850 Wagon - General Comparison Specs?

[blurp]

Hi all,

I'm having trouble finding specs I can use for comparison between
different models of Volvo wagons. I'm looking to make the move to a
wagon before the middle of January and, although the 850 seems like a
very nice car, I am not sure how it stacks up compared to, say, a 940
in terms of things like turning radius (because of FWD) and cargo
space. The sort of info you find in the last few pages of the owners
manuals rather than opinions. (BTW have you seen how many Volvo
entries there are on epinions.com?)

I've also noticed that a very frequent complaint with the 240 wagon is
the failure of wires in the tailgate, has this been addressed in other
models?

Of course, if anyone has dire warnings about the risks of any
particular year or model (eg. I read that 1994 960s needed timing
belts replaced every 30K due to a design error) feel free to weigh in.

Thanks,
blurp

 

[blurp]

Ok, I've driven the 850 Turbo, which seems peppy like I like it, and
an 850GLE which was pretty weak... a real A-to-B car with little in
between. I'm amazed at how similar the interior dimensions are to the
240, much roomier than the 760.

Is there reason to expect a 940 NA to perform any better than the NA
850, since it too has a 4-cylinder engine?

Thanks,
blurp

 

[James Sweet]

Ok, I've driven the 850 Turbo, which seems peppy like I like it, and
an 850GLE which was pretty weak... a real A-to-B car with little in
between. I'm amazed at how similar the interior dimensions are to the
240, much roomier than the 760.

Is there reason to expect a 940 NA to perform any better than the NA
850, since it too has a 4-cylinder engine?

The 850 has a 5 cylinder engine, hence the 5 in the middle of the badge
number.

Yes I know, the 760 Turbo was an exception to this but for the most part
the middle number relates to the engine.