IDRIVEACLASSIC reviews: Classic Volvo 164 (volvo 140 series)

Volvo was always a HIGH quality car whose luxury was understated. What I love about them is that they are absolute tanks, and they never go out of style.

My dads was NUY461K the 164 competed with the Triumph 2500 and the Jaguar XJ6. Granddad would have loved baby's first journey! Yes you must keep the car original. OMG wow 15:14 I love that car so much. My dad bought one in 1982, almost 10 years old it was in lovely condition, in this gold which was very popular. Mum went mad because she said he would be chasing the ladies in the big Volvo. I think he only had the car for about 6 months but it went on to survive until 1999 after it was sold. It was the first car with a sunroof.

OMG, i just realized that it's been almost 28 years since even sitting in a 164. That feels a little bit sad. My first ride in one was in 1973. I had to go to the hospital to get born. And of course, my second ride was back home in a more existing state. Then a few years later i had my first accident in a 164. A really bad motorway accident. But none of us got hurt. Thanks Volvo! So here i am, because the 164. And the one i bought in 1991 was the last i have been in so far. And just to add to the cliché... I am also from Gothenburg Sweden. And yes. We are rather patriotic about these old ones over here. Although i strangely become a Citroën lover for a few decades. But for some reason i had a relapse. Unfortunately no 164, but at least a 245 and my daily driver is now a 945 that i rescued from getting scrapped. It was free but looked like a mess. And it had 540000 km on the clock. But after some cleaning and small nerdy repairs it feels like new. You might think i had to do some mechanical work. No. Just replaced all light bulbs in the dash, restored the driver seat and change the oil. Two years later, it's perfect. Takes no oil and is 100% tight. The high mileage only makes me love it even more. I still have over 15 old Citroëns. But weirdly, the 940 is my most "French" car. I knew it was not sold as new in Sweden, but a few days ago i discovered it was actually built for the French market and sold there as new. Thanks for a great video. PS. Volvo never built any 165's. There was a few built by independent body shops. And one of the journalists i Swedens best classic magazine has one of them restored to original condition. And that exact car nearly made me crash in the early 90's. I was on my way to visit my grandmother when this "glitch in the matrix" appeared in the opposite direction. "Wow, a 164" i said to myself just before seeing it was an estate. My brain almost crashed, and i was on my way to do the same on a lamp post. Ok, i have to stop talking now. I can feel another relapse is coming. Best bloody Volvo ever! And in Swedish with heavy Gothenburg accent: Bästa jävla Volvon nånsin änna!

This model was my mom's taxi while growing up until she put its safety features to the test by falling asleep at the wheel and driving into a tree. Thanks for the memories, and thanks Volvo for saving my mom.

I was 18yrs old in 84 and needed a cheap first car. Picked up a 1968 164 that needed a clutch. It was cheap and I was mechanically inclined so I bought it. Beat the crap out of that car and it was a tank. It never failed and that 6 cylinder was a blast although it was thirsty even when driven sensibly. Loved that crap brown coloured car it was my best friend

I had one of these 164's in South Africa. Beautiful car. But an aunt of mine had the manual transmission version, and oh my what a performance difference! If you can find a manual car, grab it quick. But if it's economy you're worried about - start worrying. Extremely thirsty. But it's a high quality motor.

This comment may be more appropriate on Hubnut, but... The wipers are as they came from the factory, but they are the wrong way round. The one on the right is cranked more to sweep parallel to the passenger pillar. The optimum would be to swap the wiper arms left to right, then swap the blades back so the aerofoil blade is still in front of the driver. My biology teacher had one of these cars in Australia in the 1970s, I pointed it out to him and he swapped them. It improved the sweep in front of the driver by about an inch and the left blade swept closer to the pillar. I reckon they simply swapped whole wipers when building RHD cars, so the aerofoil blade stayed in front of the driver but the blade angles are out of whack. You probably think I am mad but Hubnut would understand... Great video Steph. Thanks. Merry Christmas. It's Christmas morning here in Australia, I should have been putting the roast on but hey there's a classic car video to watch...

One of my teachers had a 164. Although I am dyed in the wool Citroën man, I always liked this Volvo. So nice to see it on your channel!

