Good morning! Today I’m magically whisking you all away to… Delaware. Why? For no other reason than to make that Wayne’s World reference. I did find a couple of conversation-worthy cars in the Very First State, which we’ll get to in a moment, after we settle our affairs in Memphis:
Huh. Once again, I find myself in disagreement with the majority here. I dig the Avalanche, but it always felt a little too much like a compromise. I’d rather have the straightforward big-sedan vibe of the Chrysler.
Anyway, yeah. Delaware. One of those teeny-tiny East Coast states that’s usually just an arrow pointing to a spot on a map, the first state to ratify the US Constitution, and, coincidentally, my mother-in-law’s stomping grounds. Not a place known for its car scene, but folks still gotta get around, and I found a pair of decent cheap rides for us to check out. They’re similar in that they both have transverse inline engines of more than four cylinders, an unusual powertrain arrangement. Here they are.
2002 Volvo S60 2.4t – $1,800
Engine/drivetrain: Turbocharged 2.4 liter overehad cam inline 5, five-speed automatic, FWD
Location: Bear, DE
Odometer reading: 190,000 miles
Runs/drives? Sure does
I remember my first thought when I saw the S60 and S80: “Holy crap;Â that’s a Volvo?” I’m sure I wasn’t alone in thinking that, either; for decades before that, Volvos were roughly the same shape as an IKEA store. But the S60 was sleek, modern, even stylish. And even now, twenty years later, it still looks good.
This Volvo dates from Ford’s ownership of the marque, and cars from this era don’t share the carved-from-stone feeling or near-eternal durability of the old “bricks.” But they’re not as fragile as an Alfa Romeo or something, either. This Volvo has managed to put almost 190,000 miles under its belt, and apparently still runs just fine. It shows some wear and tear in the interior, and the paint’s a little faded, but not bad at all.
It’s a good color, too. Too many Volvos of this era are silver, or that sandy beige that European carmakers were so fond of. I like this steely blue.
2005 Suzuki Verona – $1,200
Engine/drivetrain: 2.5 liter dual overhead cam inline 6, four-speed automatic, FWD
Location: Rehoboth Beach, DE
Odometer reading: 137,000 miles
Runs/drives? Yep
The Suzuki Verona is a weird car. For starters, it isn’t a Suzuki at all; it’s a Daewoo, and was built all over the Far East, and sold all over the world under various names. It also features an inline six in a transverse position driving the front wheels, a rare layout indeed. The only other cars I can think of with a straight six turned sideways are the Volvo S80 – the big sister to the car above – and the Austin 2200 and Wolesley Six variants of the BMC ADO17 “Land Crab” sedans. (If someone else can name another one, please mention it in the comments.)
But as we all know, rare doesn’t mean interesting, or good. The Suzuki Verona, alias Daewoo Magnus among others, was not an interesting ot particularly good car. This one seems to have held up all right, but the seller notes that it failed its last inspection in September, due to oil smoke from the exhaust. The engine is the one thing that makes this car unique, and this one burns oil. If you live in a place that doesn’t require inspections, you can probably get by – the seller says it doesn’t smoke at low speeds in town.
But really, unless you want to be contrarian, or just really love the idea of a transverse six, or just need a really cheap car, you’re probably better off with a Sonata, or the ubiquitous Camry. The seller says this car runs well and is reliabile, but it’s a footnote, and parts will only get harder to find from here on out.
There they are, the two cheapest running cars that turned up in a quick search in the great state of Delaware. One inexpensive and slightly scruffy Volvo, and one oddball “world car” for dirt cheap. What’ll it be?
(Image credits: Craigslist sellers)
I used to live in the Virginia suburbs of Washington DC where a huge portion of the residents were from some other part of the country, working for the federal government or elected officials. Even though Delaware is just on the other side of Maryland, I never saw any Delaware license plates or met anyone who was from there.
If I lived in Delaware I can’t imagine why I would want to go anywhere in the “DMV” (DC, MD, VA) region unless I had to. There are easier ways to get west of the DMV than drive through it.
