Review rated by 12 Ciao members on average: helpful
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Volvo's...square,ugly old peoples cars. Well no. The 850 released in about 1994 was part of the big image change for volvo and was the first step in the V70 evolution. T
The basic car an 850SE 20v was better than most of its opponents and was cheap. The 850 is built like a brick but fortunately doesnt look like one as much as the older Volvos. Some may say that it looks like a slab but what do you expect from a big estate car with the legendary huge volvo boot?.
The 850 carries Volvo's reputation for being tremendously safe cars, and now with airbags in the front and between the 3inch thick doors and comfy seats, this is no exeption. The base model does about 125mph at a respectable 10.4secs or if you buy the T5 or R version, you will be burning off those sportscars, as they reach 60 in under 7 seconds. The interior is not bad, with simple colours and high quality easy to operate buttons and dials.
Most cars come with the trip computer and leather steering wheel, meaning you only have to pay little more for a wooden wheel and CD player. Compared to a BMW 5 Series or other luxury car, the Volvo excels. The 850 has a nice 5 Cylinder (v5) 2.5L engine giving off a very revvy and eagre sound which combined with all the other features, makes it a very good second hand buy.
You can pick up a Volvo 850 for around £4,000 for a higher mileage car, and around £10,000 for a medium mileage 250bhp T5 spec car.