Since I have to write my classified ad for my Volvo 850 Sedan, I might as well write one that will cost me a fortune in the newspaper. Tonight reality hit me as my husband drove our new car into the driveway. He could hardly contain his excitement and I was doing my best to appear cheery. It’s not that I’m not excited about a new car/truck (Suburban) it’s that I’m sad to have to “sell” a huge piece of my life.

I have grown extremely attached to my Volvo and never knew I would really do this. This is the first car we bought when we moved back to the U. S. from Singapore and preparing to start a family. My husband’s had Volvos before as have other family members.

Fast Forward:
Exhaustive and thorough research complete, we settled on the ‘Emerald Green’ 850 GTA with tan leather interior. We opted for the additional add-ons and called it a day: Here are the notable features and our personal impressions:

Airbags
Not only does it have the driver and passenger air bags we paid for the additional add-on of side air bags. Never deployed but a nice safety feature we felt we needed.

Dual Set of Temperature Controls
Never again did we have to pout and push vents toward each other. I had my own temperature controls as did the driver, one knob for me, one knob for my passenger. There are plenty of fan options to keep you comfortable, sounds minor but I find it important to the comfort level of your “space”.

Stereo
We opted for the basic Dolby cassette system. I highly recommend getting a CD feature and wish we had done this. There is anti-theft circuitry and you get your own security card with the code. Fortunately we never had to use it. It means that if your stereo is stolen or even attempted the code is needed to use the radio. Disclaimer: Cassette deck broke at 40,000 miles due to user error.

Security System
We bought the add-on here and have since dismantled it. The system we bought is annoying and a bit unsafe with young children. Yes, I loved the feature of opening the car from a distance with the flick of a wrist but the downside:

• The system available is very sensitive. A cat walking across the hood can set the alarm off. The doors locked automatically if the doors remained shut for longer than 15 seconds. Be prepared to remove your keys from the ignition when you step out to get gas or you are SOL and begging Volvo service for some help or calling your significant other to come home from work, pronto. Do your homework on security systems, it is easy to dismantle with the flip of a switch near the brake pedals (below the steering wheel).

Headlights
We are big believers of driving with our headlights on at all times, night or day. Volvo’s remain on from the moment you turn the car on until you take the key out of the ignition.

Heated Front Seats
An option I have grown to love and would miss if I no longer had it. If you live in a cold winter climate, like Chicago or Minneapolis, this makes jumping into the car a nicer experience.

Traction Control
This is the car we use in the snow. The TRACS system can be put into gear with a flick of a switch and your car will immediately respond and let you get through the snow in our fickle DC weather. I have never ‘spun out’ in this car. This function is one I want to see on all cars if I remain in an area that gets snow.

Leather Package
I don’t think I can ever go back to velour seats having tried and fallen in love with leather seats. Yes, they are harder to clean (pen marks, dirt on the back of seats) but the trade-off is spilled milk can be washed up without staining or extra elbow grease. We bought the leather cleaner from VOLVO and have been under-whelmed. $7 is a steep price for a cleaner that doesn’t even come close to removing marks and stains. Goo Gone did a better job.

Wiper washer system for headlights
In the grand scheme of things this is a minor detail but thrills me. Gripe: we had problems with the right headlight washer blade sticking in the on position, we had it fixed under warranty and it continued to give us problems.

Turning Radius
I get excited about turning radius. I have not found a vehicle that has the tight turning radius that Volvo does. Steering: 33.5 ft. turning circle, 3.2 turns lock to lock.

Cup holder
This model has a dual cup holder that pulls out from the console. Gripe: cups are not snug and tip over very easily. Some children’s brand of sippy cups do not fit and my husband’s favorite coffee mug cannot fit in the holes. Fine for a fast food drink in width but not in depth. I have had a few dumped beverages during quick brake episodes. No back seat cup holders.

Back seat console opens to allow a lengthy item to fit through the trunk and into the back seat if need be
We rarely used this option, maybe once to transport a market umbrella but is a great feature for those skiers out there.

