RE: Volvo 850 T5 and R: PH Used Buyers Guide

[MUN 802]

She aint pretty but has some good mods and pulls very well

The PCV
positive crankcase ventilation is goooooooooood- pressure control valve? really PH?

[Stripester]

I'm lucky to have an 850R Estate and a T-5R manual, both solid dependable cars.....Boxy is Good!

[Harji]

whats the mpg on this? Would it be acceptable for 90 mile round trip? I'm currently using my SAAB 900, so this would be a perfect cousin!

[Stripester]

25 to 35 mpg is what I get

[Sharps]

19mpg

[anonymous-user]

"The engine top mount can fail through age but is easy to replace. Many owners upgrade to a poly bush for better rigidity without any added vibration."

The poly bush transmits more vibration into the cabin but the upside is a hell of a lot more five pot noise too. It's a great mod.

It's not unpleasant or especially noticeable, but saying there's no added vibration isn't true.

[Harji]

Stripester said:

25 to 35 mpg is what I get

Damn, on real fuel log , the last 718 miles my SAAB has been doing 33.82 mpg. I love that Volvo though.

[Davie]

The best I've managed to scrape out of mine is a displayed 38.7mpg which was done over mixed roads, all 275 miles of them and involved next to no braking, zero boost and no traffic and it was really really hard work... but it's doable. Doing a handful of miles to work and back daily, in traffic it usually shows 16 to 17mpg average. Fantastic machine though, hard to beat for simple, robust workhorses than still have a decent turn of speed.

[ross-k5591]

Here's my 850R, 129000 miles and still going strong.

[klunkT5]

My T5 manual estate has a 16T and white injectors as per the R and a HLM304 remap, Its in good fettle with 82K on it. I average 24 mpg around town and blasting up and down the link road, Best ive seen on the OBD on a run is 32 mpg.

[mx5ian]

Stripester said:

I'm lucky to have an 850R Estate and a T-5R manual, both solid dependable cars.....Boxy is Good!

That's a late registered 850 on an R plate

[blade7]

I had a basic 850 estate 10 years ago and when I wanted another estate 5 or 6 years ago I looked for an R, couldn't find one without starship mileage or that was being sold by a BTCC wanabe. I guess the owners kept the good ones.

[TEKNOPUG]

Davie said:

I've had seven T5 powered Volvos,... and all have been utterly fabulous things and next to bugger all has ever gone wrong with them.

So.....why not just the one?

[S6PNJ]

I utterly loved my 850 T5 Estate but sadly it seems it'd gone to the great scrap heap in the sky as the MOT data base says no MOT since March 2010 (M628NJV). I sold it in late 2000 ( to a drummer from Cambridgeshire) when I bought my TVR Chimaera. Whilst the Chimaera was also a fabulous car it just didn't have the presence that the Volvo had, though it had presence in another way. The T5 was fast, comfortable and just plain good fun! I saw one up for sale about 2 years ago for little money but my wife wouldn't let me buy it! (we didn't need it and already had a car each and one extra!.
I had a burgundy one (not my car below!)

[wst]

Lack of isofix was the nail in the coffin for these when I was looking at these recently. Volvo started using it in 2000, drat.

[Davie]

TEKNOPUG said:

So.....why not just the one?

I don't think I understand this question... but...

Started with T5 powered Volvos way back in 2004 with a 1998 S70R auto which was great but as a saloon, wasn't that great for my bike so I sold it. Then bought a 1996 850 T5 estate, ex police which was a bit rough but a great winter car but I then sold it to make way for an Astra GSi Turbo. Went back to T5's with a slightly rough black 1995 850 T5 estate, again mainly for winter use but was offered good money so I sold it. Then had a 1996 850R estate, green, auto which was lovely but ultimately too nice to use daily as the then missus had zero sympathy for the wheels so it had to go... ironically to Top Gear... where it died heroically in Africa.

Next, I bought a 1995 Gul 850 T-5R estate, manual and in need of much TLC so got it mechanically sound but then decided the bodywork would have cost a fortune to put right and plus it was just a bit too 'in your face' for driving daily, so I sold it and it's now been restored. I then bought a 1998 manual V70R in gold as it was stupidly cheap but it had a offensive exhaust and the mega heavy clutch wasn't doing a damaged knee any favours so I didn't fall in love and I sold it. Replaced it with a 1995 blue 850 T5 estate, manual and with some mild mods and it was fabulous but soon after the wife announced her pregnancy, I had a moment of panic and figured it wasn't best suited for ferrying a baby plus she hated driving it so I sold it too.

Also, three years ago I also bought a 98 V70 T5 Auto to do a banger rally which it did without braking sweat and in turn ingrained itself in my life and thus I've been unable to sell it... it's been to numerous countries, been abused and it's been utterly brilliant. I can't sell that one, far too attached to it so it's my daily driver and has been for nigh on 40k. I also have a phase 2 V70R for ferrying the little man around in / looking shiny whilst sat in the garage doing bugger all week in, week out and whilst a fabulous car, it's far more complex and cumbersome than an 850 which feels light, simple and characterful in comparison and as it gets so little use, I'm now debating changing it for a nice 850R or V70R as a weekend car.

Never had anything significant go wrong with a T5... granted pretty much all had the usual 'stage 0' carried out on purchase so filters, plugs, HT system, PCV's sorted, vacuum pipes replaced and as mentioned in the article, they can be quite hard on brakes and front suspension parts but nothing is difficult nor expensive but cheap parts simply don't last, false economy. Aside for that and tyres, no real issues over the years. Great things, just a shame nice ones are getting hard to find nowadays and nice R models seems to be commanding strong money.

So, that's why 'not just the one' and yes, cool story bro and all that...!

wst said:

Lack of isofix was the nail in the coffin for these when I was looking at these recently. Volvo started using it in 2000, drat.

This was partly why I sold my last 850 T5 estate however, the previous owner (a chap on here) latterly pointed out that the Maxi-Cosi Easy-Fix base works with the seat belt and remains in the car at all times.

Note: an 850 / V70 rear belt struggles to reach round your average infant carrier as the belts are quite short... our Cabrio-Fix seat for example.



So, I now have one of these in my 98 V70 (same as an 850) and it's superb, very very secure and works with his Maxi Cosi Cabrio-Fix infant carrier so my wife's Astra has a 2-Way fix isofix base fitted and I have the above in the Volvo using the seat belt... works extremely well so don't let a lack of Iso-fix brackets put you off... there are options and very good ones at that.

Not all 2000 models on have Iso-Fix, my 2005 V70 didn't but you can order the bracket from Volvo or online for around £30.00 and it's a simple 10 minute and two bolts job to bolt it down under the back seats.

Cheers

Edited by Davie on Friday 15th December 11:05

[blade7]

Davie said:

I've had seven T5 powered Volvos, as in the proper T5 engine... the 2.3 turbo... and all have been utterly fabulous things

Those are some powerful Volvo goggles you're wearing

[Davie]

blade7 said:

Those are some powerful Volvo goggles you're wearing

Put it this way, I once owned a Vectra GSi estate... trust me, T5's are fabulous things... however if we're comparing them to say a C63 AMG estate or an RS6 then I dear say they're actually not that good.

All relative / personal opinion etc etc

[11MXR]

Ive got a V70R AWD I'm thinking of selling, mint condition. Very Rare too. Does anyone think its worth getting rid of?

[blade7]

11MXR said:

Ive got a V70R AWD I'm thinking of selling, mint condition. Very Rare too. Does anyone think its worth getting rid of?

If the Angle gearbox is knackered or on the way out I would.