1982 Volvo 240 GLT Sedan review from North America

I've only had the car three weeks, so nothing has really had a chance to go wrong (knock on wood). Anything that's gone wrong can't be blamed on the car.

The air conditioning didn't work when I got it, but I'm not complaining 'cause I'm a hardy Canadian and you can't reasonably expect it to be ice cold at 23 years. This is where the power windows and sunroof come in...

I shredded a *temporary* tire (due to my own careless driving)

I broke the interior dome light thanks again to my own wrecklessness.

When I first got the car I had trouble engaging in first and second gears so I found myself launching out of third. With some practice I've found her 'sweet spot' and she's been running beautifully.

These cars are notorious for running up over 600 000 km providing reliable and reasonably luxurious transportation along the way. I've been doing most of the body work myself (I bought the car as a project) and rust has been a minor issue.

Mechanically, I can't really complain. Change the oil, oil filter, the pads (on the four-wheel-discs which I so love) and the dome light that I so foolishly broke. All easy fixes and maintenance to keep the car in *mechanically* A-1 condition.

I mustn't lie. I'm only 13years old so I am restricted to driving my car and truck around the 50 acres we live on. I bought the car for $300 CDN about three weeks ago and am aiming to have her on the road for my sixteenth.

The car handles much like my truck (partially because of the heavy duty suspension fitted my the previous owner) with most weight in the front and a wheel-rear drive configuration. I love how easy it is to control how the tail wags (so to speak) and the four-wheel discs really do the job with brilliant ease.

People have described the 240 as having delayed or 'relaxed' handling characteristics matched with an underpowered and un-refined, or un-sophisticated four banger. My theory is this:

If it's not cornering quickly enough you aren't driving hard enough. If it's not going fast enough you're not pushing hard enough. The less sophisticated, the less to go wrong and the easier to work on. Done.

I bought the car for Volvo's reputation for rock solid, reliable and safe cars (my family has owned four Swedish cars). The 240 always stuck out as I am a great fan of rear drive and the wagons are something of a legend. I would have waited to come accross a wagon, but I simply could not pass by the deal I got.

I was motivated to buy the car as an interest to learn how to drive a manual transmission with rear drive and a more efficient (and reliable) engine than my truck's beastly 4.3L V6. One day I was going to need something to get me to school and until I'm 21 my parents would make me drive the 'kid's Buick'-brrrr. PS- Who doesn't love European cars?

Thanks to Ontario's classic vehicle laws my Volvo won't be in need of an emissions test to be certified for the road. Believe it or not, the old beater will be classified 'historic' in just two more years. After only 20 hard years of Canadian winters and summers a Canadian car is exempted of the regulatory emissions certification. The only thing stopping it are its cheap, mis-matched tires that I am having replaced this coming week. The GLT (Grand Luxury Touring) was the top of the line model with such things as leather interior, air conditioning, sun roof, power windows and locks-all of which still work... minus the air conditioning. Not bad for a 23 year old machine.

As a closing note I need to add this;

When I was young I went to a school called Waldorf in which there are 600 world-wide. If any of you are familiar with Waldorf culture you might note every second 'Waldorfian' drives an old Volvo. I still remember day dreaming out the class room window wishing I was driving any one of those Volvos in the parking lot.

They're kind of characters- each and every Volvo. You can't really compare them to anything else to come from Japan, North America or even Europe.