|
Woody,
First of all, you're lucky to be in NC...hopefully most of the cars you look at won't have any rust.
Now on with it....Any 850 series Volvo is going to handle tighter and drive faster than a 200/700/900 series. They're more performance oriented. Now, if you really want some kick, get a Turbo model....I have a 95 854T right now, and it moves. The Turbo models are significantly more powerful than a NA. Now, you do have a turbo, but in the 850 they are very reliable, so long as you change your oil at the correct intervals. I really love my 850, and if you're interested there are quite a few performance upgrade options for hte Turbo and R 850 models.
I used to have a 95 944 which I drove for about 44k,m until it met its end on any icy New York road...but because it was a Volvo I didn't =) The performance for the B230F 4 cylider was very....understanted. It was very slow becuase it was heavy. It was a good car to drive, but not terribily tight suspension (great turning radius). I understand the turbo models are quicker, but no better at handling.It was a great car for highway touring, I took it on several 8+ hour trips, and put alot of that mileage on in cold cold weather under harsh conditions. That car ALWAYS started. It never failed. It even ran/drove after I totalled it, just too expensive to fix to an operational enough state to drive. I maintained it perfectly, and it never failed me or left me stranded in any way. It was bulletproof, and it was very comfortable. I have a couple of friends with 740s who treat their cars very poorly, and the cars just won't die (or really break for that matter). Now, the 850 is reliable too, I've never been stranded by mine....but sometimes there are little finiky behaviours and minor details (which irritate me), but reallyd on't have any overall effect (e.g. sparatic idle...fixed now).
You should really drive both if possible, there is quite a contrast...but all 700/900s and 800s are well build, comfortable cars.
Hope that helps. Some pictures of my 854T at www.chopperware.com/chopper/volvo/
Brandon
95 854T 91k
|
