lem0ncurd

Have just sold the Evo VI for a poncy M3 Evo Cab and have found myself without any loading space or practicality!

So, I've been thinking. I always admired the brutal looks of the T5-R and you can't get much more practical than one of these, but I know nuthin' about them. These cars are getting on a bit now, so 80K seems to be the lowest mileage on offer with most being over 100K.

What are these like to own, run, service, drive etc? What are the engines like in terms of reliability and longevity? Can I expect 200K + out of one? Should I walk away from 100K+ milers? Most seem to be autos, with manuals being very rare and higher priced - is the auto ok?

Also, the facelift V70R is another option, is this in the same league? I have noticed various V70R in AWD, are these the same but with 4WD?

Any help, experience or opinions gratefully received.

Cheers,

LC

lem0ncurd

Can no-one help me!??

SOMEBODY must know something??

Cheers,

LC

steppers

no expert but ive heard the mileage is no problem with service history
downside so they say is servicing costs and bills

lem0ncurd

Thanks mate, good start. Anyone else - go on, don't be shy!

LC

66 Blue

checkout www.parkers.co.uk for a review

Artful_Dodger

Try here -

http://www.volvoclub.org.uk/dc/dcboa...opics&forum=18

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

I had the normal T5, good car, went to look at an R, better looking on the big wheels but didnt seem any quicker and the ride was very hard, pointlessly hard as it didnt handle that well to warrant it, also it had a horrid full leather and coffin wood interior wheras the normal one just had half leather and no nasty wood. They do seem to take the miles, sold ours at 75k and it was like new, even after 3 kids in it day after day, cleaned up really well, the engine was like new, no burnt on crud, just clean oil on clean metal, see no reason why it wouldnt have done 200k if serviced right, remember its a 2.3 with a reasonably small turbo so its not that stressed, well up to the job, nothing broke on ours apart from the rubber in the engine damper, servicing at a specialist was reasonable and even though it went through tyres quite quickly they arent that dear these days, fuel consumption was about 24 mpg.

I expect that if you are used to M3's and Evo's it wont feel all that quick, abot 7 to sixty as opposed to 4, they are usefully but not supercar quick, they can be modded but to be honest the chassis struggles anyway with 225 bhp.

Hanslow

Have a look on Honest John for some more feedback. Select the Car-by-Car breakdown, and stick in Volvo & S70/V70

47 NAT

I found that Honest John website to be pretty useful in the past ...

Andy M3

Sorry i missed this thread, i have been away !

Being a Volvo 850 owner, i believe they are very tunable - the only advantage of having an R is the LSD and on the 70 series, manuals have a bigger turbo -

Most people in the VT5 club run a rica ECU which but all T5's over 300bhp / 300lb/ft -

The 70 series in newer and the obvious choice, although i paid 70 series money for my 850 with low miles, but i like the classic 850 look.

believe it or not, auto's are quicker than manuals (with RICA) from a standing start, as FWD + turbo = loads of wheels spin.

I would have either or, both are great cars, avoid AWD, they love tyres, petrol and aren't that quick and their awd system can't take anything more than stock power !

have a nosey around the VT5 forum it may be useful !

http://volvo-t5.co.uk/phpbb/viewforu...52483140f89278

the wifes car



http://www.bigredvolvos.co.uk/images...4/wonderer.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/...2/f7b1db8c.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/...7/f7b1db35.jpg

lem0ncurd

Thx for the replies guys! The forum is especially good.

Keep it coming!

LC

Andy M3

Found out anymore with the Volvo, or is there anything i can help you with ????

SAM850T5R

Take a look here

http://www.cardomain.com/memberpage/639353

This is my 850, enjoy !

Feel free to ask any questions

Alec

Quick question. Whats RICA?

Thanks

Alec

Andy M3

RICA is basically an ECU brand that came from sweeden and sold to various volvo tuners - it is a fantastic remap and has improved the drivability of my car no end !

http://www.volvotuninguk.com/volvotuning/frames.asp

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en...rica+ecu&meta=

cheers

Andy

lem0ncurd

Ok, more questions!

I am unsure whether to go for the older 850 T-5R or the facelift V70R.

From the outside, I think the 850 loooks more menacing and aggresive, but as these are coming up to 10 years old now most are getting on a bit in terms of mileage. Should I be wary of a higher mileage T-5R, or can they take the miles with ease?

Apart from the exterior, what major differences are there between the two cars in terms of driving, interior etc? Does the interior of the 850 show it's age? Volvos from that era were very nasty inside with hard brittle plastics and big ugly buttons. Is the 850 the same? I have been inside a V70R and that was more modern inside.

Finally, everyone has said not to go for the AWD version of the V70. Is the AWD that bad? Surely the benefits of AWD would compensate for any reduced performance due to drivetrain losses? I do a lot of snowboarding, and the extra security of AWD is very appealing. Is the AWD less reliable?

Thanks for all the help!

LC

lem0ncurd

PS - How much is the RICA chip?

LC

Andy M3

AWD car are fine to own, but cannot be modified. In addition the cost of replacing worn parts related to the drive train are twice as likely as there is twice the system.

Volvo in 1994-1995 brought out the 850 T5-R auto/manual versions with dark 5 spoke wheels, lsd and Mitsubishi 16t turbo ?!?!?

