Volvo’s current S60 sedan and V60 estate can trace their origins to a car that changed the Swedish brand’s history, the 850. 

It was 1991 and Volvo’s chief designer Jan Wilsgaard  introduced curves to its previously square design language, with the arrival of the 850 sedan and estate. This was to the shock and horror of Volvo diehards who viewed its squared angles as the way cars were built for the "intellectual elite". 

Times were a' changing and the future was slippery! 

The 850 project started in 1978 as the imaginative "Project Galaxy". Volvo asked its design teams to think blue sky and split them up into a Dutch team and a Swedish team. The Dutch devised a rear-wheel platform compact design that became the 440 whilst the Swedish team came up with the front-wheel drive 850, with both models being manufactured in their respective countries. 

The 850 still looks fresh today, in both body guises, and I still remember how good I thought they looked when they were released. I was a gangly teenager in high school and I remember seeing them look particularly sharp in green. Of course, they were no supermodels compared with the rest of the market, but to see a sexier Volvo after the conservative models to date was a revelation.  

The mid-size 850 models would compliment the 940 and 960 sedans and estates, as well as the smaller 440 hatchback. These were the days when Volvo only had three models – think of how times have changed!

Volvo's website describes the breakthroughs of the 850: "A transverse five-cylinder engine driving the front wheels, Delta link rear axle that combined the dynamics and ride comfort of independent suspension with the security of a live rear axle, the SIPS integrated side-impact protection system, and the self-adjusting front seat belt mechanism". 

This was mirrored in a high profile advertising global ad campaign with the slogan, "A dynamic car with four unique innovations".

Engines in its life ranged from 93kW to 186kW from 2-litres to 2.5-litres and a 2.5-litre diesel putting out 103kW. All engines drove through five-speed manual boxes or a four-speed automatic.  

Watershed moments in its life included the introduction of the 850 Turbo in 1994 (later known as the T5), putting out 166kW of power and a 0-100km/h time of 7.0 seconds. The turbo included traction control and sunroof.  

All Volvos in 1994 also got standard leather trim, plus side-impact airbags.

The next year saw the arrival of the T-5R which would become the hero of the range, with power between 177kW to 186kW during its two-year life. This was pacey for its day and in manual form (it was also available in automatic) enabled it to hit 6.0 seconds to 100km/h. 

The T-5R had Alcantara seat inserts, made by Porsche, and came in three colours including stone black, olive green metallic and cream yellow. Some countries only got certain colours, such as Norway that only got yellow.  

The 850 morphed into the S70 (sedan) and V70 (estate) in 1997, with a minor facelift, before the models were completely replaced in 2000.   

There are no Volvo 850 models for sale in New Zealand according to TradeMe.  Do you own one? We would love to hear from you ( contact liz@automuse.co.nz).  

We did manage to find a rare 1999 Volvo turbo cross country model, NZ new with 245,545 kilometres. Unfortunately, the piston is gone and the current owner has spent $3000 fixing with money still to be spent, but otherwise it seems to be a tidy example for the not so faint-hearted at $1200!