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Whats the 240 ownership experience in 2019

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Old Oct 7th, 2019, 15:17   #21
Nicholas Lewin
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so come one Wonderbadger - what's the verdict? Itching to know....
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Old Oct 9th, 2019, 09:15   #22
morsing
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Originally Posted by LankyTim View Post
I had a 2.0 240 not long ago. Compared to modern cars they're cramped, under powered, thirsty and have poor handling.
O_o Really?

Cramped, no-way. Don't know what car you're comparing to, maybe compared to an XC90, but that's not really a fair comparison. Compared to a reasonably priced modern car, the 240 a far more spacious.

We have a 2014 V70 as well, and I'd give my 240 the edge over the V70 when it comes to space.

Under powered... Not a chance. Your 2.0, maybe, my 2.3, certainly not! And again, it's quicker than most modern reasonably priced cars.

And I get 30+ mpg, that's not thirsty. My wife's Subary Legacy 2.0 got 18mpg on a steady 60mpg run down the motorway. That's thirsty!

Poor handling, for what? I know I did upgrade my suspension 12 years ago, but I don't remember it being poor handling even before that. Even so, just spend a bit of money upgrading it. It's certainly comfortable to drive, but I don't know what your poor handling comment is trying to compare it to.
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Old Oct 9th, 2019, 12:47   #23
Stephen Edwin
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Originally Posted by Nicholas Lewin View Post
so come one Wonderbadger - what's the verdict? Itching to know....
Nick. If it's a long wait for the GP try a pharmacist ....




I disassociate myself from having made that comment.


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Old Oct 9th, 2019, 16:30   #24
LankyTim
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O_o Really?

Cramped, no-way. Don't know what car you're comparing to, maybe compared to an XC90, but that's not really a fair comparison. Compared to a reasonably priced modern car, the 240 a far more spacious.

We have a 2014 V70 as well, and I'd give my 240 the edge over the V70 when it comes to space.

Under powered... Not a chance. Your 2.0, maybe, my 2.3, certainly not! And again, it's quicker than most modern reasonably priced cars.

And I get 30+ mpg, that's not thirsty. My wife's Subary Legacy 2.0 got 18mpg on a steady 60mpg run down the motorway. That's thirsty!

Poor handling, for what? I know I did upgrade my suspension 12 years ago, but I don't remember it being poor handling even before that. Even so, just spend a bit of money upgrading it. It's certainly comfortable to drive, but I don't know what your poor handling comment is trying to compare it to.
I've had a few 240's and stand by what I say, the cabin is narrow and it's difficult to seat three people in the rear seats, even the wife's 2004 Ford Fusion can fit three abreast in the back with ease. Power? yes my 2.0 was underpowered, the couple of 2.3 powered cars I had were much better but not what I'd call fast. Handling... they're barge like, maybe the ones I had were a bit clapped out, I did spend some money on one replacing bushes and springs and it was greatly improved however. I had a 2001 Astra Estate after one of my 240's. It had a 1.6 8v petrol engine and it was much nicer to drive and more comfortable too. It didn't have that Volvo "feel" or smell though and of course, it didn't feel as solid.

As has been said, they're from a previous age of motoring and things have moved on, that doesn't mean I don't love them or I wouldn't have one again in a heartbeat, I can just accept that for a daily driver many more modern cars would probably beat it in every aspect. It just depends on what you want it for, a local commute or occasional use? Great, if you do 20k a year and need something that has easy parts availability and will do 50mpg, maybe not.

*dons tin hat and retreats to nuclear bunker, double locks door, peers nervously from letterbox*
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Old Oct 9th, 2019, 20:59   #25
morsing
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LankyTim View Post
I've had a few 240's and stand by what I say, the cabin is narrow
Ok, I'm quite narrow, so probably don't notice.

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Originally Posted by LankyTim View Post
and it's difficult to seat three people in the rear seats,
I've never tried fitting three adults in the rear. If that's your need, maybe you're right, it's not the right car.

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Originally Posted by LankyTim View Post
yes my 2.0 was underpowered, the couple of 2.3 powered cars I had were
much better but not what I'd call fast
There is a difference between under-powered and not fast. Under-powered means you can't get to 70mpg on a slip-road. I can easily get to 70+mph, even on the uphill ones.

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Originally Posted by LankyTim View Post
Handling... they're barge like
Maybe there's also a difference in what people are looking for in a car. My 240 drives nicely and as I would expect. I did upgrade the suspension though.

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Originally Posted by LankyTim View Post
[...] a 2001 Astra estate after one of my 240's. It had a 1.6 8v petrol engine and it was much nicer to drive and more comfortable too.
We clearly have utterly different opinions on what "nice" is when it comes to cars.

I've had plenty of new hire cars over the last 20 years, anything from Polos and Astras to Mercedes E-class and they have all been awful. The cheaper, the more awful. Seats are uncomfortable. Seating position wrong. Controls and stalks are always positioned badly with no thought put in to it.

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Originally Posted by LankyTim View Post
As has been said, they're from a previous age of motoring and things have moved on
Moved on, maybe, but not necessarily in a positive way.

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Great, if you do 20k a year and need something that has easy parts availability and will do 50mpg, maybe not.
I do 22k a year, have done since 2007, and have broken down once. Parts are getting rarer, but are available and usually many times cheaper.

The problem is that as much as 50mpg would save me 1000+gbp a year, if just one thing breaks on a modern car, that saving is blown out the water.

