Faults:

Timing belt and front brakes needed replacing after only 69,00 kilometres. The build quality is generally poor - lots of rattles, rough-idling engine. Just recently, the engine has been overheating despite an assurance from a mechanic that there was nothing wrong. The overheating occurs within a 4 kilometre drive. The ergonomics are poor and the ride is harsh.

General Comments:

This car is a waste of money. It offers nothing to compensate for the poor quality and I cannot see any reason to buy a Volvo 440 when Japanese equivalents offer vastly improved reliability. My 1990 Toyota 4-Runner (3.0 petrol) had 350,000 kilometres on it, was driven off-road and through Canadian winters yet it was still in very good mechanical shape (no major parts replacements) despite being 5 years older and having about 6 times the mileage as the Volvo.

Faults:

Nothing much really, I had a dynamo problem once, and I had to replace it. Cost me about 50 pounds

General Comments:

This car looks like an old, typical Volvo car. But don't let it fool you, the 1.8i Renault engine works very well.

Also the handling in fast corners is awesome.

Top speed is around 215 km/h. I tested it on the circuit of Assen once. It really scared me.

At 160km/h the car is as quiet as a sleeping cat.

Nice and comfortable seats, with other cars, I get pain in my back after a long drive, but not with this car.

Reliable.

Excellent brakes.

The automatic gears work very well, I won a one on one with a BMW 320i.

Faults:

Nothing as yet.

General Comments:

This car is a real pleasure to drive. Overall an expensive option in the Netherlands, although I got the car cheap.

Cruises at 140km/ph quietly and with ease. My other car made me set at bumps in the road, this one doesn't even flinch at them. The seats are well designed and comfortable, the half leather is still in great condition even though it's nearly 6 years old, and the fact they are heated is great now winter has arrived, and apart from some wind noise the cabin is almost perfectly quiet.

Overall the design is quite classy (as it has the face-lift nose), it's not a boy racer, although acceleration is acceptable for a car its size. It does make you slow down though - in my other car I can start to speed up a bit, or enjoy traffic lights more than I should. However, the sheer relaxedness of this car just makes you enjoy the ride and go with the flow.

Size of the car was something I was surprised at, I was expecting something about the size of a 306 or Golf, but it's the largest car in the office, and certainly the most comfortable too.

Faults:

Short-circuit with a small fire.

General Comments:

My Volvo 440 turned out to be very solid and comfortable. On highways it feels very safe and fast enough. In cities and bumpy roads, it gets a bit less comfortable, as if it wanted to say "why do we need to go here?".

Actually it was manufactured in the Netherlands and we drive two times week past its birthplace, the former Volvo/Mitsubishi/Dutch government venture in Born.

Faults:

Nothing has gone wrong with the car yet.

It had a leaking radiator when I bought it (for a very cheap price), but that was easily fixed, and quite cheap as well.

Some small things that show the age of the car, but aren't really worth fixing and don't bother me.

General Comments:

Comfy seats and interior space, certainly for it's price. Runs fairly cheap. Reliable. A very nice drive for long distances. Looks good too.

It handles a bit sluggish. It could really use power steering.

It suffers from under-steering pretty quickly in the rain.