My mother-in-law bought one new in 1985 (no, that's NOT her in the picture below). It was the basic 343 DL, with a Renault 1.4 liter engine, I believe. With the rear-mounted gearbox it actually was quite well balanced, and fun to drive on winding roads if you kept the revvs up.

The 340 was developed by the Dutch DAF company during the first half of the '70s and put in production in '76 after Volvo's takeover. I seem to remember having read that this model was an important factor in Volvo's decision to buy DAF. Volvo needed a smaller model in the wake of the oil crisis, and DAF had one ready-to-go. (They just re-branded the existing DAF 66 and put heavy bumpers on it, but the 340 only exists as a Volvo.)

The first year models had the dreaded Continous Variable Transmission from DAF, later models got a normal manual box. The 360 version also got a B200 engine. I believe it sold well in the UK and in the Netherlands, as well as in Scandinavia. Production ceased in 1989.



Erling.


Oh, and the Volvo 66:



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