No, they are no ways near as rugged as the red engine cars. Depending upon the year model of 850 or S70 you use for your comparison they range from bad to horrible in my opinion. I love 'em though because I own a Volvo repair shop and I make bank on them. Things like axles and boots, a/c evaporators, heater cores, struts and spring seats, engine mounts, torque stay bushings, cap, rotor, and wires, timing belts and tensioners, pullies, O2 sensors, rear main seals, rotting vacuum connections, front end link rods, the usual radiator, engine coolant temp sensors, trans flushes, dash light bulbs, power seat back cables, front air guides, oil pump seals, oil sump seals, air pumps and evap system failures, ignition contact plates, shift lock micro switches, wiper arm repairs, ABS brake modules, and the list goes on. Of course most cars do not have all of these problems but they may very well see a large part of that list over the life of the vehicle. The red engine cars are not without their own list of problems but they are fewer and usually cheaper to address. As far as routine maintenance I would say that they only thing the white engines have over on the red engines is the valve adjust issue. There is no valve adjust on the white engines so they are cheaper in that respect. I drive a 960 myself and it has been a good little car, I beat the hell out of it truthfully, and I would not hesitate to drive an 850 but I am not only a Volvo mechanic but a Volvo mechanic that owns his own repair facility. If I had my choice, and it had to be a used car it would be a 94-95 940 or a later model 240 wagon.

Mark