Looking for a bangernomics 850
Discussion
Hi here, need to sell my golf to pay a few bills but need a car as starting a new job now, been looking at the usual cheap reliable ish cars for £900 or less, Primera, Mondeo, etc, and always had a bit of a thing about Volvo 850s but didn't think they'd be insurable for me being 2.5 litres most or them but done a quote and a 2.5 20v is about same as a primera GT so definately in the running.
So come here to ask for advice from owners on what to look for when buying and what they are like to live with, which is best manual/auto, what's the MPG like, what spec should I look for
So come here to ask for advice from owners on what to look for when buying and what they are like to live with, which is best manual/auto, what's the MPG like, what spec should I look for
The 20V is a great engine. Much smoother (and more powerful) than the 10V. Sounds very nice at full chat and pulls quite rapidly past 3500rpm. 8.9s to 60 on paper.
Thirsty on fuel until warmed up. Around town expect around 25mpg, motorways return 36mpg at an indicated 70. Foot flat to the floor and the live mpg readout can go to 8mpg!
Forget what the various specs are, but mine is a 1996 2.5 20V ES manual estate and has the following: Electric sunroof, aircon, 6cd multichanger, premium sound system (speakers in the boot too!), half leather seats, front heated seats, traction control, front fogs, alloys, rear spoiler. I think CD is the top spec and will have electric adjustable seats and full leather as well.
Base models don't really have many bells and whistles: Trip computer (live mpg, average mpg, average speed, temperature, miles covered, miles until empty), probably aircon, standard sound system with no speakers in the boot, radio/tape player, steel wheels.
Mechanically bulletproof even at this age. As long as it was serviced regularly there shouldn't be much of a problem. Effortless on motorways. Ok around town. Narrow enough for supermarket spaces (though sticks out the end!). Really easy to drive with enough power to upset boy racers off roundabouts. 2nd gear pulls to 60mph before hitting the redline
Went from a fiesta to this as I needed it for long trips to Uni in Scotland from the Midlands, very easy to adapt to. For a £1000 you get a lot of car, and usually higher spec than more modern cars of the same price. Sorted!
Thirsty on fuel until warmed up. Around town expect around 25mpg, motorways return 36mpg at an indicated 70. Foot flat to the floor and the live mpg readout can go to 8mpg!
Forget what the various specs are, but mine is a 1996 2.5 20V ES manual estate and has the following: Electric sunroof, aircon, 6cd multichanger, premium sound system (speakers in the boot too!), half leather seats, front heated seats, traction control, front fogs, alloys, rear spoiler. I think CD is the top spec and will have electric adjustable seats and full leather as well.
Base models don't really have many bells and whistles: Trip computer (live mpg, average mpg, average speed, temperature, miles covered, miles until empty), probably aircon, standard sound system with no speakers in the boot, radio/tape player, steel wheels.
Mechanically bulletproof even at this age. As long as it was serviced regularly there shouldn't be much of a problem. Effortless on motorways. Ok around town. Narrow enough for supermarket spaces (though sticks out the end!). Really easy to drive with enough power to upset boy racers off roundabouts. 2nd gear pulls to 60mph before hitting the redline
Went from a fiesta to this as I needed it for long trips to Uni in Scotland from the Midlands, very easy to adapt to. For a £1000 you get a lot of car, and usually higher spec than more modern cars of the same price. Sorted!
Driven a couple of these as courtesy cars for a reasonable amount of mileage - unfortunately not the 2.5 20V, but my experience may be relevant as a bangernomics car is probably going to be quite old and well used even if well looked after.
The 2.0 is revvy and goes quite well (within the bounds of how one considers it reasonable to treat someone else's car) but I did feel there wasn't quite enough torque for the estate at least. Not quite helped by the gearshift, which is a bit indistinct and long-throw although is very "Volvo" in that it feels like it'll go on forever. It was the nicest-sounding of the Volvo I5s I've driven, though, including my own car.
