Best performance Volvo?

[Volvo6]

I currently own a V50 2.0D, but I was thinking if I were to buy a fast Volvo, something that would be a bit more fun to drive which one to go for...?

850 T5/R/T-5R? V70R AWD? Any others? Which is the best in terms of performance and handling?

Would generally stick with estates from either the 850 or first generation V70 due to budget. Are there any differences between how estates and saloons perform?

[DSK]

You mentioned a budget, what ball park is it in as this will help others answer you question better.

[Clan]

Make sure you try a T4 before you decide ;-) economocal too unlike the bigger volvos

[gmain1967]

Originally Posted by Clan

Make sure you try a T4 before you decide ;-) economocal too unlike the bigger volvos

Having had T4's and currently an S70 T5, I'd second the above!

As for best performance and handling, depends on what you are looking for. Absolute acceleration and/or top speed? FWD, RWD or AWD, etc?

[Volvo6]

You mentioned a budget, what ball park is it in as this will help others answer you question better.

Good point. Not much above £5000. Not too concerned about fuel economy though. Would probably want to stick with an estate as well due to the practicality.

As for best performance and handling, depends on what you are looking for. Absolute acceleration and/or top speed? FWD, RWD or AWD, etc?

Not too fussed about top speed, acceleration more important. I had assumed that I'd be looking at FWD or AWD possibly in the case of the V70. I guess I could look at the older RWD Volvos. Don't have a preference as such for drive layout more interested in how the car is as a complete handling package...

[Macp]

Sounds to me like you want an 855T5-R/855R/V70R as you want an estate & not bothered about economy.You also get the smoothness of that lovely 5 cylinder engine that to me sounds like a muted UR Quattro.

[st5ve]

If your budget can stretch to the facelift 05 six speed V70 T5 that would be the one to go for. I would not go for the earlier AWD system as they are very fragile.

850 R estate manual is a nice buy if you can find one with low miles in good condition. Their is currently two on pistonheads but both are auto.

If you have a budget of £5k and want a basic fast estate I would look at getting a V70 T5 and enhancing the performance.

MTE stage 2 remap
Feritta exhaust sytem
Koni SSK suspension

You will have a very quick car for not much money.

If you want something standard I would go for the 850 R or a V70 R (not the awd though)

[Volvo6]

If you have a budget of £5k and want a basic fast estate I would look at getting a V70 T5 and enhancing the performance.

Yeah sounds like a good idea, will probably want to upgrade a bit as I go...what is the difference between the T5 and the R models in terms of the steering/suspension? I mean would be easy to bring the T5 up to R standards or beyond in terms of handling?

How much does the Koni SSK suspension you mentioned improve things?

[st5ve]

Originally Posted by Volvo6

Yeah sounds like a good idea, will probably want to upgrade a bit as I go...what is the difference between the T5 and the R models in terms of the steering/suspension? I mean would be easy to bring the T5 up to R standards or beyond in terms of handling?

How much does the Koni SSK suspension you mentioned improve things?

If we look at the 850 T5-R/R compared to the T5
The T5-R and R sits slightly lower than the T5, the T5-R has a slightly more rigid suspension system but remember the system is old and tiered

The T5-R runs at 240bhp in either auto or man the R auto is the same
The R runs at 250bhp

The T5-R, R auto and T5 run orange injectors and a 15g turbo

The R manual has a slightly better throttle body allowing better throttle response. larger white injectors and a slightly bigger turbo (16t) it is also claimed the ic is a better design. The conrods are allegedly spotted (slightly stronger) and has a viscous coupling type limited slip diff.

Cosmetically the T5-R and are very similar with just the interior having the leather alacentera in diffrent places. On the saloon the rear spoiler are different.

If you have a look in the performance section I started a thread about the Volvo Owners Club Motor Sport Challenge. In that thread I have timed runs in my 850 R auto with various modifications from a remap to suspension changes etc. It will give you an idea what modifications do what and how they effect the cars performance.

The most important changes are suspension, brakes and tyres followed by remap and exhaust system upgrade.

The MTE remap has a proven track record, on and off the race track and is considerd by those in the know to be the most effective off the shelf remap for Volvo's.

Hope this helps if you need indepth information try a forum called T5D5

[don kalmar union]

I would agree with Steve that the post MY '05 T5s in the P2 cars have the very best iteration of the 5 pot turbos with their 2.4l engines.

These latest engines are quite simply a narrower bore version of the concurrent R engines, all other components being the same, and are proving to be as robust as any earlier narrow bore 2300cc T5 and R engines.

With the MTE stage 1 software you will get outputs of arround 335bhp with 480nm of torque. If you fit a full performance exhaust system you can slightly improve these figures.

If your budget wont stretch to one of these latest cars then you can get very good results with the earlier cars/engines but the cost of the additional components to achieve comparable results with them will most likely exceed the cost of the later car and just a software upgrade.

Best regards, Don.