An iconic model is both a blessing and a curse for automakers. It’s impossible to make a car an icon on purpose; it has to happen on its own, and when it does happen, it can create a rut that’s hard to break out of. Volvo, whose rectilinear car designs were so iconic they became a movie gag, has come a long way since those days; it dropped the “boxy” part but kept the “good.” But is the old boxy one still better?
You all certainly preferred the older choice yesterday, when we looked at two eras of Dodge Dart. But then, the Slant Six engine is something of an icon itself, and the modern Dart is just another little sedan, so I guess I’m not too surprised.
That old Dart does look like a pretty good deal, for the condition it’s in. And the pushbutton transmission certainly adds cool points. I don’t have anything against the newer Dart, and I’d be perfectly happy with one as a daily driver if it came down to it, but yeah, that old ’64 is hard to pass up.
Volvo’s styling lagged behind the market trends for many years: its PV cars in the 1950s looked like American 1940s designs, and the Amazon that followed them in the 60s looked a lot like early 50s Chrysler designs. But starting with the 140 series, and continuing on into the 240, Volvo created a shape that was not really of any time at all: a bit brutalist, but well-proportioned, and instantly recognizable. Even its replacement, the even-boxier 740, couldn’t put it out to pasture. It wasn’t until the 2000s that Volvo’s designs finally broke out of the box. Its engineering was always state-of-the-art, however, especially when it came to safety; you’re probably still safer in an old Volvo than in anything else contemporary to it. But would you still rather have the newer one? Let’s see.
1983 Volvo 240 GL – $2,200
Engine/drivetrain: 2.3-liter OHC inline 4, four-speed automatic, RWD
Location: Sherman Oaks, CA
Odometer reading: 162,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
It’s hard to imagine someone designing the Volvo 240. It looks as though it just sort of came into being by sheer will, its shape carved out of a block of solid steel by unseen forces eons ago, as though it has always been and always will be. It was in production for eighteen years, which is part of what gives that impression of immortality, but another part of it is that they’re really hard cars to kill. I’ve admired them for years, but never owned one. I came close a couple of times, but it just never worked out.
This 240 looks as though someone tried to kill it, or scrap it; the grease pencil marks on the windshield in the photo above look like they’re from an impound lot or a wrecking yard. My guess is that someone rescued it before it went into the yard, or bought it at an auction, and discovered it was in pretty good shape. The seller says it runs and drives well, and its transmission shifts smoothly. Obviously, we have no idea of its history, but for this price, that hardly matters.
It’s a little grubby inside, and the steering column trim is missing, which lends credence to the impound lot theory. There’s also a Bible between the front seats; I wonder if it’s from the current owner, or if it was left there by whoever owned it before? I guess it doesn’t matter, and I’ve found weirder things in used cars before. What’s more important to know is: Does the HVAC blower fan work? It’s prone to wearing out, and replacing it is a major undertaking.
About the only thing that’s fatal to a 240 is rust, and being a southern California car, this one looks like it’s in the clear in that regard. The clearcoat on the hood and roof is shot, but the rest of the paint looks all right. I know the wagons are popular for their practicality, but I’ve always preferred the look of the sedans. And I like the turbine-style wheels on this one.
2012 Volvo S60 T5 – $4,499
Engine/drivetrain: Turbocharged 2.5-liter DOHC inline 5, six-speed automatic, FWD
Location: Tacoma, WA
Odometer reading: 131,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well, I’m going to assume
Volvo was late in joining the front-wheel-drive revolution; it wasn’t until the 240’s successor, the 850, that both the old Red Block engine and the straight axle it drove were finally retired. And it wasn’t until halfway through that car’s life that Volvo’s three-digit model numbers went away, when the 850 became the S70. The new nomenclature makes sense, as soon as you understand it: S for sedan, V for wagon, C for coupe, XC for crossover. Bigger number equals bigger car. So this S60 is a mid-sized sedan, bigger than the S40, but smaller than the S80. The T5 on the end of its name indicates that it is powered by a turbocharged five-cylinder engine.
The five-cylinder engine dates back to the 850 days; it sits transversely in the engine bay and drives the front wheels through a six-speed Aisin automatic. The Aisin transmissions in older Volvos had an excellent reputation, but this one isn’t quite as invincible; keep up on the fluid changes if you want to keep it shifting smoothly. This one is for sale by a dealership, and once again, there’s no information about how well or poorly it runs and drives, just a list of features a mile long. C’mon, guys; would it kill you to throw in a “runs great” or “could use new brakes”?
