1996 Volvo 850 T-5 S review from UK and Ireland

Brake discs and pads

Now set of front tyres

Air Con compressor & re-gas

Wishbones, Drive shafts

Wheel bearings.

I bought this 850 T5 saloon to replace my Volvo 740 Estate. I already own another 850 T5, and I've been so fantastically pleased with it that I wanted another.

It needed a fair amount of work doing when I bought the car (£2,300 - ouch) but at least I now know that it is in A1 condition - apart from the Turbo Charger needing replacing in the next 10k miles.

It's a medium specced car, it has electric windows, mirrors, sunroof, a CD changer, TRACS (traction control), computer, half leather heated seats, alloys, spoiler, front fog lights and of course performance!

This is the saloon version, and I can say that it does feel faster than the estate, it's certainly a lot quieter and holds the road better - it sits a lot lower to the road than my T5 estate. Headline figures are 149mph top speed with a 0-60 time of 7.2 seconds. However, the T5's best party trick is it's mid-range power ability!

It's a fantastic car to drive, over less than perfect roads it can feel quite firm, but not so much as a sports car.

I think the fact that I have two T5's really says it all. They are fantastic cars and combine power, performance, comfort with cheapish running costs. I get on average 27mpg out of this one, compared to 24mpg for the estate.

My 20 year old son will be getting a T5 within the next 6 months, so then we will be a three-T5 family!

Once a Volvo driver, always a Volvo driver. This old chestnut certainly rings true in our case.