Faults:

Brake discs and pads

Now set of front tyres

Air Con compressor & re-gas

Wishbones, Drive shafts

Wheel bearings.

General Comments:

I bought this 850 T5 saloon to replace my Volvo 740 Estate. I already own another 850 T5, and I've been so fantastically pleased with it that I wanted another.

It needed a fair amount of work doing when I bought the car (£2,300 - ouch) but at least I now know that it is in A1 condition - apart from the Turbo Charger needing replacing in the next 10k miles.

It's a medium specced car, it has electric windows, mirrors, sunroof, a CD changer, TRACS (traction control), computer, half leather heated seats, alloys, spoiler, front fog lights and of course performance!

This is the saloon version, and I can say that it does feel faster than the estate, it's certainly a lot quieter and holds the road better - it sits a lot lower to the road than my T5 estate. Headline figures are 149mph top speed with a 0-60 time of 7.2 seconds. However, the T5's best party trick is it's mid-range power ability!

It's a fantastic car to drive, over less than perfect roads it can feel quite firm, but not so much as a sports car.

I think the fact that I have two T5's really says it all. They are fantastic cars and combine power, performance, comfort with cheapish running costs. I get on average 27mpg out of this one, compared to 24mpg for the estate.

My 20 year old son will be getting a T5 within the next 6 months, so then we will be a three-T5 family!

Once a Volvo driver, always a Volvo driver. This old chestnut certainly rings true in our case.

Faults:

Clutch Slave Cyclinder.

Front Shock Absorbers.

New Tyres.

New Discs and Pads.

General Comments:

I bought this car after having an 2.0 litre 20V 850. The difference in performance was very impressive! It's a solid car, well built and comfortable.

This car has a lot of power, 225bhp, but it can often be hard to put this power down, it should have better traction control, its cuts out at 22mph and is ineffective until then anyway. However once past this the performance from 2nd gear onwards is very impressive. In 5th gear on the motorway it will happily do anything between 50mph and 130mph.

The cars handling takes a while to get used to, however once accustomed to it, it generally handles like most big FWD saloon cars. Although it does under-steer on occasion. The handling in the wet can be a lot less confidence inspiring!

It is a very comfortable car for long journeys and in CD form is well equipped with Leather and Air-con.

The fuel economy is a joke! 21 mpg whether driven fast or slow. Parts as for any Volvo are expensive.

Overall this is a lot of car for the money. Reliability, comfort and performance for less than £4000.

Faults:

Recall on heated seats. (fixed free of charge)

The top engine mount has started to split.

There is persistent water leak in the boot well.

General Comments:

A lot of people think I am mad buying a Volvo at the age of 21. I bought the car because I was recommended to buy a friend. The GLT model I have bought is very well equipped and also has the alloy wheels and spoiler from the high performance T-5 model which make it look fab. The car has proved reliable and there haven't been any nasty surprises yet.

The performance is excellent, despite it only being a 10 valve. It doesn't matter what engine you go for they are all responsive, flexible, reliable, economic (reasonably) and sound great.

Don't let the size put you off, it is very light and easy to drive, and don't let the size make you believe it doesn't handle well. The handling is very good thanks to the passive rear steering (on the later models) and the only problem I find, is that it likes to break traction even with the traction control on.

The dealers are good with good after sales service. I find specialists cheaper, but the dealers prices are reasonable for most things. The only part I found expensive were a new set of keys which were well over £100 a set, so make sure the car you buy comes with 2 sets of keys.

Overall the 850 makes a comfortable, enjoyable and different rival to a BMW or Audi with added safety and practicality. Don't let the image put you off, you would be surprised how much respect people give it. Try one, you'll love it! In fact the hardest bit of the ownership experience is when you have to sell it, you won't want to get rid of it!