1984 Volvo 760GLE Turbo Tested: Another Family Rocket from Volvo’s Bad-Boy Department

From the July 1984 issue of Car and Driver.

The young Turks are having their day at Volvo Car Corporation. Over the past ten years, a determined group of hard-core en­thusiasts has muscled into the halls of pow­er in Göteborg. Their self-appointed mis­sion is to add more excitement to Volvo’s occasionally stodgy image.

But not to worry, granola breath: Volvo isn’t into nuking the whales yet. The com­pany’s forward thinkers have merely added the much-heralded turbocharged and intercooled 2.3-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine to the high-line 760GLE. The 760 is still the same conservative, upright, socially responsible four-door sedan you remem­ber from its introduction in 1982, only now it will peel the skin off an Audi 5000 Turbo as it flies by in the fast lane.

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Turning back the clock a bit, we first dis­covered Volvo’s intercooler activities a year and a half ago in a European 760. The hardware came to America in kit form last August, and our initial tests of a standard Volvo Turbo retrofitted with the charge-air cooler left us drunk with speed (0 to 60 in 7.9 seconds). In March of this year, we had another chance to drive a four-cylinder-­powered 760 (a car set for U.S. debut this fall as the Volvo 740), and we found the combination quite satisfactory, even with­out the turbocharger and the intercooler.

Now we have the big (or big-looking) car with the small-displacement engine (2.3 li­ters), a paltry four cylinders, and the magic ingredient: a turbocharger breathing through an intercooler. The performance statistics from this combination are a joy to behold: Zero to 60 mph in 8.0 seconds­—two and a half seconds faster than an Audi 5000 Turbo, almost one and a half seconds faster than a Saab Turbo, and over a second faster than a V-6 760 (with an automat­ic transmission). A quarter-mile ET of 15.9 seconds—two seconds faster than a V-6 760, over one and a half seconds quicker than an Audi Turbo, and a second better than a Saab Turbo.

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Furthermore, this speediness is deliv­ered by a car with the aerodynamic look of a toolshed. The explanation lies in an en­gine packing 17 percent more torque and horsepower than the Volvo V-6 ever dreamed of, though this is still 8 percent less than what’s offered in Europe­an-specification cars. The loss can be blamed in part on emissions-control hard­ware, but it’s mostly attributable to Volvo’s conscious decision to put the bulk of the torque where it felt the U.S. market could really use it, in the midrange. The U.S. package produces a respectable 157 horse­power at 5300 rpm, enough to push the boxy 760 to a flat-out 119 mph. This is 5 mph or so down from the speediest Euro-­spec Volvo, largely a result of the 185-pound-feet torque peak’s being lowered by 500 rpm, to 2900 rpm.

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The intercooler’s contributions to both the torque curve and the resulting drivabil­ity are significant. Cooling the intake charge by roughly 100 degrees Fahrenheit enables the 760 to run a relatively high (8.7:1) compression ratio, which does great things for pre-boost performance. There is ample power both in and out of boost, so you won’t need to stir the gears when you need a quick punch to work your way through traffic. And when you do call in the afterburners, low-end torque segues neatly into warp speed, accompanied by a faint whistle. The only problem will be disciplin­ing your right foot to tread lightly on the go pedal when you don’t really want to see 90 mph on the go dial. Just so you don’t get too carried away, Volvo has thoughtfully provided a device to shut down fuel deliv­ery if the engine exceeds the redline.

In addition to the power-producing equipment, the turbocharged and inter­cooled 760GLE now boasts an oil cooler under the hood and a boost gauge inside the cockpit, but few other clues to its new­found potency. Both four- and six-cylin­der-powered 7-series cars sport the same tastefully executed interior, the same love­ly complement of boldly designed VDO gauges, and the world’s most hassle-free clutch and shift linkage. Unfortunately, all 760s also share the same live rear axle, which has a nasty tendency to make the whole car lurch sideways over sharp heaves in the pavement. While we’re complaining, we’ve also noticed that the 760’s power-­assisted rack-and-pinion steering and its chassis calibrations are tuned more toward one-step parallel-parking maneuvers than toward blacktop challenges.

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A more performance-oriented suspen­sion may be added to this car in six months or so. There are other rumors afloat that a genuine sports car is within the walls of Volvo (philosophically, if not in prototype form), fighting to escape. But one step at a time, eh? Today, the 760GLE Turbo sends a message to the streets: a spirited group has infiltrated the highest ranks of this prestigious carmaker, and its influence has only begun to be felt.

Specifications

Specifications

1984 Volvo GLE Turbo
Vehicle Type: front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door sedan

PRICE

Base/As Tested: $21,900/$22,565

ENGINE
turbocharged and intercooled inline-4, iron block and aluminum head, port fuel injection
Displacement: 141 in³, 2316 cm³
Power: 157 hp @ 5300 rpm 

TRANSMISSION
4-speed manual

DIMENSIONS

Wheelbase: 109.1 in
Length: 188.0 in
Curb Weight: 3065 lb

C/D TEST RESULTS

60 mph: 8.0 sec
100 mph: 24.5 sec
1/4-Mile: 15.9 sec @ 86 mph
Top Speed: 119 mph
Braking, 70–0 mph: 202 ft
Roadholding, 282-ft Skidpad: 0.74 g

C/D FUEL ECONOMY

Observed: 16 mpg

EPA FUEL ECONOMY
City: 22 mpg 

C/D TESTING EXPLAINED

Reviewed byJean Lindamood

Former Associate Editor

The legendary Jean (Lindamood) Jennings, who died in December 2024, was part of what made the ’80s unforgettable at Car and Driver, and she leaves behind legions of fans.