1991 Volvo 480 Turbo from Belgium - Comments

My Onboard computer is not working as it should, this is a common problem on early 480's.

The interior is beginning to show signs of age: seat belts and door trim are in bad shape.

I have now owned my volvo 480 for just over a year, but it has been in my family since 1992.

The car has infact been very reliable. It has never broken down or had any major problems. There are some minor electrical faults with the car but this is a common problem and isnt too much of a hassle.

Some reviews on this site make the Volvo

480 Turbo out to be some kind of sports car. Don't be fooled by the turbo badge on the back of the car. This car is by no means a fast car. It is a pretty heavy car and has a standard output of 120 hp, hence the power to weight ration isn't great. On the turbo model the turbo does very little indeed. Infact it only charges at 0,3 bar adding a pewny 8 hp over the standard 480 ES.

Handling wise it is great at city speeds. However, above 140 km/h the car feels unstable. This is not a car with track handling, push it too hard and it will understeer.

Comfort wise the car is on the low side. The seats are good as is the driving position but the car is noisy and you hear and feel every bump on the road. This is not a car designed for long distances.

To sum things up this car is a bit of an oddity in the volvo range. It is small and noisy and when driven on bumpy surfaces sounds like its going to collapse at any moment. However, as a city car it is great: Nimble with good handling and good looks.

If you plan on buying one get a decent one as the cheap ones are cheap for a reason, and you'll end up on websites like this one writing hate coloms!

OK here is an update:

The car's electrics are still playing up, more so now than before. These problems have come to my attention;

1.The rev counter doesn't work when the engine is cold. It usually starts operating again after about 15 minutes.

2.On board computer is usually always off for some reason, but now it comes on every now and then.

3.A very strange thing has happened recently (twice to be exact). While at a traffic lights I have turned lights on (for lamps or normal) and the car has just died. It restarts immediately, but still this is quite disturbing.

4. The whining from the power-steering has become more prominent and is actually very frustrating during city driving.

That's about it for the moment... driving me nuts, but a new car is on its way shortly, Thank God!