VOLVO 850R (1996) / Fast, sporty, luxurious box. What's not to like? Oh, the box bit.

Owner Mike and I review his lovely Volvo 850R sports saloon. Don't get upset Holden owners. We know there wasn't ever a Brock Special Volvo. Much to the annoyance of many Holden and HRT fans Peter Brock just raced them and advertised them. And this car was a track demo car, so yes this exact car was track driven by the likes of Steve Richards, Jim Richards, Peter Brock and our own Mark Williamson. So how does it stack up, 26 years later?
Mike and I enjoy a very pleasant day enjoying this classic saloon including a lovely lunch at the Sir George in Jugiong, in case you are wondering where these lovely roads are.
Volvo clearly had a rush of blood to the head and made a proper sporty one with this car, following the success of the 850 T-5R in the BTCC British Touring Car championship. A genuine rival to the Audi,BMW, Alfa Romeo, Vauxhall, Renault and Honda competitors of its era. A quarter century later how does it stack up by modern standards. Pretty damn good actually.
#volvo850 #carreview

[@edwinthomas618]

I love my 96 Volvo 850R more than my Porsche 928 S4. its easy to work on, parts are available and can upgrade to 300whp. love my Volvo

[@edwinthomas618]

@markcarrell8053 awesome. Have u you upgraded turbo to a 16T 18 or 19T wirh a tune

[@edwinthomas618]

@markcarrell8053 Aaron at Vast Tuning is the man.

[@KingCast65]

We just have a plain jane 850T Wagon -- Not boosting it because OG Transmission and 288K but it's great on the highway regardless.

[@Bitango]

Absolutely love the entire video. Is boxy, is good.

[@JETFOURLITRE]

I have a Dark Olive Pearl 850R sedan, manual. It's got a whole heap of upgrades, and makes over 347hp at the wheels. I absolutely love it, it gets the weirdest looks when you gas it up and people realise what just happened. We also have a '23 S60 sedan in silver dawn and we love it too.

[@stephenross4333]

A Volvo mechanic friend has been restoring a 1996 850R Estate for me, and it's almost ready. Freak storm damaged one of the doors, and it's being repainted. Car was originally black, and it was repainted Dark Olive (dark green). Looks nice! Manual swap (US cars did not come with manual from the factory). It's got stiffer springs, upgraded suspension, C60 brace, 3" throttle body, cat back exhaust, Snabb RIP kit, VAS tune, ethanol injection. I's been tuned to increase HP and low end torque. I haven't driven it since the most recent tune, but he says it's 'crazy' fast (he drives pretty fast, so for him to say that....) New upholstery, new headliner. We haven't done a dyno yet, but he say's it's making 325 wHP. Last upgrade we're doing is adding R brakes, front (354mm Nissan 350Z rotors) & rear (Volvo 330mm). 17" Pegasus with Michelins. It has spyder headlights, but I'll be retrofitting Morimoto bi-xenon projectors in the stock headlight housings with clear glass lens covers. Should be picking it up any week.

[@inCARnationAustralia]

What a cool project

[@Viscosity-cb3xl]

Amazing performance Saloons. A true classic that will continue to shoot up in value

[@nicko6710]

Yep Love my 96 850R Gunmetal grey wagon. People love them.

[@dennisnirmark1353]

Thank you for finally make an Volvo 850 R review. There are so few reviews about this car. Used own an Volvo 850 GLT 93 172hp love that thing. Still miss those 5cylinder noise the engine makes.

[@SVW1976]

Always admired these.

[@muckle8]

Fantastic cars - didn’t realise quite how special they were back in the day , now looking back I know these were magical

[@markwilliamson8662]

Well done lads.

[@franks5553]

A Snabb RIP kit helps immensely with turbo lag

[@tylerconlon1990]

I think the p1 Volvo had design in mind and they still look good to this day

[@2012hinn]

Some boxes are more beautiful than others! Just take a look at the 700 series compared to the 850..think the 850 is a really beautiful car, and yes that 5 cylinder engine chorus! Wish I could get my hands on one again❤

[@csebastian71]

Have 2-XC90 V8’s, a 98 S70 T5 but my favorite is the 95 850 T5R❤️

[@rubyremi3832]

Love the flying brick, just purchased an 1997 v70 r AWD 117k/km

[@The888Redlich]

Nice work Stu & Michael, nice car too

[@laurenshommen1767]

Beautiful car,Whe love Volvo.whe have a s60 and a v70t5.

[@plantpoweredhealth9383]

My sons 850 T5 wagon is nice except for the dash rattles which plagues these cars. Needs some urethane to sort it out. Engine sounds sweet though has front mount air to air intercooler due for more upgrades..

[@franks5553]

I solved the rattle problem.

[@yamahaevo]

Volvo 940 runs for 500.000 km without any problems. You must had a lemon.

[@chinadonconan6933]

How can an i5 be much smoother than an i6?

[@roberttshilidzijhbberea9501]

Mine is 97 Volvo850 t5 auto..

[@amosmendez1951]

1997 Volvos were V70 models not 850

[@user-dn7hc5ts7m]

Давайте про awd

[@inCARnationAustralia]

It only came out as FWD