Which do you prefer? Older or Newer Volvos?

Hubby & I were looking at a friends newish Volvo today which is an S40. Nice car thinks I, & I wouldn't say no to one, when the time eventualy comes to replace my 440, but hubby thinks it has no character & is just a Ford Mondeo in disguise. (He doesn't like Ford cars) & thinks that Ford have spoilt Volvo since buying the company. Does anybody have a similair view? - Just curious! F

Hmmmm, tricky one this. I wouldn't turn me nose up at a nice shiny new V50 or V70, but I don't fancy the servicing costs. Nah, think I'll stick with my old girl, at least I can do a lot of the servicing myself. Dave

time eventualy comes to replace my 440 replace 440 nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo i agree new volvos have lost a lot of the character but still horses for courses :Banane32:

When did Ford take over Volvo? I haven't been in any newish Volvo's and to be honest the styling on some of the modern stuff I just can't get used to. In general though, newer cars feel 'plasticky' inside to me as did the new C70 T5 soft top.

I drive an assortment of Volvo loan cars throughout the year when my 240's are in for servicing etc. They are usualy S/V 40's, V70's and occassionaly an 850. They are pleasant and easy to drive but I dont like the electronics or 'plastic' feel. I sometimes drive a nearly new Mondeo or Vauxhall in conection with work and they feel and drive very much the same. I feel oddly isolated from what is going on with the engine and transmission and I hate front wheel drive. You will gather from the above that I much prefer the older RWD Volvos! 240's are my thing but I loved the 760 I owned for a while.:) Ian

Depends how old the S40's are, the S40 from a few years back isn't a Ford, it's a shared platform with the deeply hateful Mitsubishi Charisma. Just goes to show the difference you can make with some detail changes that the S40/V40 is pretty good where the Charisma just isn't. For what it's worth I love the S60/V70 range, they look great and to me have an indefinable "Volvo" feel which they share with my 850 which although it is much older has the same character. The problem comes for me when you go older than than the 850 range, you are then talking about cars over 15 years old, you could argue forever about character and feel, fwd vs rwd, this is not reserved for Volvos in any way. Imagine a wide ranging Ford forum debating the merits of the Sierra vs the Mondeo, that's the ballpark we're in in terms of age gaps. I have no experience at all of the older Volvos, for me Volvo-ness is a feeling of quality and integrity, a touch of luxury and plenty of comfort, plus great performance. But then I've only owned an S60 SE T5 and an 855 GLT T5 so that's a really narrow range. What can I say, you only know what you know. IMHO the "new" V50/S40 have definately changed things, they do feel built to a price but then the earlier S40 did as well. I think the difference now is the Ford connection is much more obvious in terms of engines and drivetrains etc, also much more component sharing in terms of switchgear etc compared to the earlier cars. That's no bad thing in some ways, but it does remove the "special" feeling you want in a premium brand. As ever, you pays your money, you takes your choice...... a consensus is just not going to happen when you have brand enthusiasts looking at such a wide age range of cars. Cheers, J

it depends on what you call old and new! to me anything pre '96 is old, as my car is a '96! ive got to say though that i think the last proper Volvo was the 940, i love my 855 but shes not a patch on the '90 745 gle i had. the new Volvos, mmm, im sure that when i can afford 1 theyll be old, and at the moment i like them all, but i dont think theyre proper Volvos. so on the whole, the old Volvos are best, i would lurve a 240-ian are you reading! regards cavey

Hi, its got to be the older pre 96 for me, always estates and RWD, I grew up with 240's. I love my 740 turbo and have no intention of selling even though its nearly 18 years old now. I can see myself adding a newer 9 series at some point but I'm in no hurry. Ali