Yes, my work takes me into the DMV.
The state has like 2/3 the population of Philadelphia, easy to get lost in the shuffle. Also, only rear plates, so easy to miss in traffic if coming towards you
Uffta! Another one where I really don’t want either one of them. I guess I’ll take the Volvo, since I’ll at least probably be able to find parts for it.
The S80 wasn’t the only Volvo to get the I-6. They showed up in the XC60 (I had one with the NA I6 in the R-Design trim. Great car), and the XC90 as well. Super smooth engine, very reliable, very easy to pull maintenance on. Not great for towing, of course, but a good road trip car that will just last and last and last if you just do the recommended maintenance.
On the poll, I’d take the S60. Volvo seats win for me every time.
It’s a bit more complex than that, the S80 and early XC90s got the RN I6s from the Modular family while the XC60, gen2 S80, later XC90, and V70/XC70 would get Volvo’s revised SI6 (for ‘Short I6’). This later SI6 is what would go into the Polestar S60 and V60 and also saw use in the Freelander 2, so there are three more candidates for transverse I6 cars.
Oh, and it’s decent for towing a small trailer at least. I’ve done two trips with the 2500 lb U-Haul 5×8 with a T6 SI6 in a 2012 XC70 and it pulls like there isn’t even anything there.
I totally agree that the T6 would tow like a, well, maybe not “beast”, but definitely a thing that can tow. Mine was the 3.2 NA variant, and that wasn’t as good for towing my motorcycle from OKC-Dallas. Great for cruising, but definitely not as grunty as the T6.
The Suzuki logo on the steering wheel reminds me of that weird stylized “S” that middle-school kids used to doodle in their notebooks for reasons that I could never understand. I don’t really want that thing looking at me all the time, so I’ll go with the Volvo.
Haha. That, and the amazing transparent cube(!) were popular doodles in my elementary school days. I wonder if there is a way to date people based on what doodles they remember from grade school?
The worst part about this observation is that if you change the stupid “S” logo steering wheel for one pulled from a Daewoo, you get to spend every drive looking at Daewoo’s “jockstrap” logo instead.
IIRC the Land Rover LR2 from the early 2000s also had a transverse I6.
Late 2000s, technically. The LR2 went on sale in 2006 replacing the Rover KV6 powered Freelander.
I had a 2006 S60 of that generation, a total money pit but I loved the car, I now found a V70 of the same gen fewer miles and previous owners which runs well. If you need a cheap car to get by, DO NOT get the Volvo, otherwise it’s a very safe and reasonably powerful car, if well maintained the 5 cylinder can last a very long time, the gearbox is decent but people tend to never change the fluid and then it fails. The seats are stupidly comfortable even though mine were very worn and the leather was in poor condition, they were still supremely comfortable, they are all fairly well equipped, considering the year, you usually get parking sensors, dual zone climate control, electric warmed seats, power folding mirrors, sunroof and a excellent stereo which has no way to connect to your phone.
I’ve had an 04 S60 and an 06 V70, and I must say my experience in how much it cost to keep them on the road differs from yours. I drove the S60 for about a hundred thousand miles and then my wife drove it for about seventy or eighty thousand more. It did like to go through ignition coils, and the gearbox didn’t like going from first to second. And the power steering didn’t work, which wasn’t apparent until I got my V70. But the car could probably have run a few years more.
The V70 had less than 120,000km on it when I bought it. I eventually scrapped it with over 300,000 because I started working from home and it was too expensive to keep taxed. It needed a major brake job not long after I got it, but really nothing outside of regular maintenance, even despite smashing the intercooler on a piece of debris having fallen from a truck. Some mechanical issues crept in toward the end, and my dogs had peed in it quite a lot, but I got more than my €1,200 worth out of it! If they weren’t so bloody expensive to tax and insure, I’d love another.
