After the untimely demise of my 1990 Volvo 240 wagon, in the summer of 2010, I decided I wanted another try at owning a Volvo wagon. While I had been focused on the classic RWD Volvo model (200/700/900) series, I wasn’t finding anything available that worked in my price range. I then saw a Craiglist ad for something a bit different – a 1996 Volvo 850R wagon being sold by a younger Volvo enthusiast guy in northeast Minneapolis. I hadn’t considered looking at something “newer” (or at least, more modern), but the opportunity to own one of the legendary sleeper wagons of all time seemed too good to pass. What followed was the automotive equivalent of one of those troubled romantic relationships where, despite knowing better, you keep coming back for more abuse because everything always seems on the verge of being great (until it wasn’t).
Aside from the iconic brick profile, the 850 shared nothing with the much older 240. Indeed, the 850 was Volvo’s first FWD model in 1993, and was designed to be Volvo’s answer to the growing performance profile of other European manufacturers. As new model platforms across the automotive world migrated to front-wheel drive, Volvo decided to use this as an opportunity to flex its engineering muscles. The 850 featured a new five-cylinder engine, a completely different suspension, upgraded (in theory) materials, and greater attention to aerodynamics (despite the boxy look) – all with the goal of moving the brand upmarket to better compete with the likes of BMW, Audi, Mercedes, etc.
The 850 tested out well with the automotive journalist crowd and even Consumer Reports (bastion of sensibility) thought it was one of the top luxury cars of the era. True, the ride could be a little too firm and, with the higher pressure turbo models, torque steer could be a little challenging. But the truth was – particularly in its various turbo forms – the 850 could haul butt. It might have looked somewhat like every other Volvo, but, watch out!
As pokey as the 240 was to drive, the 850R was its polar opposite. The R series was designed to be Volvo’s version of the BMW M – a line of functional and aesthetic upgrades that took a plebeian model to the next level of performance. My red wagon came with all of the gadgets available at the time – alcantara suede/leather seats, sunroof, automatic climate control, traction control with ABS, dual front and side airbags, a lower front air dam with rear hatch spoiler, fog lights, headlight wipers – you name it. But the thing that sold me was the power – hit the gas pedal and, once the turbo spooled up, the car rocketed away. I left many guys in Mustangs and Camaros with their jaws open as I blew them away at traffic lights. And I could still fit a complete Costco run for the family. What more could a family man/car guy want?
In buying the 850R, I made some crucial mistakes. Mistake one – I didn’t get the full history on the car. The guy I bought it from had owned it for a few years and was a true Volvo enthusiast, so I neglected to ask questions about the car’s past. It had over 160K miles and most of that came early on. Which leads me to mistake two – assuming that the Volvo durability I experienced with the 240 translated to the 850. The 240 and other RWD models of the time represented the culmination of decades of Volvo experience with the platform. The 850 was new territory – and, as a result, Volvo was trying out a lot of new stuff. Some of it worked, some didn’t. But what I learned was that an aging high performance Euro wagon can sometimes (maybe often) be a finicky thing.
I was fortunate that the mechanic who had worked on my previous Volvo was also well-versed in 850 models. Greg worked at a small family garage in Minneapolis and I called him the Volvo whisperer because he knew exactly how to figure out what was up. He owned an 850 wagon that he daily drove. He understood their quirks – the engine oil leaks, ABS module failures, flame trap quirks, turbo finickiness, wiring, etc When the 850 worked, it was great. And when it didn’t – which included leaving me stranded numerous times either at home or somewhere around the Twin Cities, it was like some voodoo magic was working on the car. Greg and I started seeing a lot more of each other – and my bank account reflected it. I bought the car for about $2500 and, truth be known, I should have figured that it would have some issues. But I was naive and smitten with the possibility of what the wagon could be – a family man sports car.
The 850R was my daily driver for four years. When it worked, it did kid pick-ups, commuting, grocery runs, work trips around Minnesota in all weather and more. The front air dam – which hung ridiculously low – eventually fell off on a highway in St. Paul. I pulled over into the slush, grabbed the thing from the median and threw it in the back, later using some zip ties and duct tape to reattach it. Same with the passenger side mirror that collided one snowy morning with a parked car. The heated seats stopped working, the a/c needed a charge monthly in order to work and the rear wiper had a mind of its own. But one morning in the summer of 2014, the car just refused to start and I raised the white flag. I posted it on Craigslist and sold it to a young college grad who wanted a fast car. He came with a trailer and whisked it away. I later did see it on the road in St. Paul, so I guess he figured out how to get it going again. I was out of patience and decided that whatever I got next needed to be more reliable. (Indeed, for a future COAL, I’ll discuss the replacement for it – a Lexus ES300.)
“I left many guys in Mustangs and Camaros with their jaws open as I blew them away at traffic lights.”
Please pardon the question – but: Might this have been part of the problems ?
