looking at getting another volvo - 850 Turbo or S70?

[krush]

I got rid of my 850... Entirely too many problems with it.

... Now I'm looking at getting another one... Or an S70... I can't decide on which to get! I do know I want a turbo or T5/T5-R, but the latter is extremely scarce in my area and turbos are easy to find. What should I look for in either? At what point should the turbo have either been rebuilt or replaced? Right now, I can find more 850 turbos than S70's, but if there's a really good reason to wait for the S70, I'll do that.

So, what say you? 850 or S70

[JRL]

Depending on where you are and what you want to spend, I'll be happy to find you a good S or V70
I'm in the Phila PA area
850s (and S70s) are becoming very old cars so you have to be careful
Personally, except for my incredible 850R a few years ago, I prefer the newer cars for several reasons plus finding a halfway decent 850 is becoming very hard now,
The newest one is 13-14 years old so they're for the most part... very old cars in need of a lot of work!

[C@lvin]

For me, it would be a 98 S70 T5 or GLT. I like the minor styling changes of the S/V/70 over the 850 and 98 was the last year for mechanical throttles. Plus they are somewhat newer (by one or more year - obviously). Mileage, of course, is going to vary greatly regardless of the year.

I have always regretted selling my 96 Turbo (T5). 97 850 was the first year that the 850 GLT had the light pressure turbo - before that it was merely a trim package with an NA engine. I have long thought my dream car would be an R, but I drove an 04 S60R last year and I guess I am just getting old but the 300HP seemed like a huge amount of overkill to me that I would rarely, if ever, utilize.

I greatly prefer driving my 98 S70 203K over my 00 V70 119K despite the difference in age and mileage strictly because I much prefer the feel of the mechanical throttle over the electronic throttle. Unfortunately, after 98 that's your only choice.

JRL, I'd be interested in hearing your several reasons for preferring newer cars and to know how much newer you mean? I know that beginning 01 side air curtains became standard equipment on all Volvos and either then or not long after I think they all came with some version of stablility control, but obviously there are a lot more differences than that.

[krush]

For me, it would be a 98 S70 T5 or GLT. I like the minor styling changes of the S/V/70 over the 850 and 98 was the last year for mechanical throttles. Plus they are somewhat newer (by one or more year - obviously). Mileage, of course, is going to vary greatly regardless of the year.

I have always regretted selling my 96 Turbo (T5). 97 850 was the first year that the 850 GLT had the light pressure turbo - before that it was merely a trim package with an NA engine. I have long thought my dream car would be an R, but I drove an 04 S60R last year and I guess I am just getting old but the 300HP seemed like a huge amount of overkill to me that I would rarely, if ever, utilize.

I greatly prefer driving my 98 S70 203K over my 00 V70 119K despite the difference in age and mileage strictly because I much prefer the feel of the mechanical throttle over the electronic throttle. Unfortunately, after 98 that's your only choice.

JRL, I'd be interested in hearing your several reasons for preferring newer cars and to know how much newer you mean? I know that beginning 01 side air curtains became standard equipment on all Volvos and either then or not long after I think they all came with some version of stablility control, but obviously there are a lot more differences than that.

ah... there it is... Personally, I don't really trust electronic throttles (i.e. Toyota's recent epic fail), so knowing this just jaded me towards any 99+ S70's... and knowing that the 97GLT does have a turbo (albeit low pressure... but still a turbo) just won that particular model points in my book. I mean... how hard could it be to get more power out of it?

[jblackburn]

A 98 T5 has about the same amount of power as an 850R (just 4 hp less, and pulls harder than the 850 T5 at high RPM), and I like the styling on both the interior and exterior (and a few other things) better. Basically, it's an improved 850, with a few stupid things added (like the SAS system, "environmentally friendly" glue, and switches that the coating falls apart on). That would be my vote, but be prepared for the turbo's shenanigans (mainly leaky pipes/vacuum lines everywhere).

At times I wish I had gone the other route and bought the 98 non-turbo 5-speed that was in perfect shape but for more money, but eventually I'll put my foot down and know I made the right choice, even if it's a pain to live with sometimes