SOTW: Volvo T5 Estate
Shed gets into the ultimate motorway cruiser
The prospect of jumping into a dark blue T5 and bolting down the motorway as though you’re Plod on a mission has undeniable appeal, and the fact that ten years ago cars like this one would have been the bane of every motorway user’s life still strikes a chord with us here.
The merest glimpse of that square grille and boxy rear would summon a bead of sweat on many a forehead and provoke anxious checks of the speedo from even the most law abiding motorist for fear of igniting a blaze of blue light from the mouth of a traffic cop’s T5.
Both the pictures and the description show the car’s tidy looking interior, which shows no signs of having played home to a K9 unit. The bodywork looks similarly fresh, but we’d take a closer look at the tyres, as all that power had a notorious reputation for shredding rubber. It’s also worth checking over the brake pads and discs, as they endure a bit of a hammering when trying to haul this hefty brick on wheels down from those motorway patrol car speeds.
Pistonheads ad reads: T5 CD Estate Manual (1997) 203k
2.3 Turbo (not modified), FVSH (all paperwok), Dark metallic blue, Full dark grey leather spotless interior, Exterior very good condition for year and miles (80% motorway), 2 previous owners (last owner ex-mechanic), Electric roof/mirrors/seats (heated), Climate, RC-locking/alarm/immob, PAS, Cruise, CD player, ABS, SIPS/Airbags , Tax and MOT. £1000
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Have you sold the gorgeous 750 yet?
The 750iL doesn't actually belong to me but I think my friend who owns it has a chap coming sometime over this weekend who sounds serious so has apparently agreed not to show it to anyone else until after Monday when the chap has been. I can't remember when he's supposed to be coming.
In this regard, I'm biased, because I drive a 1996 850 (CD, automatic unfortunately, 2.5l 5, NA). Would love to have a turbo in it, and indeed for only about 1 grand more (I'm in Australia) there was a white T5 sedan manual...
HOWEVER:
I bought mine with a full service history, clean mechanical inspection (only thing that needed fixing was a windscreen chip, and one of the windscreen wiper 'boots' which didn't really wipe the screen.
It's been a headache. First thing that went was the odometer, with a 20c plastic gear snapping. Have to rip apart the whole dash to fix it, and given I couldn't track down the part (mine is obviously a km car, not miles) I copped a $600AUD fix. Another $400 to fix the abs module, which stopped working, and around $150 to replace the ignition barrel, which started playing up, causing the car to 'stall' (the engine would cut out), which would mean losing all power steering, brake assistance etc. The car would die, and that's pretty scary / dangerous on a freeway, in the pouring rain, at 100kmpkh in heavy traffic.
In other words, despite doing nothing wrong in the buying process, and a Volvo specialist saying that 'You bought a really good one' (Possibly because it helped put his kids through school from repair income) I almost set fire to the thing.
about $2000 worth of fixing (there was other stuff) got it to be normal, and it hasn't pulled any funny business since changing the ignition barrel/ sensors etc, but be careful.
Fuel economy for my general commute (mix of freeway, stop start traffic jams, sweeping outer urban roads and a few hills) is 11.4 litres per 100k. Whatever that is in english mpg, go figure. It's about the same as a politely driven V8 Commodore, and that's without the turbo, and I'm what James May would call 'a christian motorist'
General servicing isn't cheap either. And you'd hope that turbo makes it about 300% better to drive too, because aside from being a comfy place to sit, it's a bit boring.
Looks nice though.
Ali.
I had the next gen T5 and it was the biggest pile of s
te I've ever owned. Maybe I just had a bad one, but, front tyres lasted 7000 miles (2 months driving), I spent about £3k in parts in less than 6 months e.g. computer sensors, engine mounts, air sensors etc etcAnyway, suspect the older ones are more reliable!
It needed all new control arms at the front, track rod ends, upper engine mount, new front anti-roll bar, two calipers, rear discs and a front damper for its MoT.
The ECU module failed and was reconditioned for £80 which was a pleasantly low bill.
No other problems but it ate front tyres.
Good points: real sleeper, surprised a lot of people, I had a great colour combination
Problems: wind noise at speed, ride quality pretty woeful but still loads of body roll (there was no reward for having uprated suspension), brakes poor, dead steering
My E36 328i is a far, far, far more resolved car in pretty much every way.
these motors get through it like its going out of fashion quick for a tank though 
None of our families T5's have eaten any oil? Or do you mean they drink like a fish? In that case they're not great, I average 25-26mpg from the manuals but 22-23mpg from the Autos.
Have you sold the gorgeous 750 yet?
The 750iL doesn't actually belong to me but I think my friend who owns it has a chap coming sometime over this weekend who sounds serious so has apparently agreed not to show it to anyone else until after Monday when the chap has been. I can't remember when he's supposed to be coming.
these motors get through it like its going out of fashion quick for a tank though None of our families T5's have eaten any oil? Or do you mean they drink like a fish? In that case they're not great, I average 25-26mpg from the manuals but 22-23mpg from the Autos.
that's 5 litres consumed over a 5000 service interval 
as you can guess i don't like oil burning engines 
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