Observations after driving a 83' 242Ti for about 6 years and now driving a 94' 855 turbo (last 5mos or so):

I really miss driving the 242 on twisty roads, it seems to have a better feel for the road and is easier to manipulate the car around tight corners via the throttle. I also really miss the manual transmission and RWD, to me it feels more like a sportscar than the 855. However, I dont miss the wind noise on highway trips at 70+mph, the not so good fuel economy (17 city, 22 highway).

The 855 has the same Volvo feel and quality of my 242, but is much more modern and refined. I would recommend the turbo version even though the only ones found in the US are automatics. The 855 takes some getting used to when driven agressively, but drives around town very easily, quietly, and smoothly. The power of the turbo engine can easily overcome the traction avaliable in a FWD car, during hard acceleration it will easily spin\smoke the tires, and there is noticable torque steer during upshifts when accelerating hard (espicially sport mode).

The 855 has been getting about 24-28mpg in mixed driving (including a lot of full throttle bursts during passing and pulling onto the freeway). The engine on the 855 really likes to wake up around 3000rpm and pulls surprisingly hard. The computer controlled automatic transmission is much better at shifting than any old 200 series automatic, but like any newer car there is a lot more things to go wrong. Once you learn to use the OBD system it is easy to track problem codes and make repairs, but not quite as easy to work on as the 200 series.

I plan on getting my 242 back up and running soon (rod bearings went toast), but for now sharing the 855 with my girlfriend has been working out well. I would recommend an 850 turbo to any 200 series owner.


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Zack Silver 83' 242Ti (230k)