And over the last 6 years I've been doing a 2-1/2h commute each way, and have never felt tired in any way arriving.

Anyways... I'll keep my car as long as it lets me :-)
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Old Oct 14th, 2019, 22:49   #26
Angie
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The Morris Minor. A spacious cathedral of excellence. My four door saloon was in my opinion superb. Took me fully around GB. It was interesting when a friend from NL did not realise that plod were stopping us for a routine check so she started to pull in to the middle lane to overtake their XJ6, when we were running in a re-built 948cc A Series engine ... Actually it had good drivability. Torsion bar front suspension "just like" the E Type Jag. And anyways it kept pace with a hard driven Anglia for many many miles on a very busy A303 on a gorgeous hot summer evening .... I am a sedate driver ....



.
I had a Morris Traveller for some 32 years, and estimate that I did some half a million miles in it. For many years my annual mileage was around 22,000, sometimes under quite harsh conditions, and the car rarely let me down, and then usually due to a casual approach to maintenance - when you have a car that will start every day regardless of the weather the tendency is just to get in and drive.

I'm being a little sparing with the truth in a way; the car had two major rebuilds, the first to include a five-speed gearbox and a 1,300cc engine - the former was a huge improvement, the latter probably unnecessary. Also disc brakes on the front, a water-heated manifold (it was years before I found out why that was worth doing, the garage just recommended it!), electronic ignition (well worthwhile), hydraulically operated clutch, plus various little aids to comfort, including improved front seats with head restraints, and some fairly substantial sound-deadening. Underneath it all though it had all the attributes of the original Minor, and it served me well until chassis rust made it uneconomical for me to repair - the problem being that the woodwork needed to be removed, and replacement was way beyond my finances. I sold it to a couple who planned to do a ground-up restoration, which for various reasons took them about three years. I haven't heard from them for a while but as far as I know the car is still in use, usually commandeered by their son apparently!

A friend with a Torslanda to dispose of came to the rescue with a replacement car, which led me to this site. I still have the car, 217,000 miles now (128.000 when I bought it), getting slightly shabby after more than nine years, but nothing that a good valeting couldn't remedy, and I hope to have many more miles from it, it might even be the last car I ever need! I still love driving it, it's all so well put together and substantial, and very comfortable too.
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Old Oct 15th, 2019, 03:31   #27
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I would take a 240 over anything from Japan from the past 15 plus years. My experience with recent Toyotas, Hondas, and Subarus has been nightmarish.

I love this 240 I picked up last spring, but I do miss my 940. More leg room, more elbow room, more flexibility with the split rear seats, all around better cabin design, slightly better gas millage.

Regardless, these Volvo wagons have enough power for my purposes, I love the way they handle, and the cargo space easily makes up for the slight hit in MPG. Plus, even I can work on them, which ain't happening with modern cars.

I personally dread the day I have to move on.
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Old Oct 15th, 2019, 23:29   #28
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I bought my 93 Torslanda a year ago with about 80,000 on the clock and very tidy and nicely looked after. I'd had a skinful of modern cars with constant expensive components, software issues, stuff crammed in so tight that effective and economic repairs couldn't be undertaken.. had always wanted a 240 and waited till the right one came along. The funny thing is I haven't seen one on the road since I bought mine and yet I used to see them around before quite a bit.
My experience is that occasionally people ogle at it in an amused but usually an appreciative way; people drive up my arse more often than I used to experience and try dodgy overtaking manoeuvres- I assume this is just because I drive sensibly in a big box and it bugs the rocket riders. I really enjoy driving it and its a great practical bus with dogs, grandkids and materials. Fast its not but I find it a comfortable, reliable drive which I really enjoy. Fair dues, I generally work at home so its just a weekend drive not a commuter (I have my wifes car for that if I need it) and I only do about 5000 miles a year.
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Old Oct 18th, 2019, 15:57   #29
Angie
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I bought my 93 Torslanda a year ago with about 80,000 on the clock and very tidy and nicely looked after. I'd had a skinful of modern cars with constant expensive components, software issues, stuff crammed in so tight that effective and economic repairs couldn't be undertaken.. had always wanted a 240 and waited till the right one came along. The funny thing is I haven't seen one on the road since I bought mine and yet I used to see them around before quite a bit.
My experience is that occasionally people ogle at it in an amused but usually an appreciative way; people drive up my arse more often than I used to experience and try dodgy overtaking manoeuvres- I assume this is just because I drive sensibly in a big box and it bugs the rocket riders. I really enjoy driving it and its a great practical bus with dogs, grandkids and materials. Fast its not but I find it a comfortable, reliable drive which I really enjoy. Fair dues, I generally work at home so its just a weekend drive not a commuter (I have my wifes car for that if I need it) and I only do about 5000 miles a year.
I occasionally get to Exeter to meet stepdaughter so you might see a white Tors once in a while. Very rarely see any nowadays, though oddly I did see a couple in about three weeks back in the summer, but none since.
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Old Oct 19th, 2019, 14:37   #30
morsing
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Fast its not
I just don't get this constant moaning about not being fast. The vast majority of people don't drive "fast" cars. The 240 manual does 0-60mph on 10.5 seconds, that surely is adequate? If you want a car purely to be "fast", yes, buy something else, but dismissing a family car because it's not "fast" is just odd. And it's not under-powered as some people make it out to be. Under-powered is something entirely different...
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