Used 1995 Volvo 850 Sedan Consumer Reviews
Overall a pretty good car.
I rather like my 850. It's fun to drive, and I like smoking those Civic drivers who act like they've got a V8 under their hood. The 850 handles well for such a big and heavy vehicle, acceleration is nice thanks to the turbo, and it even gets respectable mileage if you're easy on the gas. Some of the controls are in awkward positions, but you get used to it. Interior quality could be better, though. The only real complaint is that this car has lots of system hiccups. The engine and transmission are sturdy, but some other systems (AC in particular) and parts are unreliable, and are very expensive to fix when they break. Overall, not a bad ride. Take care of it and it will run forever.
1995 Volvo 850 Base 4dr
What Volvo achieved with the 850 is amazing. The 850 was the first front wheel drive car actually built and designed by Volvo. Before the 850 Volvo only made heavy rear wheel drive tanks like the 240. At the time the class benchmark was the BMW 3-Series, but when the 850 came along it was bigger, safer, and better to drive than the BMW. The 850 feels nimble and the 5 cylinder engine is responsive and suprisingly quick. The 850 also got high crash test ratings. One of the nicest things about the 850 is its seats, which are some of the most car comfortable I've ever used. The only problem we've experienced in 14 years is a broken fuse that made the dashboard lights quit working. A great car.
The Volvo 850 is the Best Car ever owned
My 850 has 220,000 miles as of Dec. 2009. Bought used in 1995 with 13,000 miles. In the 14 years I have owned this 850, I have only replaced the struts, shocks, stereo, and heating coil. I live in Colorado and commute an average of 105 miles daily. With snow tires she handles beautifully in winter. I also perform regular maintenance like clock work. After all these years...she is still running strong and still looks beautiful. Without a doubt, she is the best car by all accounts.
Euro Labor & Parts Cost- Ford "Quality"
Run, don't walk away from this sorry car company. I've owned 4 Volvos, three of them great. The GLT was the worst car I've owned since my MG. Total turkey- A/C failures, leather seat splits, lock out in tranny unfixable. Most of this stuff started under warranty. Ford, uh I mean Volvo, blew me off after the warranty ran out. Said now my problem, not theirs. I traded it.
Never again, sadly
This is my 4th Volvo. Volvo built its reptuation on the 122s and 240s, NOT the 850. This is a fun, spacious, somewhat fast, and terribly unreliable car. I'm at 100K right now; here's what I've had to do: clutch, cat. converter, motor mounts, cam shaft position sensor, rear door handle jammed (fixed myself), alternator (all over $2000, not including reg maintenance such as the t-belt and service). Design-wise, this car is light years ahead of the 240. However, its reliabilty falls very short of the old work horses. They still are very safe, but that's about the extent of the old reputation that still may be true today :( If you do make the mistake of buying this car, get the manual tranny