Having owned both an 850 and a Taurus wagon, I will tell you that we both preferred driving the 850 for the seats and handling, but the Taurus held more stuff and the one we had was dead on reliable for the five years we owned it. That is more than what a lot of Volvo owners can say, for like 60% of the cost. Maybe we were just lucky. We traded the Taurus for an '02 Odyssey LX because we needed more room. The new vs. used decision is a tough one. Volvos depreciate rapidly because, IMO, so many of them are leased and three year old models flood the market and depress prices. You can get a '99 wagon with 30-40K miles for probably 55-60% the cost of a new one. I guess it may worth getting a new one if you were going to own it for 10 years or so. Good luck in your decision.