I have had 145's, 245's, still have a 745 and my newest Volvo is an 855M that I bought new in 1994. It now has 205k miles and I never cease to marvel at how reliable and trouble free it has been. The only thing other than routine wear items I have replaced are shocks, ball joints, and sway bar link ends. The "white engine" as these I-5's are called are bombproof. My exhaust still looks great after 6 years of living outdoors in New Engand. The engine is stil tight and leak free. All in all, everytime someone gets in this car, they can't believe it has so many miles.

What I'm trying to say is that, compared to the 240/740's I think these newer FWD versions are way better made. Surely many may disagree, but this has been my personal experience. No doubt, if someting major were to go wrong with the "white engine" I'd hate to price it out compared to the old 4 cylinder units. But the reality is these engines don't go bad, provided you change the oil, etc.

Each and every time I do a bit of maintenance, I marvel at how cleanly put together this car is; not that the older ones weren't, but the 850 has been a joy to own, and still has a ton of life left.

Don't let a buch of whiners talk you out of a good car. And BTW, AWD is a status gimmick, IMHO. I have never missed not having it. The FWD with snow tires is a superb snow machine.

claude