The Car That Changed Volvo FOREVER - Volvo 850R

The 1995 Volvo T5, T5R and 850R were revolutionary, they were the company's first cars that were good to drive and changed the image of Volvo forever. A fantastic turbocharged 5 cylinder engine with 250hp, passive rear steer and a more modern look made this the best Volvo yet.

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[MS-yydh]

I have owned my 850 for 30 years. The reason I was attracted to Volvos was for the reliability and durability. My first Volvo was a 1981 244, in which I covered more than 300k miles. It is so easy to forget how all the competition was rusting away back then.

[onecookieboy]

Back when I was still working as a mechanic (1990's) I used to drive a pair of 850T's that we serviced regularly and I always thought that they were a nice, comfortable and refined car, certainly a cut above the Holden, Nissan, Mazda and even Alfa's that came through our doors most of the time. They were practical cars as well, built in kids booster seats and a 3rd row in the estate/wagon and plenty of room inside. The star of the show was undoubtedly the engine, that 5 cylinder offbeat sound made it addictive to drive and they had good torque and power even if they weren't the fastest car ever. In short, I liked them.

[KarlHamilton]

In 1995 the 850 won 4 races and was pole positon 13 times, a record at the time. Not bad at all.

[drumtum]

That glorious 5 cylinder sound is classic.

[trevorockwell]

Thanks Jack. Great review, I enjoyed watching it. I have a new throttle cable that I had made that I plan to fit. Loved doing the drive-by shots. A pleasure to meet you.

[Jeffrey_M]

A common misconception is that the Touring car was a turbo. It was a tuned normally aspirated 2 litre which used very clever rule bending engineering by TWR in its cylinder head design. The cable throttle of these can go stiff with age. A squirt of penetrating fluid on the cable solves the problem.

[Norrlands-rgvm]

Gotta be the best looking wagon ever created

[trevorockwell]

I’ve changed the throttle cable today for one that I had custom made as RHD ones are NLA. It is so much better now. 😊

[TheGreatDotfish]

Nice to see an 850 review, I had the T5 variant and throttle was not at all heavy. I suspect this needs a new cable. This example also needs some suspension fettling as I've not seen one bounce and look quite so jittery. Even with upgraded suspension and springs. I'm surprised the engine hardly got mentioned, the glorious 5 cylinder sound is one of the key things that makes a T5 special.

[markbray]

As a Volvo for life guy for over 40 years, it's brilliant to see you feature one of the icon's of modern automotive history Jack, thank you 👏🏻
I still miss my T5M to this day.

[artmccartan]

Having owned a 95 Gul yellow T5R and a black 96 850R this was a welcome video. Both cars were the 854's and my only regret is not owning a wagon. Currently own a 2020 S60 T6 R design/polestar but would buy an updated version of the 850R in a heartbeat

[honda]

Rickard Rydell and his 850 is still magic and was awsome to look at on tv.!!!👌

[mehrzahl]

I can recommend the 850 and the first gen X70. I have owned an 850, V70 T5 and now a C70 T5. So much fun driving these, nothing like the modern disconnected driving experience. Easy to maintain, maybe a bit heavy on fuel but hey - no depreciation! Get one before they really get expensive or just disappear.

[damianfuller]

That engine sound! Delicious 5 cylinderness! Lovely cars. Cracking results in racing. Cheers

[Birmingham_racing]

The Volvo that made me love Volvo and will never get bored of that 5 cylinder sound

[glenhowell]

I had an 850R many years ago and I absolutely loved it! The throttle was fine on our one. It was certainly the fastest way to get your fishing gear to the lake !

[AVM-Music]

Lifelong Volvo fan, so it’s pleasing to see the 850R

Older Volvos were awesome

Gotta get myself back into a 240

[Floorguy]

Very nice review video! I owned a 1995 850 T5R. Had very young kids at the time and the car had an integrated child seat in the middle of the second row....was absolutely great. I also had as an option two rear facing jump seats that were put to good use. Car was very quick, and I just loved the tubo lag when I put my foot down at around 40mph....actually pushed me back into my seat. The car was very practical as the back seats folded forward completely flat giving you a huge area for folding was something the much more expensive Audi Estate did not do. I will also say I had a poster of the racing Estates in my garage.

[DoubleDeckerAnton]

I've owned my 940 2.3LPT for 16 years and its a beautiful drive, even though its heavy. Volvo's have a quality feel about them and the 850 T5, T5R and R were game changers for Volvo.

[andrewpreston]

Thank you. Love that dashboard, and the 5-cylinder sound.