLT. My one daughter has a 95 850 Turbo, my other daughter has a 99 S80 T6 (stay away from that one) and my son has two 98's a V70R and a T5M. The 98 V70 GLT is the most dependable of the bunch with the 94 850 Turbo the 2nd, but the engine just went on it at 205K for some unknown reason. I bought it almost brand new too.