Faults:

Rear brake caliper seized at 117K; opportunity taken to replace all 4 discs and pads, not overly expensive.

Original battery started to fail after 10 years; replaced with new quality battery, which gave up after 1 week! Supplier replaced the battery. The alternator diode pack/brushes were also replaced as a precaution; not easy items to find.

Ground to a halt after 128K, AA man diagnosed broken timing belt, lifted cover to check, only to find a garage (according to service book) had fitted the wrong belt at 80K. Currently sourcing a replacement head due to bent valves.

General Comments:

I want to get this car back on the road, as it does everything I want in terms of comfort, performance, economy, and (up to now) reliability.

The car performs well on the motorway as well as on the twisties, and rarely delivers less than 50 MPG.

The build quality is excellent, and it makes a good tow car for hauling motorcycle trailers about.

Have run it in very snowy weather, and it proved very sure footed and safe, although the windscreen washers tend to freeze up.

Only glitch is the cabin fan runs at varying speeds, and seems to have a mind of its own.

Faults:

Turbo seal needed to be replaced, but it was only $100. No other problems.

General Comments:

This is an amazing small powerful car. Very fuel efficient, reliable, great in the city and fast off the line thanks to the turbo.

I put winter tires on it, and drive in a cold snowy Canada with unbelievable traction. I have traveled the snowy mountain highway at over 150 km/h, and have crossed in major snow storms just before they had to close it because all the SUVs were skidding off. :)

If you are considering buying one, you will not be disappointed.

Faults:

Nothing went wrong yet. Had to replace brake discs, but that is normal for kilometers that were made so far. MAF sensor is slowly dying and will need replacement soon. Replacement costs approx. 500 EUR, so I am waiting with this cost. Also clutch will need replacement in near future, I guess.

General Comments:

This car is simply great! It offers a lot of comfort on long travels.

On highway this car really lives - you can accelerate easily over 200 km/h and it feels like nothing - really impressed.

Fuel consumption I get is also quiet respectable: city driving 9l avarage.

But longer travels are really surprising: 7-8.5 l/100 km.

Consumption is really low if I compare it to performance it offers!

Things to be careful about is to use quality oil and to service it as prescribed in service manual.

I don't like interior space - although there is enough space in front seats it feels small. Also sometimes I miss hydraulics from my Citroen Xantia. That car was super comfortable, but performance was nowhere near Volvo!

I compared a lot of cars from 2000 and in the end Volvo was my choice.