It does look like it’s in good condition, though. The price is a little on the low side, as far as I can tell, so be sure to try everything out to find out if there’s a reason why. And there’s a lot of “everything” to try; this thing is loaded.
The first-generation S60 was one of the first Volvos to do away with the square design, and it was a really funky shape. This one is actually a lot more subdued, and strangely, looks a little Saab-ish to me. Someone was copying someone’s homework, I think. It’s a good-looking car, though, and it’s in good shape. I thought at first there was a wrinkle in the right rear door, looking at the photo above, but it’s just a reflection. It looks fine in the other photos.
The trouble with an iconic model is that it’s a hard act to follow. You can either try to make the next model an homage to it, which rarely works, or you can abandon it completely and hope your customers like the new one. No newer Volvo will ever be a 240, but they are still awfully nice cars, and still more or less built like tanks, from what I understand. Still, old 240s are still around, if you want one, and they’re not even terribly expensive. So which one will it be – the icon, or the upstart?
absolutely a both day!!!
Boxy Volvo is on my list of cars to score, preferably a wagon with a stick. Not much to choose from in New England
I recently joined the cult of Volvo with an SPA chassis S60 and I’ve enjoyed it a lot. I’m doing the “both” here. Daily the S60 and fix up the 240.
I would have gone for the brick, but it’s a little too much of a crusty project. T5 is the “performance” trim on the newer car.
The S60 is a fine car. The 240 is an icon.
We’ll take the box, and take a power washer to the interior to eliminate whatever noxious fumes the previous owner was trying to cover up.
Gotta wonder why there are 4 Odor eaters on the front of the dash? What smell are they trying to cover up? May have to drive with the windows down! Lol
Or you can always re-use the mask in the passenger-side footwell.
Why isn’t “Both” an option? New Volvo to daily and fetch parts for old Volvo. Old Volvo for turning into RWD shenanigans sedan.
Again, this is more a question of whether you want an old car to mess with a bit or if you need transportation. I’m all set for transportation, so I went with the old, cheaper option.
That 240 is built like a tank – and it’s worth saving. Some new seats, a few trips to the scrap yard for trim (or learn to 3d print), and you are good to go!. You also have a massive engine bay for… V8 kind of activities, RWD, and changing that blower motor is still not as bad as most modern cars.
I will take the 240 and have $2,000 in change to get some seats and a new carpet kit.
We had both in the family at one point. The ’88 240 DL Auto with 280k miles became my first car for a while. Unkillable (well, almost), slow, surprisingly fun to drive. I have to recommend finding an empty parking lot and doing some donuts in the rain. ‘In the rain’ is the only time donuts are possible. We only got rid of it because I rear-ended someone in a panic stop situation on the freeway and it cost more to repair than it was worth with all those miles.
The ’02 S60 base (non-turbo 5 cylinder) was a spaceship by comparison. Not fast, but not slow anymore, and interior volume shrank. It’s tighter inside than you’d expect. Someone ran a red light into me, and that car took it like a champ. We had it repaired and it was a good car for a number of years until the little stuff started breaking and failing all over. The final straw was $800 for a new door panel when the interior handle stopped opening the driver’s door. Can’t remember the mileage but it was nowhere near what the 240 accumulated over it’s life.
I miss the older one more.
If it were a 242 or 240 wagon, it would be easy to change my mind, but I’m going with the S60 today. Modern cars don’t scare me and at 13 years old, it’s honestly not even that modern.
As much as I hate bricks as cars, I’d gladly take the old school for its simplicity and ability to be serviced with basic tools. The modern S60 is landfill fodder, like most modern cars. The 240 could be kept running for a lifetime.
As much as I love the 240 (one of my few regrets in life is getting rid of my 1982 manual 240), if I’ve got to have an automatic transmission Volvo, I’ll go with the newer one that has more horses to overcome the limitations of the slush box. For the price, that S60 is a hell of a deal.
Since I have wrenched on boxy Volvos but never the later cars, I’m down with the 240. The automatic kinda sours the deal for me, but a trip to Pick-Your-Part and some work could remedy that.
I’ll take what’s familiar and has proven reliable. Might even throw a paint job on it.
