1995 Volvo 850 2.5 Estate review from UK and Ireland

Volvo Alarm Remote Controllers dead. (I fixed one, needed soldering) the other needs replacing.

Slight groaning noise when driving off, after car has been standing (possibly a lazy caliper/lever on drivers side handbrake) will investigate soon!

Needs a few plastic retainers replacing on the tailgate trim, as it is loose and is the only thing that rattles!

I have always wanted one of these, especially the Estate, I purposely kept away from the Turbo and 20 valve models as I have read too much about reliability and expensive repairs to these models.

I wanted an 850 for family safety, comfort and performance, but I don't want to go racing (if you know what I mean, innit)

So after weeks of looking I found this high mileage, deep purple, base model 850 Estate, advertised locally, the owner turned out to be a Solicitor (Lawyer) I had £2000 to spend and he was asking for the same, so I went to see it, thinking that a car with 203000 miles on it, was going to have some problems or was going to be dented and scratched etc.

To my surprise, apart from a cracked windscreen, it was virtually unmarked and had a Volvo Service History that was a joy to read! Also the seller said he'd get the windscreen fixed if I agreed to buy the car and he'd get a new MOT (the old one was short) It had new brake disks and pads all round about 3 months before, also a stamped Volvo dealer health check and passed it with no problems. So I offered to pay the full asking price, after taking a very encouraging test drive.

Now I've driven it on all sorts of roads, and conditions, rain/ice/snow: My vedict is, I like this car lots!

Performance wise, the torque (especially in 2nd gear) is amazing for such a big beast, it accereates from 20 to 50 in a few seconds, making urban overtaking a breeze.

It doesn't understeer like the 740 I had a couple of years ago, it really does grip the road.

If you have to stop, the ABS brakes will do the job quickly and safely!

The 2.5 ltr, 5 cylinder engine makes a deep throated noise that sounds a lot like my old V6 265 GLE, but much quieter!

Everything works on this car, the air con is cold, the trip computer, the heated seats, electric windows and mirrors, all good, it even has a mobile phone hands free kit.

Finally, I got this car at well below the current value, there were others of this year for nearly twice the price.

I intent to keep this car for at least 5 years, here's hoping it lives up to my expectations, I don't think I'll be disappointed, the other 2 Volvo's I owned surpassed them!