Tim Bomford

Does anyone out there have any experiences of these cars? Due to canine requirements I am looking to get one of these as the Wagon is no longer big enough. I need something with some oomph but also a load of room too. I <I>know</I> it is theoretically an old farts car but I feel these have got a bit of street cred even though they are only 225bhp I feel I could live with one as a second car....Any thoughts are welcome, anyone owned one? Not interested in cop car stories though!

Cheers

Tim

kurtw

Tim

Have tried one and it was not bad.

Get yourself the S70R AWD if you can. A good looking, 4WD quick motor (260Bhp)

Regards
Kurt

Markus

Tim,
May I ask what your canine requirements are?

The reason is that I'm looking at getting SuzyQ a new car, as Maggie the Weimaraner puppy is becoming more unpuppy like and more 'big dog' like with every day, and her honda civic is a bit too small.
Coupled with the fact that she wants a whole pack of weims, (though she'll settle for one, or maybe two at the moment ) we need a largish car.

We too have thought about 850's or V70's as they're pretty spacious and fairly rapid.

Suzy does seem to reckon that 2 wiems in the back of the wagon would work though.

spence

Hi,

My Dad has a 850R and loves it. I drove it for the first time the other day and was fairly impressed. To be honest I wasn't expecting to be either. Nice feel, comfy, stacks of room, if I had a dog I wouldn't think twice about getting one.

I have to say though, it sticks in my throat saying that as i have a bike and Volo's are the enemy of all things two wheeled!!

Spencer.

GaryC

You will need the V70R (S70 is the saloon)

I have driven, on many occasions, a 'chipped' 850R estate and a standard V70R and a 'R AWD. - the 'R is one up from the T5 (250BHP rather than 225).

They are fast, (chipped one was 270) but the front wheel drivers give a bag of wheel spin. All cars I drove were autos, so very easy , but no real driver 'fun' - manual is supposed to be very lumpy. The AWD is 10bhp less, but worth it for the extra traction and grip - but its is a heavy car so don't expect 'grip like on rails' of the subaru - it does slide. Very spacious, very comfortable, great Q-Car ability, very 'junior exec'.

Good cars - well built, great stereos (10 speakers dolby surround affairs). V70 looks better than 850R. Comfortable exec express, but not a car to drive for the hell of it. Huge boot, easy (too easy?) to drive, good straight line speed, very firm suspension, but poor handling (AWD is better), That being said, probably the best estate car this side of a 540/RS4.

Even though its a bit less powerful, I would go for the AWD as the wheel spin is a real problem.

Feel free to email mne with any specific questions

Tim Bomford

Thanks for all the serious replies so far, was braced for a load of grief!!!
Markus..at present have 4 Cocker Spaniels but I am on short list for a Welsh Springer (for me as a gundog) and the girlfriend is getting a Braccio Italiano (I think it's called?) sometime soon. Need something we can put a cage in. She hates the sound of scrabbling paws as I attempt lift off oversteer on all roundabouts!

Tim

[This message has been edited by Tim Bomford (edited 30 October 2000).]

Tim Bomford

Oh yeah...I test drove an 850 T-5 CD spec manual today and have to say I actually preferred the auto! The bloke was saying to me "it's quite rapid isn't it sir", and I had to say "no it is nothing compared to my Scoob". He was quiet from then on! Plus the car was shagged so we left that one alone!

Mike R

Tim, have you thought about an ex-police one from the Witney motor auctions. I'm sure you won't want a mint one if you're carrying millions of dogs. Dare I say that many dogs (not necessarily all!) are a bit smelly and it would be a shame to ruin a good car. Get yourself down to Witney - I'm sure you'll find a good one, although it may already be a bit smelly if its had pigs in it(oink oink!)

AWD

Ex-Police Volvos will probably be pretty high mileage. Not sure about the quality - whether they've been thrashed or not. At least they will be pretty new and cheap though.

Edited due to lack of spelling abilities...

[This message has been edited by AWD (edited 31 October 2000).]

Markus

Tim,
that's a lot of doggies! can understand the 'scrabbling paws' as maggie tends to do this a lot. She really does block the rear view when she stands up, which she likes to do in the Wagon. she does seem to sit down when I brake or accelerate though

Good luck in finding the car you need.

BTW - have you considered a Legacy GTB E-tune import? pretty big, still a scooby, and meant to be quite quick

[This message has been edited by Markus (edited 31 October 2000).]

Tim Bomford

Hi Markus. Legacy too much dosh and want something "fair" on fuel too! Bought a 1995 M reg GLT spec T-5 today. Auto box, 58k miles, black. test drove it the other day and was not impressed, but today I flicked the switch (I missed the other day) and put the gearbox in sport mode. Very impressed for an automatic. We hope to be happy together!

Tim

Chris L

Tim

Colleague at work has a T-5 which I've driven. Not half bad apart from the FWD which means it does suffer from torque steer - but a very competent car. I reckon if you got one of the AWD models you would have a very decent motor.

Chris

PS: Welsh Springers - maddest, daftest dogs in existance

Tim Bomford

Bought one that has a traction control button to reduce slip (I hope). Not sure about the WSS! Hope not going to be too mad Pretty dogs.

GaryC

Traction Control only works upto 30mph - get ready for a surprise at 31mph in the Wet

Markus

Tim,
Glad to hear you found a nice one. If you're going to be able to fit all your doggies in it then SuzyQ should be ok with her one weim at the moment in the back of one.

Hope you'll be happy with it.

As I'm known for asking rude questions Could you tell me how much you got it for, and where you got it? feel free to a) email me, b) tell me to 'go forth and multiply you rude sod'

Tim Bomford

Hi Markus. Cost £10,000 after a wee bit of haggling. Whitchurch car sales in...Whitchurch, Bucks. Don't know the number though. Do you want any bits off my wagon before it is traded in later this week? Load cover, load netting thingy? Feel free to ask, getting stung a bit on the part/ex so don't want to give'em too much!