Conference terri::cars_uk

GLT = GL Turbo

SE  = Special Equipment

Well its a good guess anyway .		


						Stuart

    re -1.
    
    Nop, that couldn't be the right answers.
    
    It was never mentioned that the 20-valve enginees are boosted by any
    turbo charger.  Also, Special Equipment version couldn't possibly be
    cheaper.
    
    Good try. 

    Haven't driven the 850 myself but all reporters from all magazines
    agree on one fact: it's not a Volvo anymore ie it is fast, it is nice
    to drive, it has good cornering ability, etc ... 

    GLT is Grand Luxe Touring - at least on my 440 GLT the turbo version is
    440 Turbo...
    
    So GLT = "Bucket" seats, spoiler, harder suspension etc than the GL.
    
    Paul

    re -1 it's not a Volvo anymore...
    
    What is in a Volvo?  Immediately I can think of safety being one of the
    major characteristics.  The new SIPS (Side Impact Protection) system was
    claimed to be just as good, if not better, then that for SAAB.
    
    

Driven it,
loved it (especially the new seat design).

For me it is what will bring Volvo into the BMW/Merc �19,000 race.

GLT is MINUS rear elec windows, cruise control, air con, fogs, alloys.
GLT is the 'top end" - cheapie to follow ... (that's the write-ups).

If you are near Newbury, mine gets delivered on 1 Aug.
(replaces Merc 190e 2.0)
Go have a test drive at Volvo, they're giving away goodies.

Jim Gay

    re.6
    
    Getting your new car in one week's time.  Must be good feeling.
    
    Incidentally, I got my Alfa 164 on the same day last year.
    
    BTW, did you happen to hear anything about the estate version from your
    Newbury dealer?  I'm eagle to know if there is one soon.
    
    Regards,
    G.G.

Fast Lane reckons it will be available in April next year!
Long time to wait for a tank ;-)

_Richard

    Just picked one of the 850 GL's up on hire, but forgot to ask which
    fuel it takes? Anyone know? I supposed to be leaving in 3 hours! ;-)
    Probably unleaded eh?
        
    Also, fuel comsumption? Not bad? Good? Only good up to a certain
    speed?
    
    Cheers for any info,
    
    
    				Lewis.
    

    Hire cars always seem to run on the cheapest petrol :-)
    
    Roy

    re.9
    
    Most new cars can take unleaded petrol.  If the car is fitted with
    catalytic converter, then unleaded is a must.
    
    Please share with us your experience with t new Volvo.

What can I say?

I have spent 3-4 months working out this choice.

I have a long back and a wife who only drives slush boxes.

The Volvo (seems) to give me bit of power when needed, fits the tax bracket,
 and I can sit upright in it.

Two issues so far, I can't really push it, 'cos the block needs to get settled
(doesn't that sound like I know what the hell I'm talking about!) :-).
 I have the seat at lowest forward and back rake, and the padding in the front
thigh support seems to be a little over-supportive, should maybe soften down
after a while.

The goodies (read toys) - child seat in back, seems not to take as much space
as 940/740 series (perhaps they really have squeezed more space inside).
Sun roof switch on dashboard, not in a place where you have to take your
eyes off road to find it. The ride is (imho) "nice". [I know I'm going to get
blasted for that!]

The  looks are better than the 940/740 (imho) , but as I'm usually inside
the car, I don't **really** care that much.

I'm not offering free drives yet, as I want to do as my dealer tells me and
"run in" the aluminium block gracefully.

On dealers, if anyone needs a help to decide which car next, try FAWCET'S Volvo
in Newbury, it's what I would term a "family" type of garage.
They have been great through the whole farce of the way I am allowed to spend
MY MONEY on a car.
I wonder when fleet will tell me the expected delivery date!!!!

BTW: 
Has anyone managed to get advertising  revenue from PHH for the blatant abuse
of their name getting printed on all number plates, even though they charge you 
full whack for the plates?.
It's stanley knife time tonight. I will accept carrier bags from supermarkets
for free, to advertise, I don't like paying to advertise for someone else.

Jim Gay (pedantic, but we're not getting ""super"" deals from PHH anyway).

    Well i'm back. Thanks for the replies on fuel, but i couldn't really
    go wrong when i went to fill up... there was green stickers all over
    the place! ;-)
    
    This car is........nice. It's comfy, quiet, very roomy, stylish (it
    turned quite a few heads) and is very good for motorway cruising.
    
    However, due to it being such a large car, it is very underpowered in
    the 2 litre form. Acceleration is OK'ish but could do with more.
    However i got it for motorway cruising and that's what it does best.
    Managed to put just over 3000 kilometers on it, and apart from an
    aching back and neck (due to rough night before! ;-)) there seems to
    be no problems.
    
    Inside space is remarkable. I managed to fit a Microwave, Satellite
    dish set, TV set, 4 crates of booze, 3 lugggage bages and a Hi-fi
    stack system in the boot! Ok it took me about 3 hours to pack but then
    you couldn't fit even a peanut in! ;-)
    
    For a family and luggage car this has got to be a major choice.
    
    Took it down to the local Volvo garage in Croydon (just to find out
    prices) and this one is apparantly just over 19 grand.
    
