What's the Best Diesel Estate Tow Car 850, 940 or V40

Greetings to everyone in Volvoland,
I'm looking for a new towcar to replace Vladina, my beloved '91 740GL alas her Petrol heart is breaking mine so the quest is on for a diesel powered equivalent. I've trawled through the various forums and came up with the above shortlist along with the following Pros & Cons but as I've never driven any of them I'd appreciated any feedback offered.

850 - Audi engine I believe, 140bhp, Insurance Group 12 alas front wheel drive

940 - Rear Wheel Drive, 122 bhp Insurance Group 14 alas VW engine. (I blew a VW Passat 1.6 TD engine hence I now own a 740)

V40 Insurance Group 9, alas 90 bhp no idea who makes the engine or fwd/rwd

My total budget for this next venture is around £2K

Many thanks for reading this far any replies would be greatly appreciated.

Scott

PS Does anyone know why Volvo made the 850 at the same time as the 940?

Thanks

[Mike_Brace]

If your 740 is breaking your wallet why not reduce your fuel costs by going lpg. This could be done for about half your budget. My 240 GLT estate costs me about 8p per mile on lpg. The 740 should be more economical. lpg is at least half the price of unleaded, assuming you get about 30 mpg this would give you an equivalent on cost of getting 60 mpg. What does the diesel do to the gallon? Not that much I bet and I'd imagine not such good performance or environmentally friendly.

Mike

[classicswede]

I why not stick with the one you love and trust?

[LankyTim]

Ive considered going along the LPG route, but its just so expensive to do! My car is only worth maybe £450 tops. I intend to keep the car for the rest of its life, but as its a 1991 car its reasonable to assume that its best years are now behind it. If it were to be converted, is it easy to take the lpg system off it and put it onto my next car? Its a 940 estate BTW.

The reason volvo made the 940 and the 850 at the same time is that the 850 was the replacement for the 240, and so was not in the same market as the 940 (or so im told)

[scottishvolvo]

A friend of mine tows a small 4 berth with a V40 and says it is fine till he gets to a long shallow hill then has to drop gears, apart from that he rates it quite well. Renault engine in his V40, my local mechanic doesn't care much for the longevity of the French lump. It is FWD. Personally I would plump for the 850. My bruv has a 850 saloon, petrol , and tows a large caravan no bother, not sure the make, K reg and looks brand new.
Choose wisely.
Chris

[Mike_Brace]

Originally Posted by LankyTim

Ive considered going along the LPG route, but its just so expensive to do! My car is only worth maybe £450 tops. I intend to keep the car for the rest of its life, but as its a 1991 car its reasonable to assume that its best years are now behind it. If it were to be converted, is it easy to take the lpg system off it and put it onto my next car? Its a 940 estate BTW.

The reason volvo made the 940 and the 850 at the same time is that the 850 was the replacement for the 240, and so was not in the same market as the 940 (or so im told)

Lpg isn't necearrily that expensive. We convert 740/940 from about £800. Diy kits from £580. With petrol about £4 gall you would save about £2 per gallon on fuel costs so see money back in about 400 gallons at say 30mpg = 12,000 miles. Kit would swap from 740 to 940 ok.
Mike

[LankyTim]

Id see the money back in 12,000 miles? Ive had the car 10 months or so now and nearly done that already. Maybe it is worth making the conversion after all! Is the DIY kit easy to install at home? Does it need to be certified?

Ive also heard about people buying their own gas pump and filling up with **shhhh** calor gas. Be very cheap motoring if that were the case!

[Mike_Brace]

DIY kit is very easy to instal for anyone with reasonable mechanical skills. Most insurers require certification - not all, worth checking. I can provide necessary certification after inspection of installation.

Mike