Ever wonder about the AWD peculiarities of the Volvo 1990s 850/S70/V70/XC70 cars? Which P80 models were built with all-wheel drive?
It’s almost like Volvo finished work on their first AWD system and just couldn’t wait to put it in the upcoming V70-XC, so they put it in the last year of the 850.
Read more about Volvo’s AWD systems
MVS Volvo forums member Jazzop asks “Lately I’ve been curious about the AWD versions of the 855 & V70, but I haven’t found much in the way of FAQs/wikis explaining the model differences. Perhaps someone can help?
Depending on what I discover, I might want to add an AWD model to my passive search list of interesting Volvos to snatch up, should I come across one for a steal.”
TrstnBrtt:
- The 850 AWD wagons were sold as manuals. I’m not sure if it was all of them, but every one I have ever seen has been a manual. They are Canadian only and only about 217 came here. I’ve seen 2 in junkyards.. I’ve never seen a manual 70 series AWD but that’s just me personally. They may exist.
- I believe the rear suspension and gas tank are completely different on the AWD cars. Typically the 70 series are just GLT’s with AWD added. Same engine and transmission and LPT and option packages. ECU I’m unsure of.
- I went from a 98 S70 GLT on 16″ Columbia’s to to the 99 S70 AWD and it’s on 15″ Ariana’s with chunky tires. The AWD is noticeably taller but the P80 line are pretty low cars to begin with so it’s not an awkward look.
Please explain the AWD P80 chassis cars (855/V70)
This never came to the US:
The 850 AWD – the company’s first four-wheel drive car that was launched in 1996 – was a pioneer for Volvo. The 850 All Wheel Drive had four-wheel drive engaged at all times – a viscous coupling automatically distributed the power between the front and rear wheels. If one of the rear wheels started to spin, the electronic TRACS anti-spin system automatically distributed the power between the front wheels to the one with the best grip. The 850 AWD was powered by a newly developed engine with light pressure turbo boost producing 193 hp, and was a predecessor to Volvo’s four-wheel drive XC models.
1996 was the final year the 850 was in production. When the models underwent a major upgrade in 1997, the designations were changed to S70 for the saloon models and V70 for the estate version. A total of 1,360,522 cars were built in model versions originating from the 850 series.
https://www.media.volvocars.com
Please explain the AWD P80 chassis cars (855/V70)
Last Updated on January 8, 2024
1 Comment
I’ve bought a 850 AWD in the last 6 months and was looking to find out how many are still around in the Uk I’ve never come across one on the road and only one for sale on internet that wasn’t the best of conditions.