Faults:

Very few things went wrong :

Pneumatic boot struts failed (have been replaced).

A few problems with the carburettor, which is a common problem on the 340 1.7.

New clutch after 270.000km.

At 314.000km, I had to work on the radiator, new tires, brakes and exhaust, so I decided to go for a newer Volvo (S40 1.8).

General Comments:

Typical underdog : bad looks, but nice acceleration and handling. Loved the car, especially for travelling long distances on the highway at 140-160km/h. I managed to drive at 7 litres/100km, and it never broke down, except for the carburettor problem that appeared twice.

Very beautiful blue plush/tweed interior.

Only minor points : petrol tank was too small (45 litres) and no power steering on the DL in Belgium.

I have fond memories of the car.

Faults:

Battery and ignition sparks failed this winter, I also had a big short circuit which blew away a lot of fuses.

General Comments:

I like this car, I have it for 1 year now and it has been down for just 2 days, It still goes 180 km/h and it is very fast in city traffic.

When taking turns in bad weather, the rear suspension requires good driving abilities.

It isn't the most beautiful car, but you don't loose a fortune when you have a collision.

Faults:

- Brakes failing (some rubber getting air in).

- Electronics for starting the car (repeatedly).

- Battery (maybe normal).

- Pressure pumps for 5th door not strong enough (though spoiler original!).

- Oil leakages.

- Difficult to fix the back seat.

General Comments:

My wife bought this car 2nd hand. She had 3 small accidents, in this the car has proven to be very strong. I think it's able to drive though most of the other cars without having much more than some scratches!

It sits well and turns very shortly!

BUT: very unreliable, keeps road badly (rear wheel drive), extremely thirsty (15 litres in city) and very noisy!

I might buy another Volvo (the bigger ones are said to be better quality), but this car disappointed us.

It's very dark car to get in (only some light where you must put the ignition key, getting out as soon as you close the door), and I pray it would be kind enough to start. The variomatic gear is fun to drive in the city though.