Drive a 850 as you are used to drive a VOLVO. And it will be a true an faithful companion for miles and miles and miles and…
Might this have been part of the problems ?
The author will have to answer it definitively, but quite likely not, at least not for most of the issues. He didn’t go into great detail as to what the issues were although he did say: “engine oil leaks, ABS module failures, flame trap quirks, turbo finickiness, wiring, etc.” None of those sound like they are the result of fast driving.
I think the idea that the occasional full-throttle run would cause specific mechanical issues in a high performance vehicle is overblown. They were built to take that. The wiring, ABS and other issues that all 850s had were certainly not affected by fast driving.
Please remember that I was a family man in his 40’s when I owned this car. I was doing daily tasks with the R wagon, not track racing. But it was an occasional kick to hit the gas pedal when some youngling pulled up next to me thinking the old dude was just driving an old station wagon.
I think the issue for me was that the R wagon had an amazing amount of potential and was actually fun to drive most days. It was just the wear and tear of Minnesota weather and daily driving that it couldn’t handle. And the fact that I think it had a checkered maintenance history earlier in life – this comes from Greg the mechanic’s own comments when worked on the car.
‘So, in the end, it’s not a knock on what was basically a sound design overall, but a word of warning that sometimes what you think you have and want may not turn out as you hoped. Aging Euro performance wagons can be big fun – but not when you are relying on them to handle daily duties in weather that goes from 95 to -15 over the course of a given year.
I wonder if you’d had a “normal” 850 if you’d have had a rather different experience. I knew people at that time who had 850s, who suffered some inconveniences (mostly related to expensive parts), but nothing constant and out of the ordinary.
Still, these R cars bore few similarities to your 240 series car (a non-turbo to boot) aside from boxiness. In the hands of someone who really wants one and knows that they’re dealing with something other than a Volvo of yore, I hear they can be very very enjoyable. Otherwise, not so much.
Was yours a manual transmission (highly desirable) or an automatic?
Looking forward to Part 3!
The 850R was a wonderful car in many ways and I learned a lot even from some of the maintenance headaches. I do think this was a combination of prior bad maintenance catching up with the car. And unfortunately I caught a number of them.
I had an automatic – I don’t believe the manuals was available for R wagons in 1996. But I could be wrong.
If you wanted a fwd wagon imo SAAB was the way to go. More experience with fwd than just about anyone, more experience with turbos, and the excellent Trionic engine mgmt system. We still have a ’08 9-3 wagon in the family, a great car. Still have our ’87 900 and ’84 8 Valve Turbo too… SAAB forever!
PS our 9-3 wagon is the Aero version.. it’ll scoot too!
No significant problems yet at 160k. We do still love us our Ovlov 240s too though!
I’d say it’s a matter of personal preference; yes, Saab has more FWD experience, but less wagon experience. More turbo experience, yes, but Volvo comes close – those three years made a negligible difference in the late nineties.
Here in Denmark, both old Saab wagons and Volvo wagons seem to survive longer than most other cars.
(I have had both Saab and Volvo)
I am intrigued by the Saab comparison. I recognize Volvo and Saab approach the subject from different angles, even if they get lumped together due to their Swedish origins. In the 80’s and 90’s, to my Gen X American eyes, they seemed like interesting takes on the question of what a European luxury-ish car should be like. Different from the European models that were imported from other countries.
I do look at C/L posts for old Saabs here in the PNW and know there is a pretty strong local community of enthusiasts and repair people so I’m tempted to pick something up. Maybe a 900 convertible with a manual for something completely different. Who knows?
Thanks for sharing this. I have spent quite some time behind the wheel of my dad’s T-5R around the turn of the century. Today electric cars have redefined what fast is, but back then these were blisteringly quick. The sound of that 5-cylinder at full chat was amazing.
I really like these T-5Rs and Rs.
One little note: The 8-series was not the first FWD Volvos; the 4-series were. You are, however, correct that this marked a shift as it was the first “big” (“real” in many’s eyes) Volvo with FWD.
I have had a 242 and a 740 and I have driven my parents’ 242, 245, 740 and 850 a lot, so this series is interesting to me.
I can think of one movement that the looks of this thing might evoke to many people – which, on a bad day, might have included me – but I actually like the rounded-off rectiliniarity of the 850 wagon. And as an R wagon, wowser. How to get your dogs from Here to There, fast.
160K miles on a hi-po Euro requires more faith (or general religiosity of any sort) than I could ever muster, so I admire you for that. And considering which, you did ok for four years. But it’s a bit sad that those leaks and quirks and other (anti)features got bad on the stoic Volvos so prevalently upon the advent of the FWD generation. Too often, it seemed that those usual Euro failures were there on the new-gen Volvos whether high in the miles or not.
The 850’s successor, the S/V 70, had similar reliability issues. We bought ours new, loved that little tank, but finally threw in the towel around 70k miles. Engine management, ABS brain, and AC compressor all needed replacement. We fled back to J-VINs.