Turbo 4dr Station Wagon. Platinum Limited Edition 4dr Station Wagon Starting at $38,335. Combined MPG. Start shopping for 1996 Volvo 850. 1996 850 Platinum Wagon. ARD Green Tune, OBX.-Gone 1998 s70 ARD tune, EST exhaust, SE/R interior. '94 850 N/A 5 speed '96 Platinum Edition Turbo '99 V70XC - Nautic Blue Previous: 1999 V70XC - RIP - Wrecked Parts Car. (replaced Volvo 850) Top. JRL Posts: 9351 Joined: 22 Nov 2005, 21:07 Year and Model: Several.
If safety is your automotive hot button, Volvo has your number. This year, the Swedish automaker is the first manufacturer to offer side air bags as standard equipment on its entire car line.
We tested a 1996 Volvo 850 Turbo Platinum Limited Edition wagon (which you’ll recognize on the street by its distinctive pearl-white metallic paint). One of us had a few questions about whether Volvo put its air bags in the right place, though.
She: Volvo deserves a lot of praise for making side air bags standard. But I think it could have had a tremendous marketing coup if it had put the side air bags in the rear – rather than protecting the driver and front passenger.
He: What, so the eggs in your grocery bag wouldn’t crack if you got T-boned in an accident?
She: Of course not. Besides, you should be eating Egg Beaters. I think most parents would move heaven and earth to protect their kids in a crash. I know I’d rather have all the cushioning around my kids instead of myself. Call it the Mother and Her Cubs syndrome. This year seems to be particularly dicey when it comes to protecting kids in car crashes, too, with Consumer Reports saying that almost all child safety seats have been recalled in the last five years. I probably get a call a day from a mother or mother-to-be asking about the best way to protect her baby in a car. But I’m sure most of the Volvo air bag engineers were guys and the idea of putting side air bags in the back never occurred to them.
He: Uh-oh, Sexism Alert. What about standard items on this wagon like the integral child booster cushion that helps kids be properly positioned when they buckle up? What about all the people who DON’T have kids who want the 850 turbo wagon? I think you’re really barking up the wrong tree, as usual. And you didn’t even mention all the other great safety items on the 1996 Volvo – things like standard traction control, antilock brakes, daytime running lights, front fog lights and padded head restraints. I think they’ve done plenty this year to protect ALL the passengers.
She: HELLO. Find me the person who buys a station wagon who doesn’t have kids. I think you’re just confused because this is the juiced-up turbo wagon. It does have quite a kick with those five cylinders and 222-horsepower engine. But when you combine that turbocharged engine with those ultra-low-profile 16-inch tires, it sure makes for a surprisingly jarring and rock-hard ride for a station wagon.
Yes, it’s built like a tank, but it rides like a sports car. I’m sorry. My philosophy is that if you are buying a Volvo wagon, you’ve obviously got kids and you worry plenty about them. Your life is exciting and hair-raising enough. Who needs a sporty ride?
He: Gee, I didn’t have any problem with it. But then I don’t mind a vehicle that handles and accelerates like a proper sport sedan. I also liked the three driving modes offered with the automatic transmission, which by the way is the on ly gearbox available with the 850 Turbo. There are three settings – economy, sport and winter/wet. That last setting locks out first and second gears to help the car get rolling on slippery roads. Yet another great feature for your $38,000.
She: Yes, the price is breathtaking, but it seems that every gadget and goodie you can get on a car is standard on the Platinum Edition. Very few wagons give you luxury items like an eight-way power adjustable front passenger seat, heated seats to keep you cozy in the winter and a power sunroof. Even the gas mileage is pretty decent, at 26 on the highway and 19 in city driving. And I like the low rear deck that makes lifting gear and groceries in and out a snap.
He: OK, you’ve made your point about the Volvo’s virtues as a family car. I suppose I’d be happier with the turbo package in the sedan. I just don’t picture myself as the wagon type. But it also sounds to me like you think a wagon has to be boring. You don’t like that sport susp on or the jazzy paint, right?
She: You got it. I think the pearl paint really makes the wagon look like a rolling freezer.
He: As usual, you always find some niggling thing to complain about. Kind of like you do with me. In fact, I feel like the Volvo wagon of husbands: A little sporty, but mostly safe and sturdy and totally underappreciated, despite all my sterling – I mean, platinum – qualities.
Anita’s rating: (above average)
Paul’s rating: (above average) What we liked: Standard side-impact air bags; Every other up-to-date safety item; Tons of great features on Platinum Edition.
What we didn’t like: Side air bags in wrong spot (Anita); Hold your breath for the price; White paint gives it a real appliance look (Anita).
Price: Base, $38,335; as tested, $38,830 (inc. $495 destination charge).
What’s new for ’96: Standard side-impact air bags.
Standard equipment: Cold weather package including heated seats, ambient temperature gauge, head lamp wiper/washer; power glass sunroof with tilt/slide and sunshade, dual electronic climate control, power windows with driver’s side “auto down,” keyless remote entry and security system, trip computer, integrated rear seat cargo net, leather seating surfaces, leather-wrapped steering wheel, burled walnut wood trim on instrument panel and flood console, eight-way power driver and passenger’s seat with three-position memory, in-dash single CD-player, AM/FM stereo with cassette and eight speakers, headlamp washer/wiper, cruise control, floor mats, central locking.
Safety features: Dual front air bags, dual side air bags, traction control, antilock brakes, side-impact door beams, rear center child cushion, child-proof rear door locks, daytime running lights.
Options on test vehicle: None.
EPA fuel economy: 19 mpg city/26 mpg highway.
Engine: 2.3-liter I-5; 222 hp at 5200 rpm; 221 lb-ft torque at 2100 rpm.
*AAA Michigan rates based on an average family of four from the Livonia area whose primary driver is age 40 with no tickets who drives 3-10 miles each way to work. Rates reflect multicar discount and, where appropriate, discounts for air bags and seat belts.