Apples and Oranges. You'll receive bi-polar responses to this question. Some bricksters swear by the 960 series , others have sworn at them. They must have proper maintenace from someone who knows this model. There are bricksters who do most if not all their work on these cars, but I would classify them as above average in mechanical competence. I do very little on mine.

The engine was co-designed with Porsche so it's very robust for a RWD Volvo. It aslo burns premium fuel and in Oregon it may get an average of about 18 mpg, with all those hills. The achillies heel of the car is the timing belt which should be changed at the interval specified (70K); some change it more frequently. It's an interference engine, so if the timing belt snaps, the engine is toast. It should be lubed with all synthetic fluids. An annoyance is the PNP switch that has a variable half-life, but seldom over 30K or so. It has other foibles like every other Volvo model, so you should feel right at home.

The car is roomy and very comfortable, especially over long haul trips. It's meant to be driven at highway speeds for long stretches, although I'm a complete city driver (3 miles to work in nothing but Baltimore downtown traffic). I get mine out on the open road, however, for a 14 hour jog about 3 times a year, plus short jaunts. Seems to satisfy it. Lots of gizmos, that of course can break.

And as I said there wil be posts from those who would yell at you to run as fast as you can away from the car, but some have never owned one. They just arrive at conclusions from a skewed population. A few embittered previous owners, I would speculate, had something in the car's past that is a red flag for trouble, but it's hard to predict or determine. That's why a thorough inspection by a third part who knows these cars is in order before you buy. I like my car very much, and plan do drive it for many more miles. And I have no reason to believe that I won't.
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John Shatzer, '97 V90 @ 105K