1997 Volvo S90 CD review from UK and Ireland

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.

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!