I also drove a 2.4 10V auto. Same peak power as the 2.0 but I felt the drivetrain suited the car a lot better with a lot more torque low down. The autobox does make the car feel slower than it is, although that's a fault of autoboxes in general than anything to do with the 850 or Volvo in general.
All are well-specced if you're coming from the Primera/Mondeo class of car and if you put in the time to find a good seating position they're very comfortable. The "premium" stereo is merely okay, though, no matter how nice the script on the head unit. Maybe I've been spoilt by the S60 with its over-the-top Pro Logic stereo in that department, though.
Steering is a bit vague but I've found that with all the FWD Volvos I've driven; forums seem to suggest the newer cars at least improve massively with poly bushes although that might knock the "possible to insure" aspect.
The only competitor (ish) of its era I've driven is the Omega I used to have. By comparison with the "cooking" 850s the Vauxhall was much more of a driver's car, but it was much heavier, a lot worse on fuel, and while well built had nothing on the "this will go on forever" feeling of an old Volvo.
Somewhere around 30-35mpg seems feasible on a run depending on how you drive. I always ended up returning them with more fuel in than they had when I took them out. The naturally aspirated ones are good cars if you're prepared to get into what I think of as the Volvo mindset - relaxing a bit, letting the world go by, and arriving unruffled as a result. Looked at in this way, the 850 is a good compromise between having most of the character and durability of older Volvos, and most of the ability to dispatch hundreds of miles without breaking a sweat of the new ones.
The 2.0 is revvy and goes quite well (within the bounds of how one considers it reasonable to treat someone else's car) but I did feel there wasn't quite enough torque for the estate at least. Not quite helped by the gearshift, which is a bit indistinct and long-throw although is very "Volvo" in that it feels like it'll go on forever. It was the nicest-sounding of the Volvo I5s I've driven, though, including my own car.
I also drove a 2.4 10V auto. Same peak power as the 2.0 but I felt the drivetrain suited the car a lot better with a lot more torque low down. The autobox does make the car feel slower than it is, although that's a fault of autoboxes in general than anything to do with the 850 or Volvo in general.
All are well-specced if you're coming from the Primera/Mondeo class of car and if you put in the time to find a good seating position they're very comfortable. The "premium" stereo is merely okay, though, no matter how nice the script on the head unit. Maybe I've been spoilt by the S60 with its over-the-top Pro Logic stereo in that department, though.
Steering is a bit vague but I've found that with all the FWD Volvos I've driven; forums seem to suggest the newer cars at least improve massively with poly bushes although that might knock the "possible to insure" aspect.
The only competitor (ish) of its era I've driven is the Omega I used to have. By comparison with the "cooking" 850s the Vauxhall was much more of a driver's car, but it was much heavier, a lot worse on fuel, and while well built had nothing on the "this will go on forever" feeling of an old Volvo.
Somewhere around 30-35mpg seems feasible on a run depending on how you drive. I always ended up returning them with more fuel in than they had when I took them out. The naturally aspirated ones are good cars if you're prepared to get into what I think of as the Volvo mindset - relaxing a bit, letting the world go by, and arriving unruffled as a result. Looked at in this way, the 850 is a good compromise between having most of the character and durability of older Volvos, and most of the ability to dispatch hundreds of miles without breaking a sweat of the new ones.
morgrp said:
2.0 20valve is the engine to have
my old one (2 litre 20v manual estate) is going very cheap now...like I said before it needs a bit of work for new MOT (ABS sensors playing up) if it doesn't sell it is going to the scrap yard in the sky as I just don't have time/space to sort it out myself
Edited by y2blade on Wednesday 1st September 11:25
Aeroresh said:
morgrp said:
2.0 20valve is the engine to have
Surely the T5 is the engine of choice 
?...wont help with insurance but worth a punt. Gassing Station | Volvo & Polestar | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff