EZRider

Both are great cars. But the Subaru is my choice. We own an Impreza Outback the smallest in the brand lineup. Still very comfortable with plenty of storage. They handle slippery inclines like mountain goats

hacker-pschorr

WHAT? A GERMAN CAR FORUM SAYING PICK A SUBARU? WTF?

Volvo - not even a comparison to a sub.

Go anywhere? I'd trust an XC70 or XC90 over any subaru. Why? If you f*ck up, the volvo will do a better job keeping your body in one piece.

Granted, the older Volvo's in question don't have the AWD of the XC's but RS 2.7 didn't say off roading was necessary. I took an S80 over some very unfriendly terrien 4 weeks ago around vegas, held up just fine in rocks, sand, whatever I decided to run over.

The though of a Sub over a Volvo disgusts me. What next? BMW or a Toyota?

My mechanic works on quite a few from both, he'll get a kick out of this question. I now for a fact he'll say Volvo for total reliability hands down. He had a WRX (non STi) on the lift next to his own 1990 coupe quattro one day. He started laughing when he saw the build quality of the WRX from the under-side point of view. I really cannot wait to see what kind of shape the STi's are in at 7-10 years old.

Would you compare a Porsche to a Subaru? Then why a Volvo?

Sorry for the rant.

hacker-pschorr

I should also mention again from a safety point of view, only an M1-Abrams is safer than a volvo, especially the old ones. Remember, Volvo's have always been designed to hit a Moose at 70mph. You have any idea what they weigh?

A friend of mine has hit 38 deer with the same 240 Volvo. The damage is normally a headlight and grill. Sometimes the hood doesn't make it. Everytime his insurance agency wants to total the car, he tells them he'll go buy a new S60 and start smacking deer with it, and reminds them how much xenon headlights are. He also has an S40 with full coilovers and suspension work he doesn't drive very often.

odie

both are good choices.

Go Subaru if you want AWD. But the Outback is the model to get. The regular Legacy looks like...well what can I say. Consider that Subaru is practicaly the national car of Colorado. I never saw so may until my bike trip in the Rockies.

Volvo...there are no bad Volvos. My 1985 740T was the best used car I ever bought. 190,000K and ran great. You can't kill them. Very rust proof, easy to work on, part plentiful and affordable...not that I had to buy much. Great handling and performance. I'd love to get another.

In general, I'd match any Euopean car against any Jap car 10 years newer and the European car is still more refined, ages better and is a better overall value.

There was just no way to compare my 1985 740T to ANY Jap 1985-1989 four door anything. I paid $1000 in 1999 and I couldn't even come close with a Jap car at 3-4 times the price.

volv4life

38 deer !!! LOL... actually the volvo's aren't all that heavy, my 240 weighed in at around 2800 pounds.. now my 760 turbo weighs about 3400 pounds which is pretty heavy.. as for the 940 compared to the 740, the 740 is the 9 series older brother.. if your looking to mod you want a later 91+ engine as they had thicker connecting rods and a forged crank... in 94 they added piston oil coolers to the 4 cylinder block.. and yes, they take a ton of abuse and keep on going, as for driving in the snow, skinny wheelbase with skinny tires, you can't beat a 240 with a locking diff... handled superbly on factory suspension at 200k+, the 7 series and 9 series both tend to favor the *** coming out very quickly though in wet conditions so unless you keep the suspension updated dont count on it... also, 850's have problems with balljoins and powertrain at later miles, if you find a well maintained 850 then sure get one, but regardless i would stick with something RWD, if you want something with 4 wheel drive why not consider an S70/V70 in 99.. they went to there AWD system which isn't that great but it certainly isn't awful, you can find one for around 10k which is pretty good for a 99.

volv4life

oh and there rust proof because of their galvanized bodies.. like the posha's

EZRider

Fishey

I love Volvo 240's from a handling standpoint its a great car.
They come with BREMBO! brakes! 4 pistons! and Vented disks!
Galvanised body's (though can rust like porsche if drain holes etc.. plug) but are still much better at resisting rust then there japanese competition. The Volvo has a engine (N/A or Turbo) that is extremly well made and extremly strong. Cost of repaits? for a compleate engine rebuild it cost $600! (for all inline 4 models from the 240-960) including Pistons! not that you will needed it because the engine is good for over 400,000mi! with proper maintance

hacker-pschorr

He RS 2.7 -
I just noticed you in Lawrence. Small world. I went to South Junior High but moved to Wisconsin before I had a chance to attend Lawrence High School.
How's the town doing?

RS 2.7

price range; $3-4.5K max. I want to keep a good chunk for college/spending $.

And thank you everyone for you input; you are a lovely crowd to ask. At the moment, I am thinking Volvo. Euro-quality, plus I do not think I need the 4x4.

RS 2.7

Ah, you got to move up North. Lucky guy. Most of my family is from MN...I love it up there. Lawrence is doing great, this town has a great college town atmosphere; very liberal.

thedyingiraffe

Do older Volvo's come with manual transmission or only auto?

Fishey

both.. A 3speed auto or a 4speed manual with OD...