It's funny how some of the design features, such as the massive radiator grill are now back in vogue

That body shell lasted until 1993 and it was amazing how Volvo was able to keep selling it alongside their newer products. My absolute fave is the 264 GL that came after this in 1975 as the luxury flagship with it's mechanically injected PRV V6 and huge square headlights with the wipers and yet had steel rims with chrome hubcaps with V for Volvo I stamped in the centres like the 240. I loved that. The updated 264GLE with EFI that followed in 1978 with the same front but wraparound taillights received 'look at me' alloy wheels to set it more apart from the lower tier 240s and then the 80s version with the softer updated front followed. I like them also. There is one of each of the last two described I spotted in Sydney's south last year!!

Thanks for the review. The neighbors behind us had a 73 or 74 when I was a kid. Best color, dark green with the butternut squash leather, auto. Got to ride in it sometimes. The seats were impressive. But to my American kid eyes, so much black plastic; 'proper' cars color keyed everything then. Not cheap either - looked at some price books - in 75 a 164 cost as much as an upper medium priced full size car - loaded at that; power windows, locks, seat, AC, stereo, and a boudoir interior. In 75 closest thing we had to compare was the then new Granada (arguably the first US luxury 'compact'), which could be equally spec'd, with V8 and still cost less. Volvos were seen as the sensible car for people with more money than necessarily sense - who wanted a small car that seated only 4/5 when you could have a 'real' 6 passenger sedan that was 2.5 feet longer to impress the neighbors :) Ah, hindsight.

Almost Rolls Royce Royce elegance. I took my A2 to a joint Volvo/Audi specialist last week and there was a dark brown 164 in their showroom and it looked so appealing.

First time I've watched this channel and it's great to see a well informed woman doing car videos. I have always been a fan of Volvos, especially those from the early 70's and older. When I was a youngster, my neighbor's son got a 1971 164 and his parents, Chrysler lovers for decades, always drove Volvos from that point forward. Even the "lesser" models are a pleasure to drive. I had a 122S that looked like a junk heap, but drove fantastically.

Friends of my parents had one of these when I was a kid in the 1970's. I got to ride in it once and was very impressed, loved it!. The silky smooth 6 cylinder, leather seats, power steering and, for crying out loud, real air con - blasting icy air in the cabin on a hot summer's day!! My own parents had two Volvo 145's at that time, a red one and a blue one, none of which sported those features mentioned above. Those were good cars, but this one felt like a Roller by comparison... great memories, great car ❤

I have not seen a Volvo 164 since the 1980’s. Love the color on this one.

From my own personal experience: a magnificent car to drive. Mine needs overhaul after being in my garage for a very long time now, but I drove a total of more than 60.000 km in it back in the days. I definitely need to get it fixed again. After all, it's more than just a very beautiful car. Its real habitat is out on the road!

THIS IS A CAR ! Great match with the 60’s outfit ! Good old days ...a MAGNIFICENT build quality, good performance and really CLASSY look... !

I knew of someone who bought a Volvo 162 which was intended for banger car racing, it was instead broken up on the driveway then Scrapped. Volvo ran 3 digit model numbers, the first being the series such a 1 the second was the number of cylinders and last was the number of doors. The 1 series evolved into the 2 series as 240 saloon and 240 estate which lasted till the early 1990’s. It’s a great useable everyday classic and most parts are easily interchangeable.

Beauty of a Volvo.Still see plenty older Volvos about these days too.When cars were made to last...

I've seen this car in the metal, at the Wakefield show a few years ago (before it was restored). My son, then aged 4, loved honking the horn with that 'bow-tie' control on the wheel. It was in lovely condition then, so I can only imagine how good it looks and drives after a full restoration. I own an '82 244, and despite being a lowly DL model it's still very well-specced for the period and a very smooth, solid, comfortable drive comparable to many modern vehicles. Volvo were that ahead of the time (especially when you consider the 240 was based on a 1960s bodyshell and remained in production until 1993. Visibility is excellent too in part thanks to the cut-out head restraints. Jans Wilsgaard (head designer at Volvo throughout its 'golden age') was in my view a car design genius and the fact that so many 1, 2 and 7 series Volvos survive, and have such an avid following now that they're finally being recognised as proper classics, is testament to that.