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Before I begin, the older 700/900 RWD's ARE larger. But the lack of the extra piston makes a big difference.
The 850 and the 70-series (referred to as 870's at Volvo) are the essentially the same car. The 70's represent a nice style freshening, with more than a few engineering upgrades beyond the usual tweaks. (Among the more appreciable changes with the 70's are a smoother ride, a new lighting package, window switches moved back to the door. Also, different cabin ergonomics, though the jury is out as to whether it got better.)
But predictibility is difficult to achieve. Volvo has utterly lacked consistency and their badging is a total mess. For instance, there are high pressure and low pressure turbos available...beginning in 1997 the 'LT' in 'GLT' meant low pressure turbo, but before then GLT was normally aspirated...unless it came with a turbo. T-5 and R both mean high-pressure turbo, though R is allegedly a kind of street 'racer,' yet there is little meaningful difference between an 850R and a T5 with stick shift. A bit more horsepower, slightly different suspension, different wheels...maybe. But who in their right mind would go racing in FWD?
As to the seats with Alcantara (suede) segments, you can't tell by the model number. My 98 S70T5SE has them, the guy down the block with the identical year and model doesn't. Both originated in Canada.
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David \\ (98 S70 T5SE Black, misc mods (mostly lighting), red calipers) (92 940GLE)
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