Good Ceiling Height
My husband, in-laws, and father are all tall and this car is very accommodating. Lumbar support is added in the front seats, a major plus.

Fits two car seats with ease with room for an adult inbetween
The back seat is roomy with plenty of legroom, a parent driving can access an infant/toddler in back without too much difficulty. Critical when feeling around for lost pacifiers.

Child Safety Locks
All cars should have this feature. Located on the inside jam of the door, a switch that when turned to the lock position will keep your kids from opening the door themselves.

Map Pockets
These roomy pockets are located on the back of the front seats. They fit books, toys, and random collections. Having these pockets has saved me from buying any bulky accessories to accommodate trash, crayons, and my AAA map collections.

Storage
While I’m fine with the storage in this vehicle, my husband is not. But understand that he has never been happy with storage, he would find complaint with a Winnebago with attached trailer if given the opportunity. The trunk capacity is 14.7 cubic feet has console storage in the front seat, a roomy glove box and built in area for coins. There are two side compartments for sunglasses and the like on the front doors and the map pockets in the back seat.

Gas Mileage
Locking gas cap to a tank that holds 19.3 gallons, 20 miles per gallon city/28 miles per gallon highway

Speed
This is no slouchy vehicle and not the least bit boring to drive. The Volvo has a safety image which is highly justified but it is also a joy (and I don’t use that word loosely) to drive. Accelerates from 0-60 in 9.4 seconds. Nice to know though I’ve never timed it myself.

Warranties
We take phenomenal care of our cars and go in for every mileage check, oil change every 3,000 miles, new tires at the proper intervals, new front brakes, pads and rotors. The warranty was four years/50,000 miles whichever came first. Our warranty is over and we have just reached the 50,000 mile mark. There is corrosion/rust prevention for eight years/unlimited mileage.

Customer Support
I was genuinely pleased with the dealership we went through and Volvo does offer an adequate network throughout the country. Our salesman was great at aftermarket help when need be and the service program was professional and relatively timely. Sure we had our car later on occasion than promised but all in all we were happy. Make sure you get the car wash after the service calls, we were promised that in our final deal.

The roadside assistance program (Volvo on Call) came through on the two occasions we needed it. Both times I was in my own driveway. All I needed to do was call the 800# on my card and I had a service person there within a reasonable amount of time. The first time was due to vapor lock (my fault) and the second was a battery’s death at 40,000 miles. When your warranty is up, so is the service.

Accessories
I learned from the purchase of this car to always get the hard plastic trunk liner. This is one of my favorite features and we had them throw it into the deal. It protects your trunk from spills, dirt, moisture, etc. and makes cleanup a breeze when purchasing gardening paraphernalia like mulch and topsoil.

Car Trouble Issues
We have had the following problems during the 50,000-mile life of this car:

• When the car was in park the gear shift would lock intermittently, we used the override button on the occasions when this happened. This override button is a safety lock but let us get the car into gear. From the reading I’ve done, this is not an isolated problem.

• The battery was replaced at 40,000 miles.

• Front headlight wiper would stick in the on position until you got out of the car to give it a nudge. This only happened when you were applying windshield wiper fluid.

• Various maintenance items like dead sensor bulbs, this is natural in the life of any car. These were easy enough for my husband to handle.

Visit the following site for any customer complaints, it’s a database run by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration:

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems/complain/compmmy.cfm

The S70 has replaced this model # and is very similar and if you’re interested in an excellent site for casual talk about the car check out : http://cartalk.cars.com/Contents/

Additional Specifications and heavy tech talk
There are a lot of technical references to this vehicle that you may be interested in and those can be found here:
http://www.velocityjrnl.com/arch/a97/fa-p970218-97vl8t-2.html

Engine size/168@6200 rpm
torque 162@3300 rpm
compression ratio 10.5:1

Sadly, I will have to sell my car but I’m happy to say that it was a very worthwhile purchase and one I would make again and may someday when my husband gets the itch for another new car.

Price for this car will run you about $16,000 with our current mileage and features. We paid $27,000 new.