I rent plenty of cars (over 20 this year), and I have yet to drive one that I would trade for my 11 year old 850.

My '96 NA 854 served well for over 100k, and looked almost brand new when I sold it. My '97 854R has seen action at the 1/4 mi drag strip, autocross course, and even held its own against 'real' sports cars on a road race course.

All this and it's safe, doesn't attract undue attention from law enforcement, will carry 2x4s, gets 28mpg, and is easy to work on.

What's not to like?

Robert 850R
'88 245, '97 850R

We were in DE, and an s80 driver pulled next to me at a red light, rolled down his window ,and said how much he missed his old 850, how it was more reliable than his 2003 S80 is!

I like the large windows in the 850. I like the headroom too. My sister has a '00 pontiac Grand prix, everytime I get into it, I smack my head, because the door is so low. Then inside my head touches the roof almost, and I am 5'9''. It is like being in a tomb, or a Fiat (I like Fiats though). I like how my 850 looks well made, and feels solid. I like foreign products (yes we have plates and coffee mugs from Ikea). One of my friends is from Finland, and he just gave me an offical Finnish identification badge for my 850, it looks good, only on a Volvo, and maybe a Saab. Volvo's have that refined euro feel to them.

I love the smell of the interior

I have a wagon, I love those long tail lights

I love the font they use for the numbers all over the dashboard

I love being able to open my hood further than everybody else, hah!
--
-Hector

"I thought it might be interesting if we listed the things we like about our 850s. Here are mine:

No rust, paint still shiny.

Fun to drive.

When we go to Vermont, we Volvo drivers nod to each other.

Will last forever."

Gee, I wished more Sydney Volvo drivers were as nod-friendly ;-)

What I like about my 850 T-5:

1. Unique looking compared to the typical 'organic' car designs these days. The design isn't dated at all if you ask me - but I am of course biased!

2. Heaps powerful - very fun to drive alright. Lots of friends who're used to more powerful cars are surprised when they sit in it and I give the gas pedal a big push. The overtaking ability of the car from 80-110km/h is simply stunning.

3. Loads of space

4. Cheap to DIY fix

5. For the money in Australia, it's hard to buy a better value secondhand car than the 850s NA or otherwise - e.g., handling (even for the wagons), nice sound system, leather, power, refinement, built, Euro class. A mechanic that I had taken the car to recently had exactly the same comment and he wasn't exactly a Volvo-nut.

Great cars these.

Lucast

Having driven 240s for years (and I still feel that was the pinnacle of Volvo design), I do like the 850 I got off Craigslist for $600.

I like:
Sunroof
Built-in child car-seat
Peppier engine, yet better gas mileage

I LOVE pre-ford volvos! Saved my life at least twice.
Wrecked my dad's old 122, rolled it down a hill. It was OK, because the mechanic said he would NOT inspect that car again (before I wrecked it)
In my 240, I came around a sharp, steep downhill corner too fast. In any other car I would have died (flown off the road), but the 240 made the turn, even though it felt like the rear end was going to lift off...

Here is a few things I like about my 95 Volvo 850.

* Awsome premium stereo....Boom Boom!
* Soft ride & peppy if needed
* The sunroof is big
* Like the daul climate control
* Love the folding rear seats
* The look of the 850 is sexy
* Love the winter package option

Dislikes ;-(

* Leather is to hard and cheap
* power seats break easy
* headlights give poor lighting
* very hard to work with flame trap kit
* Shifts hard at times
* cheap materials used to build the interior
* Needs better over 12oz cub holders...DANG!!

The thing I love most is County Road M in Morgan County, Missouri on the way to and from my cabin. If I ever get caught I will surely go to jail. The car handles like a dream except for the one really off camber left hand turn where V road intersects with M road (Pettis County, Missouri).

I love the 30ish MPG I get with my stick on the '94 N/A. I love even more the extra horsepower with the turbo (although lower MPG) on the '96 when I go to pass the minivan with the cripple plates on the lake highways. Hopefully this week I get my new front struts and the turbo will handle much better and along with the new axles and spring seats make a heck of a lot less noise.

I love that there isn't a heck of a lot that I can't figure out on my own to fix the buggers.

I guess I love that the parts cost less than my daughter's Porsche - dang they (The Volvo parts) are expensive though. I bought a new caliper for my Suburban for $18.00 last weekend. I think the caliper was OK but I broke off the bleeder screw after I changed the master cylinder and $18.00 was less grief than trying to easyout the old bleeder screw.

Once the car gets through all of the standard broken crap and stage 0 it will run forever.

I think most of all I love the support groups that we have. You are not the first one to have the problem and on most boards folks will share their experiences freely without a ton of flaming.

...Lee

Things I like:

Paint and finish is awesome (like you said)
Leather seats are the most comfortable of any car I have owned (about 13)
The 850 has great styling, in my opinion. I switched to a S70 and don't like it as much.
The Automatic Climate control makes being in the car very comfortable.
The car is very reliable (when treated right).
The turbo is quite powerful.

Things I don't like:

Wheel wells too tight and suspension in the 854T is a bit quirky in corners.

Nice automobile. I missed my 854T so much I went back and got an S70.

You go up to Vermont, huh Nathan? That's my home state! I'll list things I like about my 850:


It's a 1996, which I consider to be the very best year of the series.

It was an excellent replacement for my wrecked '93 (a POS, by the way)

It's so much fun to drive! I love its sweet sound.

The car is extremely reliable, more so than the Toyotas we once had.

No rust on it, and the white finish is still very shiny for a nearly 13-year-old car.

And the fact I like most about my 850- it's currently in storage right now! It never sees the harsh VT winters. It was only driven 1800 miles this year.

Moderately easy to work on. I enjoy doing my self.