1988 Volvo 340 GL from UK and Ireland - Comments

Had a tendency to stall and cut out when idling, which was indescribably irritating, almost vomit inducing when in stop-start traffic. Having dismantled the carburettor it was found to be a blockage which was preventing the petrol from flowing freely (not bad for such a huge mileage).

Chucked out a lot of black smoke when giving it some welly (which was 99% of the time).

Its main faults were the fact it was driven by a a 1.4 carb engine which generated the bhp fit only for a car weighing as much as a small rodent. Unfortunately, the old Volvo weighed in at about 17 tons which meant performance was by no means a redeeming attribute.

This huge mass of pig iron, powered by such a viciously under-powered engine also led to a pitiful fuel consumption of about 12 MPG around town.

Unfortunately it doesn't end there. Driving in the wet was on occasions, but when you simply want to travel from A-B when it is raining it became quite irritating/life threatening. As it is rear-wheel drive the back end became very tail-happy when you turn into a corner on the gas. As the enormous weight transfer and body-roll is pushed over to one side the back just kicks out and with such a savage lack of power, it is hard to correct. On more than one occasion this happened and on one occasion I span the thing about 240 degrees on a round about.

On the plus side however, it has got a tough old engine that can take a battering and it was good for 112 mph down hill with a tail-wind (although it was delivering about 2.5 mpg at the time).

Oh, and you have to be built like a boxer to park it!

I am buying an '89 Volvo 360 GL in Oxford, UK to drive for the year when I teach. It has 70,000 miles, but veers to the left. Alignment and rotation of the tires helped, but it still slightly veers. Do you think this car will last the year and is it a safe car? I know Volvo, in general, is safe, but it's so tiny!!

Virginia

in Ga.

Rest assured it will do at least another 100,000 miles!! The steering is so vague it shouldn't make too much difference anyway! Get the wheels balanced and aligned, make sure the pressures are right and bear in mind the cambered surface of the road, it will always cause a car to pull slightly to the left or the right (depending on which side of the road you drive on!) The only thing it may cause is uneven tyre wear but I wouldn't worry too much about that if you only want the car for a year.

I am surprised at the original author's comments here. obviously he had either a defunct or a worn out example! I have been a fan of these things for years... They are indestrtuctible beasts. Possibly Volvo's best All Rounder to date. Buy a good one, look after it and it will be your friend for years.

Nik.

Sounds like your car had a problem with the carb, mide did the same thing when I bought it, £12 for some STP fuel system cleaner (the stuff in the silver bottle) and it was a different car, adequete power, economical, and a great runner.

Solid cars, very comfortable, and a great inexpensive runabout.

Loved mine, will buy another when winter sets in, my other car, an American muscle car, isn't ideal in winter.