“The automatic kinda sours the deal for me, but a trip to Pick-Your-Part and some work could remedy that.”
Is it worth keeping the old 4MT+OD or is there a better, more modern bolt in MT option?
Modern Volvos are too complicated and expensive to maintain for my taste
Gimme the box.
Rolling bread box for this driver.
The newer Volvos seem scary in terms of service needs. IDK how good they are, so I voted for the 240
I’m on my 4th and 5th Volvos (2007 & 2017), my first two being 1989 and 1990 700-series wagons, respectively.
The old bricks have their positives, but blink-code OBD can be more of a challenge than the rare FWD timing belt service (which the 2.5T has AFAIK; my 2006 XC90 had a belt), depending on what all is going on with the car. This 240 is even older than the Bosch blink-code system, for better or for worse. No air bags, relatively ancient crumple zones, and does it even have ABS?
The S60 has the 2.5T which is generally a solid engine (with some hiccups in some later years) as long as the timing belt is changed every ~100k miles. It does suffer a bit on interior room as it has the sloping roof line for style, but it’s still fairly safe by modern standards.
I suggested buying both, so one could tinker with the classic, but have a safe and reliable daily in the S60.
240 ALL DAY. The design doesn’t get old. Its brutally practical no-BS style is a testament to simplicity as a design language.
Want more power? Prancing Moose motivation is attainable, the red block can be turboed to an easy 200 hp which more than enough motivation in this chassis, and be as reliable as when it was new.
Want more room? It IS more room. This thing is the boxy box compact cars are delivered in.
Want more electronics? No problem, there’s a cardboard box to toss them into in the trunk. You’re going to drive the car, not it drive you.
I already have an S60, so I’ll take the 240 for some diversity.
FYI, the T5 stopped referring to a turbo 5-cyl sometime around 2014 when it lost a cylinder. Around this time, the T6 became a “twin-charged” I4, super and turbo charged.
Has it really been that long since they dropped the 5 and 6 cylinder models? Goodness. I swear that was like 2020 not more than a decade ago.
Looks like you could get a gas I5 through 2015 and an I6 through 2016. A diesel I5 was available up to 2018.
Dang. Yeah I didn’t realize they had made that move that long ago.
Had a 240 DL once upon a time, and while it was fun for what it was, I’ll take the newer S60 this round. Granted, the newer car has a lot more that can go wrong with it, but it is cheap enough that, short of replacing the engine or transmission, fixing things isn’t a huge deal. A guy I worked with immediately bought an identical S60 back in 2012 when he got promoted to middle manager, and it seemed like a nice, boring car.
This has been a hard week–I like old cars but keep having to vote for the newer one. The Fit and this S60 in particular have been way too good against competitors that have not tugged too hard at my heart.
Bible and multiple air fresheners in the old Volvo make it look like someone was trying to exorcise an unholy stink. But still picked it, have always been curious about these cars.
As the band Ghost would say, “the stench of the heavens”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kt6Ss5r7-qo
I had a 240 and would have another. It was the 1st car I bought with my own money sometime in the 2010s. It was a 85 dl wagon with manual. Perfect car for someone like me living near campus during college. So much space to move furniture and clothes back and forth, even though it was old and a bit of a basket case it was reliable enough for me to commute and even take it cross country to see a few college bowl games. The car had a lot of good memories and good stories. I hope someone is enjoying it today how I did, but perhaps not. The floorboards had all but completely disintegrated and the rockers were the next to go.
I voted for the 240. It isn’t perfect but the body is straight and most of the interior looks like it would be fine with a good cleaning. It is also low mileage for a 240 (does the odometer work?). Assuming it runs and drives as advertised, this is an excellent deal. If this were for sale where I live, I would be suspicious at this price. Maybe they are cheaper in California?
I think the S60 is also a solid deal at that price, though. This looks well cared for. If I wanted a sorta luxurious daily driver I would look for something like this. It isn’t as good a deal as the 240, though.
Is the S60 really automatic or is it the Powershift one? Probably the last, so I would ditch it for the classic one.
I had the same thought, but I believe all of the T5 trims came with a conventional automatic. I think most of the T6 trims did too, with the DCT only available on the Polestars (I could be wrong there).
It’s a conventional automatic made hy Aisin. T5 and T6 models never got a Powershift