fwd/awd.
my sense is that the latter may do a little better on gas and better in snow, but probably should be avoided if hi mileage(100kmi or so). i also believe that fwd cars have a smaller turning radius.
pretty old fashioned, i guess.
bayboomer flaps (aug '46)

I think it depends on the year and model of Volvo. The early 700's were nightmares when they first came out and by 85 they got the bugs out. The first 2 yrs of the 850's had problems. Don't even go near a 99 or 2000 S80, horrible cars. 2001 and up S80's seem to be very reliable and minimal problems. As far as the S70's go it is window switches and light bulbs (daytime running lights). The S60's seem to be bullet proof and damn good cars. Don't know much about the 40's not much said yeh or neh but from what I can interpret from the Techs is they are not bad cars over all. The biggest problems I see with the FWD 1999> at my dealer has to do with software issues. Last week I was in and they had to reprogram one of the computers on a customers car. It had lost all the programming software. That was a weird one. One comment I did hear from one of the techs was "People will never see 200,000 miles on a S80. Because they will never be able to afford the maintenance costs on the car to go that far." It seems that the FWD's have a lot more maintenance costs than the RWD Volvo's.
Reliability isn't a problem as long as the owner keeps up on the maintenance.
I don't think the FWD's will be as forgiving to a lack of maintenance as the RWD's

I think the 850/S-V70 is proving itself to be a durable piece. They have their own problems, usually involving the more complex systems they carry, but I wouldn't say they are worse in terms of durability/reliability. The RWD cars are of course quite sturdy, and less complex, but they are getting older. That brings a host of other problems (crumbling wires, rust, etc...)

The RWD cars have a much tighter turning circle, on the order of 32 feet. The 850 is not bad for a FWD, though. The FWD cars will get better mileage, simply because they are higher technology, and FWD drivetrains have lower losses. They don't cruise down the highway quite as nicely as a good 9 series, but they are lower/sportier in dynamic.
--
Speed Racer, '83 240 R, '93 940 OL1 (East Hartford, CT)

Rear wheel drive cars have better gas milage than fwd, and fewer complex parts. Fwd is better in the snow, unless there is traction control. As far as turning circles -- my V70 awd is 39.x feet and the 854 is 34 feet. Most American iron is around 40 ft, European is closer to 30 ft.

Klaus
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98 V70Rawd(101Kmi), 95 854T(85K mi), 88 245(165K mi)

The 200 and 700 series Volvos have the same size turning circle as the VW Rabbit/Golf, which is impressive for such large cars :)
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Volvo For Life. And then some- 1990 745 SE, Aka 'The Volvo'

Once, while coaching my son's t-ball team, I arrived at the field to discover that it hadn't been prepped for our game. The field needed to be dragged and a tractor wasn't available. No Problem. I attached the drag screen to the rear anchor hook of my '91 740 and proceeded to drag the field in increasingly tight circles as parents and coaches looked on in amazement. When I was finished, several people came up to me and said they wouldn't have believed it if they hadn't seen it with their own eyes. I drive an 850 now and really miss the tight turning radius. My son has the 740 and loves to impress his friends with the turning radius.

As for reliability - I believe the RWD to be somewhat more reliable than FWD, but the big difference is in the difficulty (and cost) of repair. It also has something to do with the fact that my 1995 850 is a much more complex machine than my 1991 740. Each has things to look out for.

Generally speaking (VERY generally) RWD cars can have tighter turning radii than FWD cars of the same general dimensions.

This is mostly due to the limitations of CV joints used on FWD drive axles.
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'73 142, '75 242, '75 245, '80 245, '86 244, '87 745T

I read about the turning circle size being smaller than the Golf in the various sales brochures that I have for both the 200 and 700 series cars. It seems that Volvo were quite proud of the fact ;)

In practice, the small turning circle of a 700 series car is really useful!
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Volvo For Life. And then some- 1990 745 SE, Aka 'The Volvo'

The biggest advantage of the tight turning circle shows up when you are doing 55 mph ( or more...) on icey roads, and nearly looking out the passenger window - anything else is lost - the tight turning ability of the Volvo - let off the gas pedal, and the tail end lines up......

Saved my hide more than once.

People who espouse the virtues of FWD on ice and snow have not found the proper tire combo, weight ratio for their Volvo....

Happy Brikken

goldy

My 164 will turn a tighter circle than my 122.
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George Downs Bartlesville, Heart of the USA!