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Well I have owned 5 Volvo’s over the past 17 years. My first was a 1984 240 Turbo wagon. We loved this car's performance and handling. Wished I had gotten the optional intercooler since we had to replace the turbo at 87K miles (Arizona heat was not good on it). We still wish we had it but it was totaled at 185K miles. The turbo needed replacement at that point in time, so it was a blessing we didn’t have to purchase repairs on that!
We expected our next car to be just as much fun to drive but soon realized the differences when we purchased a used 1985 240 GL sedan with 26K miles on it. My wife wanted a sedan this time to keep things in the rear out of view. It was very reliable and much less expensive to repair than the Turbo. It too was totaled at about 93K miles but was a good no frills car with none of the rattles and squeaks the wagons have.
Our next Volvo we purchased was a used 1990 760 Turbo sedan to replace the 244 GL. We were attracted to this car because it was top of the line that year in the turbo models and had 58K miles on it. It drove and performed well for us. I was hoping this would be the car to get to 200K miles. Unfortunately it didn’t. I was totaled at 118K miles.
That brings us to our current cars. We replaced the 760 with a 1992 960 wagon for my wife. (Actually all but the 245 Turbo were my wife’s cars.) She liked the performance of the 6-cylinder engine and heavier ride the 965 provides. She also decided that she was tired of lifting things over the trunk lid and wanted a wagon again. We purchased it used with 58K miles on it about 18 months ago; it now has 82K miles on it. She is very happy with it and actually prefers it over my Volvo a 1996 850 Limited Edition wagon in its ability to turn sharper corners in parking lots due to it being rear wheel drive.
I was missing having a performance car in the family and found the 960 OK but just not quit the thrill I needed to satisfy my needs. I started looking for a “R” wagon, a 1995 or 1996 due to budget limitation and felt that I needed as much HP as possible. I had never driven the R so didn’t really know what it was all about. As it turned out, I ended up buying a 1996 Limited Edition 855 with 73K miles on it about 7 weeks ago. It is a Turbo with all the options on it. I really like its performance and handling although I’m still getting use to the front wheel drive (my previous “performance cars” prior to the 245 Turbo were two 911 Porsche’s which I loved to leave the rear “hang out” going around corners) when under extremely hard acceleration. It tends to pull side to side, never pull neatly straight ahead and you have to keep a watch on it to keep it going straight.
Both the wagons have the classic squeaks in the back due to the rear tailgate always being loose. It is just something you try to get over and turn up the stereo not to hear it.
I did get the opportunity to drive a 1997 R wagon about 1 month after I purchased my 1996 855 TLA. I found the performance not much different than mine. That really surprised me. I figured I would be able to tell 240 HP –vs- 222 HP but I could not. I don’t know if it was because the car I was test driving was not fully tuned up and it had a bad top motor mount that made the car vibrate badly under hard acceleration that robbed it performance or I just could really tell the difference in 18 HP! Nevertheless, the experience made me even more satisfied with what I’m currently driving.
Some additional thoughts to pass on. One of the major reasons I purchased the 855 Turbo is because of the well-supported after-market of performance upgrades that you can get for these cars. On the 960’s you have very limited if any options to upgrade especially in the performance area. 850’s can be get ECU (performance chips) and exhaust systems to boost HP’s, put on better shocks, anti-sway bars, etc to increase handling response. All this leads to more fun to drive factor. It also helps to have a good Volvo mechanic (not the dealership) that can keep your car in top shape – otherwise it is just too expensive to have the Volvo dealership to the work!
Hope this has given you additional insight into which model to choose. Good luck in your quest.
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