They also relocated the window switches from below the cupholders on the console to the door, and revised the dashboard. Minor styling changes. 5-speed available with the turbo on the SVC70, not on the US 850.

As Glen pointed out they probably went for the low cost suppliers for the electrical gizmos on the '98s and '99s. (The rumor is FIAT built a lot of the circuitry) Thinking for a moment, that was PROBABLY while they were dressing up their balance sheets to put the company on the block. Hmmmmmm. ("Put some lipstick on that pig, Sven!")

The questionable electrical components have probably mostly been replaced by now. Leaving the cars with the same background failure points as 850s (AC evaporators, turbo "o" rings, sway bar end links, ignition switches, ABS controllers, etc.)

-bill d cat

It's basically the same car mechanically but in '98, the car was re-named S/V 70 and had undergone many body and interior changes all with new parts. Like most car companies, Volvo used parts suppliers who probably offered parts prices less expensive than others and obviously those weren't wise choices as many of those parts didn't hold up well and thus probably cost Volvo more in losses than expected, not to mention losing disgruntled customers who traded out of them for another brand of car altogether.
Penny wise, dollar stupid IMO.