Volvo in 1996 brought out the revised 850R with slight diferences to the stereo, trim and wheels. Again this had LSD and 16t turbo available in auto manual.

A chap from the volvo t5 club ran a 14.5 on a rica'd 850R auto on 95ron, standard filter etc. Since he has added the larger Mitsubishi 18t turbo from the 70R series and ran the same time. The advantage of the 18t is the higher peak (6500 compared to 5600 of the 15g)

My Volvo has covered 85000, we bought it on 72k and the interior is fine, no sign of ware. I know they go on for monster miles. The main things are torque convertor on autos about every 150k. those cars around the 80k mark may have origional suspension, so when testing the car if it feels like a P+O ferry in a twisa i would imagine these need replacing. 80k is cambelt change time, i had mine done at a specialist for £72 all in including tensioner ! Turbo will do 150000 miles - the only majoy things i could find on parkers is 'aircon problems' !?!? I had mine re-gassed 3 weeks ago and back to icey cold. Touching wood, i have not had any problems with my car. 4000 mile oil drops at £50 from my local specialist and she is like a peach. I have had tranmission fluid change, brake fluid change (dot 5.1), oil a few times, new plugs, ITG panel filter, 2 front shocks, cambelt, and plenty of stamps and my recipts don't reach £500 ! The Ecu remap including ITG filter was £600, this took the car from a miserable 225bhp to 304 + panel filter and 420NM of torque.

On to the 70 series, they are only slightly tweaked inside, rounded off outside, but a newer car !?!? However they didn't make any obvious changes, and infact run the same 2.3 engine in the brand new T5 !

My advise is if you are set on a 850, which i was, then look for a long time for a low millage comprehensive histoy car. To be honest £8000 will buy you the mintest car around so not big cash. As for the V70R you are looking at £15000 for a late V reg (i think) performance is the same, although a smaller turbo is used is used on the R series auto -

Have a look at these vids for comparable 70 series and 850's up the 1/4 mile (mine was against a 350Z - not a happy bunny !)

http://www.chesh.co.uk/santapodvids.htm

Andy

scooby97

If you'd like to e-mail a mate of mine called Stuart Williams

stu850t5@aol.com

then i'm sure he'd be able to answer all your questions. He runs an 850T5 with huge power output sometthing like 500+bhp

lem0ncurd

Andy,

Thanks for the reply, very useful mate!

Scoob97 - I'll do that thanks.


One other thing, does anyone have any opinions regarding manual vs auto on the R's? I have always driven manuals and never thought I'd own an auto, but most seem to be autos that I have come across. Is the auto ok to drive compared with the manual, and are both boxes equally reliable? Can they both take power hikes easily?

People are gonna think I've lost it, I'm bloody considering an Volvo estate automatic! And no, I'm not married or have kids - just want a car that I can fit the mountain bikes or snowboards in with ease.

I'm not getting old honest!

LC

Andy M3

ok - as you can imagine people have their mixed opinions. From a standing start over a 1/4 mile a auto is quicker, because the torque converter stops the excessive wheel spin - I have an auto and it pulls very well and over takes with ease etc. The manual has engine breaking on it's side and some say quicker mid range as you are in control. i say not because how often do you sit in 3rd at 70 waiting for an opportunity to overtake. So imagine on a single carrigway manual and auto. Both cars are in top and then you see an opportunity to pass. Auto you just bury the pedal job done, manual, you adjust your left leg encouraging it to wake up, along with your left and and try and get them to do something quickly - see my point -

The only other bummer with an auto is the fuel consumption is higher by 2 mpg (ish)

one last point an auto does 70 @ 2500 rpm - bliss

lem0ncurd

Cheers Andy - so autos do have their advantages then!

Any more advice gratefully received.

In the meantime, I'm off for a testdrive.

LC

Andy M3

How was the test drive ?

Puff The Magic Wagon!

iTrader: (2)

My XC70 is coming in 2 weeks - diesel but manual not auto - & I'll be 40 in 2 months time

However, I keep telling myself that its not an age thing, its just a good solid practical car with reasonable consumption that I can use for commuting in comfort and with a towbar on, I can lug my (as yet to be agreed/purchased) trackcar around on




(Off to the local Mini dealer to see if I can make it worthwhile for my wife to chop her Cooper in against a new Cooper S )

Johnny50

Have always found this website. www.volvoestates.co.uk to have lots of nice examples, often have a few R's in.

STi Blues

I owned a Volvo after my first Scooby (MY98) although it was an S40 T4 and not a T5. However, I went to a couple of rolling road days with the T5 boys and they are an excellent crowd. Most of the T5 850's were making 280bhp+ at the flywheel and similar torque - some of the RR speeds the chipped cars were reaching was staggering!
Personally I like Volvo's - they are everything that Scooby's aren't and vice-versa. Sure, I am back to owning a Scooby again (Jap STi) but on long motorway runs I really miss the comfort and erffortless acceleration of the T4 at higher speeds (OK mine wasn't standard - 261bhp at flyweel/276lb/ft torque). It was quite surprising what and who you could scare from the lights - when the wheels had finally stopped spinning that it!
Good luck anyway although I can't see myself changing for anything other than another STi - even if it does sound like you are flying a light areoplane on the motorway sometimes!