Volvo 240 estate
Before SUVs, this was the darling of middle-class suburbia. Fancy
No other estate car has made as big an impact at the Volvo 240… particularly if you get hit by one. In short, this tough and cavernous cube is the defining expression of the idiom, perhaps even its pinnacle. And, unlike many other underappreciated cars, there will still be plenty around when the world learns to value this culturally significant machine.
Over the years the 240 estate has been all things to all sorts. Today it’s an artefact of a dinosaur age, which Volvo dominated before SUVs and peoplecarriers ruled the ’burbs and shunted the allpurpose carry-all up a motoring cul-de-sac.
Frankly, we’re talking ‘icon’. I mean, how can a car with no fewer than five washers and five wipers not be an icon (bear in mind the original E-type Jag only had three)? I should explain here that no mention will be made of the Volvo 240 saloon, which had only four washer-wipers and is of interest only to practically minded weirdos who appreciate the ultimate in rugged dependability for ludicrously little money. These cannot be enthusiasts!
With the estate, form does not follow function. Form is function. It started in 1967 with the square-rigged 140-series, and Volvo made over a quarter of a million 140 estates to lead the segment. The 240 of 1974 refined the formula and upped the ante. Back then, when only Volvo and mums cared about safety, the new 240 was even safer, a world leader in fact, but you won’t be interested in the
details. Suffice to say moose were scared of it, and in Pasadena mums who didn’t drive 240 estates were considered mentally unstable and had their children taken into care.
The 240 also had an engine, which had cylinders, some bhp and lb ft too, but again the details are irrelevant, other than to say it made the car go and was as tough and dependable as the rest of car. I’ve owned a 1989 240DL estate for 15 years and it’s never broken down or failed an MoT. This has cost me money, because there’s nothing for me to write about it in Octane Cars.
And of course there’s that elephant in the back, the 71-cubic-foot perfectly flat loadbay with brilliant access… and a cellar under the floor. I’m not kidding. Never did a car do more to mobilise the independent trader, from antique dealers to builders who don’t want to pay commercial rates at rubbish tips.
As for model numbers, I’ll only confuse myself if I try to explain. Basically the second number once meant cylinders, the third the number of doors, but when people started to understand it Volvo changed it to maintain confusion. Got it? Good.
The 240 endured until 1993, with estate production of 960,000 (not far shy of saloon numbers), making it the most successful estate of all time. I just wish mine had a ball-hitch on the front too, to prod other drivers into moving over. It’s a Volvo, after all. And I’m a Volvo driver. I have rights. at launch In 1974 the Volvo 245DL estate cost £2790, undercutting both the £2900 Citroën DS 23 Safari and Ford Granada 3.0. True, the Peugeot 504 and Vauxhall Ventora estates were cheaper, but neither had the load-carrying capacity. Likewise the Toyota Crown at £2724. If cars had been priced on cost per litre of usable load volume, the 240 would have been unmatched. But the point often missed was that Volvo’s estate commanded less of a price premium over its saloon counterparts than most other offerings. For Volvo, estates were mainstream, not low-volume add-ons. As the 240 evolved, Volvo focused more on luxury: in 1977 the 265GL was the world’s highest-priced production estate at £8277.
today With nearly 5000 left in the UK alone, the 240 remains absurdly cheap. The highest UK auction price for an estate is £1995 for a 1986 73,000-mile 240GL. Cars with years in them can still be had for £1000 or less. In the classifieds there’s a 1992 240S estate up for £2750 that’s described as ‘museum quality, 198,000mls’ – that could only happen with a Volvo. Basically, above £2000 you’re in premium territory. Another classified advertiser is asking £4000 for a 134,000-mile 1989 240DL estate, but highest asking price of all is £10,000 for a 56,000-mile 240GL estate. Is this an outlier or does this advertiser know something we don’t? Generally, unless it really matters to you, go for condition over spec.