WORTHY but dull in the eyes of sporting drivers, the purchase of a Volvo is widely seen as a token of middle-age and the assumption of family responsibilities. A Volvo hot-rod seems implausible - the Swedish cars are renowned for safety and longevity even though Volvo cars have never been the most exciting. However, with the 850 Turbo, Volvo has unleashed a beast - a smooth and refined beast - but an animal none-the-less. Beneath the square-cut and traditional clothes is a fast and thrilling car. The standard 850 saloon has already gone a long way to establishing Volvo as a maker of exciting cars, but, with the 850 Turbo, the gloves have come off. Beneath the bonnet of the Turbo, with its familiar square shape and rectangular grille, lies a turbo-charged and inter-cooled 2.3-litre five-cylinder engine that packs a huge 225 brake horsepower punch. That's more than 50bhp above the already impressive output of the standard 850 and enough to push the car to 100 kp/h from rest in a mere seven seconds and on to a top speed of 240kp/h. These figures move the Volvo saloon from the position of also-ran in the performance stakes right to the top of the class. Some very clever technology has been squeezed into the motor to extract this sort of power - multi-valves and a small free-spinning turbo unit make the most of each drop of fuel. Like the innovative standard 850, the five-cylinder engine lies across the engine bay and drives through the front wheels. The turbo charger lurks behind the engine and it takes some moments searching to locate. But its effect is immediately apparent. A great surge of acceleration accompanies a stab at the throttle pedal and it takes an iron resolve to restrain the right foot. The response is quick with no perceptible turbo lag, the car forging ahead with enough urge to swallow gaps in the traffic and have the 850 impatiently snapping at the heels of slower vehicles. It is almost unseemly for a big Volvo to produce this sort of excitement and other road users seem dumbfounded by the sight of a big square Volvo tearing past in the outside lane. I was disappointed to find my test car was the automatic model; I had hoped for the manual model which seemed the better bet for getting the best from the force-fed motor. Turbo chargers and automatic transmissions are usually a poor combination, the autobox slurring through the speeds at just the wrong moment as turbo boost is building or holding on a moment too long and making driving unpredictable. But the four-speed autobox in the 850 Turbo is the best I have come across with well placed ratios and enough low-rev power from the engine to haul through the changes without interrupting driving. Suspension appears to have been tightened and tyres are low-profile and wider to handle the extra urge of the Turbo. The chassis never feels swamped by the strength of the engine, remaining balanced and stable. The 850 Turbo always feels big to drive: the usual high dashboard and oversized cabin furniture will never shrink to sports car dimensions. But, for all its bulk, the Turbo never feels flustered when pushed hard. And the driver need never feel flustered - all the usual Volvo space and luxury is present and the build quality is especially high. The doors slam shut with a satisfying thunk and the structure seems comfortingly robust. Crash testing has shown that some other cars are just as safe in a collision as a Volvo, but nothing feels quite as safe. The higher power output has not spoiled the refinement of the 850. It is still smooth and the rather flat sound the engine makes remains as subdued as the performance is aggressive. Just a handful of 850 Turbos will be coming to Hong Kong. These few examples seem to be aimed at showing just what Volvo can do in terms of sporting accomplishment rather than taking sales from more obvious sports cars. The price is set at $468,800, considerably more than the price of $416,800 asked for the standard 850. But, then, this is a lot more car.
