Faults:

Lots of wear and tear items, but no major issues and I put serious miles on this car in the 10 years I had it.

Camshaft sensor caused a bit of a headache at one time, but that was about it. If I am being really picky, the 850 did not feel as solidly built as my old 740.

General Comments:

Loved it, good memories of this 850, was a nicely equipped car with all the electrics the SE model had to offer.

Loved the boxy saloon look, sharp looking car in red with alloy wheels.

2.5 performed OK with the auto box, and did around 30 mpg, good at the time.

Only thing better would have been the T5 R model! I miss this car, was a reliable mile muncher. Sold it back in 2008 still going strong.

Faults:

It doesn't wash itself or vacuum itself out.

In other words nothing at all.

General Comments:

The ultimate all-rounder, buy a good one and it should be an excellent vehicle.

All 850's are bulletproof and over engineered, and the turbo'd ones have the performance to equal the build quality (the rozzers still use the current model for motorway pursuit!).

Excellent around town, silent and comfortable on long journeys. Quality interiors.

Don't expect economy, but it ain't bad for what it is, and you won't be paying much for repairs as reliability is well above average; I've owned many different cars, but neither of my 850's have ever let me down in any way.

The originals (1992-97) set the standard, unfortunately the later V70's do not seem robust.

Faults:

Rear hub carrier replaced at 110,000 miles.

General Comments:

Apart from consumables, only one fault has occurred with the car. Excellent record.

Very comfortable seats.

Spacious seats and load area.

Performance is perfectly acceptable for most people.

Fuel economy around town is poor - didn't get any better than 20mpg.

Refined cruiser at high speeds, with 33mpg+ fuel economy.

Insurance not bad for a car of this size.

Excellent air conditioner and heater.

Good handling - much better than that on older Volvos.

Automatic transmission good, but little on jerky side when accelerating hard.

Faults:

Lambda warning light lit when bought, traced to a dirty contact on the throttle position sensor.

General Comments:

The 850 estate appears physically large due to the slab-sided styling. The rear boot drop-off however aids reversing as you can see exactly where the rear of the car is. A few days into driving the 850 and you will be squeezing through gaps that smaller cars baulk at!

Performance depends on which one of the many engine variations you get... I got the 2.5l 10v petrol which is a good torquey workhorse without high insurance costs. Acceleration is good, with lots of torque right up to motorway speeds and beyond. The ride is comfortable, stable, and safe.

Fuel consumption varies from 30mpg (UK) on a motorway run, to 23mpg around town on short runs.

The quality of the vehicle means further costs for me are limited just to servicing.

There have been problems for the range though. The ABS sensor ECU may fail, the air con evaporators seem to be of variable longevity, and brake rotors may warp. If you get a good one, you get an excellent car, so check the history thoroughly.

Now replaced by the V70 with softer styling, the 850 can be had for bargain prices.

Faults:

Driver door stay has needed welding.

Air conditioning has a leak.

Minor oil leak on the turbo, but this was cheap to fix.

Front wheel bearing failed at 55000.

Anti-lock brakes control unit has failed.

New gearbox fitted before I bought the car.

New inter-cooler fitter before I bought the car.

General Comments:

This car is very quick, quiet, a joy to drive (when it is all working), has a good ride and carries everything in the huge boot.

We drove 2800 miles to Italy and back this year and it was out-handling and out-performing more modern cars over the Swiss Alps and averaged 29 miles to gallon!