Back in the decades before Sport Utility Vehicles ruled our world it was likely that the shape chosen by new-car buyers would be a four-door sedan.
More than 35 years have passed since most of these cars could be bought new and yet they remain available, and if you find one that has been sympathetically maintained it is still going to provide competent and satisfying transport with a dash of classic flair.
Best of all, none of them is particularly expensive, nor are parts impossible to source. Merely challenging. Find yourself a workshop that specialises in the brand, arrange to have anything fixed that is likely to cause an immediate problem and maintenance becomes a formality.
Some versions will be more costly than others and condition is always a factor in determining price. Also, there are some rare versions of our selected models that can be pricey but also bring added potential for improving value.
Five affordable Euro sedans
Volvo 850-T5
On a cold, wet Bathurst morning in 1996, people who spent much of their lives cursing slow-moving Volvos found themselves cheering one with Peter Brock’s 05 on the doors and Jim Richards at the wheel.
Rain-master Richards was booked to drive in the V8-only 1000 later in the day but took over Brock’s Volvo 850 Super Tourer for a curtain-raising eight lapper so memorable it overshadowed the main event.
Jim’s mount on the day was front-wheel drive and turbocharged, with the aesthetics and aerodynamics of a Besser block, yet in a straight line it left BMWs and all-wheel drive Audis quite literally in its wake as Richards’ wet-track brilliance secured a memorable win.
These Volvos are a big car; 350mm longer that a 3 Series BMW and weighing 1470kg. The 2.3-litre turbocharged engine in standard form produced 166kW (177kW if you manage to grab a pre-1996 T5-R) with acceleration that was still sharpish. In a manual 0-100km/h took 7.3 seconds and they were loaded with enough stuff to justify a $75,000 retail price.
Today a T5-R manual might cost $30K with automatics around $10,000 less. Most will be local deliveries, but a dealer did recently offer a scarce Estate which had spent time in the UK and Japan.
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BMW 323I E30
This bland, chunky sedan is the model that changed everything for BMW. The E30 Series restyle didn’t make massive changes to BMW’s entry-level model, but enough to ensure global sales during a 12-year production life of over 2.3 million cars.
In Australia, our dominant models were the four-cylinder 318i and six-cylinder 320i but the E30s most likely to attract enthusiastic owners carry 323i badges on the bootlid.
These cars featured six-cylinder, 105kW engines and most were automatic. However, it was and remains the five-speed manual that attracted drivers who wanted the most from their E30.
Top speed was said to be 204km/h but in a country where 110km/h was the upper limit in most places, that tall gearing delivered relaxed cruising and 9L/100km fuel economy while still sending the light (1120kg) BMW from 0-100km/h in 8.3 seconds.
Standard equipment was limited to power steering, electric mirror adjustment and a quality Eurovox stereo. Air-conditioning was a popular option and some cars have a power sunroof.
Rust accounted for a lot of E30s, but because so many were sold here it isn’t yet hard to find a 323i in good condition and priced below $20,000. There were specialised JPS models and Baur cabriolets sold in minimal numbers and they are worth more.
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Mercedes-Benz 300E
The W124 Series 300E was an expensive car when new, but quality inevitably involves cost. Far dearer than any other car in this selection, even the newer Volvo, the four-door 300E was listed in 1990 at $127,000. However, by then the list of standard features did include ABS braking, leather seat trim and air-conditioning.
At around 1450kg they were hefty for their size and even with 135kW from the 3.0-litre straight-six, 0-100km/h took more than 10 seconds.
With the weight did come durability and longevity. A 300E that has been serviced by a specialist, using parts of comparable quality to the originals, should manage 350,000km on its original engine and still be running the original transmission.
If your ‘hobby’ car needs to comfortably accommodate family members in the back seat and pack in a decent quantity of luggage, take a good look at the 300E. Legroom, thanks to the 2800mm wheelbase, is excellent for a car of this size and the self-levelling rear suspension – providing it works properly – delivers a ride that is almost bounce free.
W124s in poor condition cost very little to buy and a lot to refurbish. A car with lots of recent receipts is the better choice and still should cost less than $20,000.
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Alfa Romeo 75 Twin Spark
Designed in-house at Alfa Romeo, the 75 was intended to build on the trend towards wedge-shaped cars. However, that trend faded quickly, leaving cars like the Alfa and Audi’s CD as ageing and unwanted orphans.
Three versions of the 75 came to Australia, beginning in 1986 and ending when the brand temporarily withdrew from our market in 1992. None were very expensive, with 3.0-litre V6 versions costing up to $47,000 and the 2.0-litre Twin Spark at around $39,000 when sales ceased.
These weren’t luxurious cars but better furnished than BMW’s very basic 318i, which in 1990 cost more than a Twin Spark 75.
Inside the Twin Spark were stylish cloth-trimmed seats, power windows and, from early 1990, standard air-conditioning accompanied by a $2500 price rise.
The engine produced a conservative 109kW, while the 3.0-litre delivered 29kW more but with comparable performance. These were all five-speed manual cars with no auto option and that put them at a disadvantage against comparable BMWs.
Alfa Romeo clubs will be the best place to start looking for a Twin Spark. Basic 2.5-litre and the 3.0-litre V6s have pretty much disappeared but Alfa enthusiasts seem to favour Twin Sparks.
One popped up recently in dealer stock at almost $35,000, however, any car that costs more than $25,000 will need to be exceptional.
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SAAB 9000
What has happened to all the Saabs? The thinking person’s Swedish car was once endemic in fashionable suburbs but since the parent company went back to building military hardware, survivors from its decades in the car industry have become scarce.
The ones of interest here were all built between 1986 and 1997 and sold to Australia in significant numbers. Taking 1994 as a typical year, local sales of 9000 models reached 1191 units, comprising 866 aspirated cars and 325 with turbochargers.
The 9000 Series Saabs could be found with sedan or hatchback bodywork, all front-wheel drive and mostly automatic. They came with 2.0-litre or 2.3-litre engines and up to 147kW, plus in the very rare 9000 Griffin sedan, a 155kW 3.0-litre V6.
Saab designed the 9000 in conjunction with Alfa Romeo, Lancia and Fiat and likely came through the process with the best version of the Italdesign derivatives. Despite high levels of build quality and extensive lists of features, 9000s weren’t particularly expensive, with turbo-engined CD sedans in 1991 costing $87,900.
They were then replaced by the Griffin, which was 18 per cent more powerful, better equipped and ended its tenure in 1997 at $79,100.
Today, hardly any of the surviving 9000 Series Saabs will cost more than $20,000. Several seen recently and in apparently good condition were priced at less than half that amount.
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