    One thing that did annoy me though was the lack of 'gadgets'. No
    sunroof as standard. Electric wing mirror (passenger side only).
    Drivers side was manual! Back windows manual! No warning 'you've left
    your ligths on'! All these things must be option! I couldn't believe
    it on a car of this standard. Oh well. ;-)
    
    Handling is alot better than i expected. Like someone said before, it
    doesn;'t seem to be a huge box, but a comfy cruiser.
    
    All in all, a VERY nice car. Not quite as perky as could be but still
    very nice!

�    Electric wing mirror (passenger side only).
�    Drivers side was manual! 
    
    At least they've got this the right way round if only one of the
    mirrors is to have 'remote control'.  It always amazed me that when
    door mirrors started to be fitted with control levers, that a lot of
    manufacturers put this 'extra' on the drivers side mirror (which you
    can reach easily with the window open) and not on the passenger side !
    
    J.R.

    .13�    However, due to it being such a large car, it is very underpowered in
    .13�    the 2 litre form. Acceleration is OK'ish but could do with more.
    
    I like your enthusiastic comments. While being impatient to see them
    produce normal cars you have to admit this is actually the 1st time in
    30 years that Volvo produce something other than their usual pseudo
    safety shoebox on 4 wheels.
    
    It will take several months before they get bigger or more powerful
    engines in it. But look at what they achieved so far: good suspension
    system, good balance all round and better aerodynamics. The thing still
    looks like a caterpillar but the sharp angles have been softened.
    
    You can't have everything in one day. Besides that they have a base of
    existing customers who seem to like their old product line.

    Well I seem to have fallen for the Volvo 850.
    
    If I get one it will be my 7th Volvo... (blush).
    
    To any owners or testers out there: I am hesitating between the manual
    and automatic versions of the 850 GLT (170hp).
    
    I have tested the manual one, and find it has as much power as I would
    ever want. 
    
    So my questions:
    
    Has anybody driven the automatic version, and what does it feel like -
    is the loss in power really noticable ? 
    
    How does the auto box handle mountain driving ?
    
    How's fuel consumption ?
    
    How's gear changing ?
    
    How's noise ?
    
    Thanks,
    
    Paul
    

    Well, for those interested in the Volvo 850 I tested an automatic GLT
    this morning, so I'll  answer to my own questions, for the benefit of
    future reference:
    
    >    Is the loss in power really noticable ? 
     
    The box has 3 modes: Economy, Sport and Winter. Loss of power is not
    noticable in the sport mode, it is a bit in the economy mode,
    especially when driving up a mountain road. I timed a
    0-100 km/h acceleration at around 9 seconds in sport mode, which is
    fine for my requirements.
       
    >    How does the auto box handle mountain driving ?
        
    Pleasant, and the car's handling mean that corners can be taken quite
    fast with no problems. 
    
    >    How's fuel consumption ?
        
    Not measured on the automatic.
    
    >    How's gear changing ?
        
    A bit fast in economy, Ok in sport if not too energetic with the
    accelerator. If you "boot down" this tends to wind the engine to 6000
    rpm before changing the gear.
    
    >    How's noise ?
    
    No more than the manual, which was fairly quiet.
    
    
    All in all a nice car, but the autobox will add another Sfr 2400 
    (about � 1050).... So I'm not decided yet !
    
    Paul

    Having now had my 850 GLT for 7 weeks and 5400 Km I though others might
    be interested in longer term impressions.
    
    First point to mention is that this is a 1994 model, and Volvo have
    corrected a few points:
    
    - Air bag is now standard on the driver's side.
    - Both wing mirrors are ajustable remotely
    - The rear, optional spoiler has been restyled to be lower profile, and
      with an additionnal stop light built in it.
    - Lights switch off with the ignition.
    - Air conditionning has the new environment friendly replacement for
      Freon.
    
    Manufacturing defects:
    
    The car is built in Belgium, and build quality is very good. Only one
    defect has been detected so far, a driver side door window seal that
    was bent into the window well. This will be corrected free of charge by
    the garage.
    
    Fuel consumption: for a mixed highway / Town / Country over this period
    has been 10.4 Lt/100 Km in the economy mode of the automatic gearbox,
    or 11.2 Lt/100 km in sport mode.
    
    The car, as previously mentionned, drives extremely well, no rattles,
    very low noise etc.. Handles very well too.
    
    The automatic gearbox is an interesting one:
    
    Economy mode - very smooth, barely feel the gear changes and power
    seems sufficient, but not excessive.
    
    Sport - More noise, more power, but takes quite a bit of practice to
    get right - heavy acceleration will over-rev the engine and actually
    slow down the real acceleration of the car. The gear changes can be
    quite rough.
    
    Of the "standard" options/features I actually find the split driver /
    passanger heating system and heated seats the most usefull ! It saves
    quite a bit of arguing between my wife and me...
    
    So, yes I like it, it makes town and motorway driving effortless, quite
    a change from the Volvo 440 GLT I had before it.
    
    All that remains now is for an "on snow" test...
    
    Paul   

Does anyone have a 850 T5 Estate ?

What do you think of it ?

Whart is the fuel consumption like ?

Grant