1997 Volvo S90 CD 3.0 24v
Summary:
Superb - a refined yet potent luxury saloon
Faults:
I have records of the air conditioning going wrong, and the LED strip on the gear selector panel. That's it!
I acquired it without MOT, and it needs the handbrake hinges unseizing (previous owner never used it, just left it in 'P') and a new front tyre!
MOT on my last car was £230, and £448 the year before that - so I'm quite happy.
General Comments:
I bought this car as a replacement for my 460, which was costing so much to maintain. I dreaded every MOT and every long trip, as I knew something would fall off or come undone.
This car is very well-built, and is all Volvo. And more importantly, perhaps, the engine is the right way round :)
The interior is perfect, for me, and has pretty much every toy you could possibly want. It has cream leather, wood effect dash, thick carpets on the floor, ceiling and even on the side pillars. And at night the dash lights glow a really nice blue/green colour - perfect!
The engine is quite amazing, being a straight six it is smooth, quiet and very powerful. The car is not as nippy as my 460 turbo, but once on the motorway or on a big enough country lane, it will quite happily zip along (making a gorgeous sound as it does).
It is an ex undercover police car, so it has obviously been looked after - I've never seen a car that drives and performs so well with 143k on the clock.
It was the perfect replacement for my last car - it's basically a much bigger, much more reliable and much more executive version. It's a true beast, and is giving me the impression it'll last for a very long time to come.
I have not yet measured the fuel consumption, but I can see it's pretty bad. On a long run, it might get over 30mpg! My last got 48mpg once! The way I see it, I will recover the costs in not having to visit the garage every week.
I can highly recommend one of these cars, they are fantastic. Oh yes, and it is group 16, but I am only 21 and can insure one for £597, so don't let that hold you back!
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 19th June, 2007
23rd Jun 2007, 08:21
Haha - yes sir, that was the one. Looked a bit pink in the photos, but went to see it and fell in love straight away! It's a nice dark metallic red/maroon and looks pretty nice when it's all polished up!
It's still sitting in the driveway waiting for the MOT, but I have spent some time cleaning it up. It turns out it really is in good condition and has been really well looked after.
I've had two 340s, a 460 turbo and now this. This is obviously the best by far to date. But all of them have been great cars. The chap was quite surprised I wasn't a 50 year old gent when I went round to view it. Not exactly a student's car :)
I will update once I've had it on the road for a bit!
30th Jul 2007, 04:31
Well, have owned the car for a bit now - it flew through the MOT with nothing needing doing to it. The handbrake just needed to be used a bit to get it working! Everything else on it is working perfectly except a small coolant leak. Think a pipe has come loose. As I work out how to use each of the toys the car just gets better and better. It's quite a lot of fun round corners if you get bored :) even in the dry. Also, I'm averaging 20-22mpg which I'm not displeased about as that's with fairly harsh driving. I still highly recommend these cars and can see me having this for a very long time.
All the best!
20th Jun 2007, 09:36
I agree too with the above comment. I am 25 and run a 960 facelift 3.0 CD Estate (young big Volvo drivers are still quite rare in the UK) with 180k miles and love it too. I also have had other Volvo's in the past and think they are great. Exceptionally comfortable and safe and drives lovely. ps; I also saw the S90 above on eBay and thought about it!!!