I think it really depends on what mileage you get it at. If you get a 120k mile one that’s just had everything done, you can expect a rather trouble free 70k miles beyond that. At 190k it’s unfortunately nearing the time for everything to be done again, so make of that what you will. My dad’s old 01 V70 T5 snapped its second timing belt at 247k, but his indie happened to have a 70k mile lightly crash-damaged 01 V70 T5 in his lot. They transferred the busted trim pieces from the dead-engine car to the 70k mile one and sold it back to my dad who’s now got a ‘new’ V70!
I’m voting for the Daewoo
Also, you should’ve made this contest against the S80 with the I6. A Transverse I6 showdown. I’d still pick the Verona.
Yeah, GM and Ford both offered transverse I6 sedans then!
The Verona probably still cheaper to fix than the Ford.
You missed out on making an excellent city and colour reference:
Hello, I’m in Delaware
https://youtu.be/6f3ugIx3-ig
Also, give me the swede.
The Verona isn’t worth fixing, and I can’t see out of state buyers having much interest in it. Buy the Volvo if you want to remain in good standing with your local authorities. Buy the rebadged Daewoo if you don’t mind printing fake inspection stickers and living on the edge to save $600. I’m going with the Volvo and staying on the right side of the law.
What’s the turning circle like on that Suzuki with a transverse I6?
I had a C70, based on this Volvos predecessor with the I5.
Wonderful car but manoeuvred like a truck.
I live in Delaware, every car I’ve bought over the past 8 years has been from out of state, since the selection here is always sub par, just isn’t the critical mass of inventory, either new or used
I have owned vehicles with one, two, three, four, and six cylinders. A five-cylinder vehicle would complete the cycle for me.
Hey, me too! My sixes have been Vs, so either of these cars would give me a new configuration. I’m shopping for a Tundra, which will be my first V8.
My list includes a V4, an air-cooled triple, and a air-cooled 430 cubic inch 6 cylinder boxer.
If you exclude motorcycles and airplane, the list is a lot less interesting.
As a previous owner of the Chevy Epica, the Verona’s Canadian twin, I vote Volvo all the way. The I6 was slower than many 4 cylinders of the day but with the benefit of worse fuel economy and with a slow 4 speed transmission attached to it.
“But really, unless you want to be contrarian…”
My brother in Christ, I’m nothing if not this. A small, transverse inline six coupled with a ZF 4 speed? A money losing platform developed as the vestiges of a company in its death throes? Hell yes, that’s what I’m here for. This thing is cheap, low, low, low key cool. Worried about parts? Just order internationally for the Chevrolet Epica, Chevrolet Evanda, Daewoo Evanda, and Formosa Magnus. Sure it burns oil, but if you liked it then you should put rings in it.
Not to take anything away from Volvo, but as much as I like their inline 5, the styling for that generation was a complete turn off for me…and I have an irrational hate of the “sitting man” HVAC control on the center console.
But “sitting man” is so Scando-cool. Like lutefisk.
Back in the 00s my wife’s coworker bought one of these Suzukis brand new and one day during the first week she owned it they called me because it wouldn’t start. I grabbed the toolbox and drove over there only to find the cable had come off the battery. Both terminals were barely hand tight, I guess the dealership forgot to tighten those down.
The Verona has an interesting engine and layout…but that doesn’t make it good. If I recall correctly these only make 160ish horsepower…so it’s not going to be dramatically different from any run of the mill 4 popper. Plus it’s a damn Daewoo underneath…this one goes to the S60, easily. It’s a good looking car and you’ll be able to find plenty of parts/people who can work on it.
Rare and weird doesn’t always mean good. This is a perfect example of when it doesn’t.
I had no clue the Verona has an inline 6, that alone is enough to make me pick it. It’s far more interesting than the Volvo and at $1200, it’s cheap enough to where I’d I even only get a years worth of use out of it, I’d still feel like I got my moneys worth.
Re: Transverse I6’s:
In the wiki article on the Austin 2200, they mention that there was a Morris 2200 in addition to the Wolseley Six. The same article states that the engine came from David’s home-away-from-home, ‘Stralia, where it was used in the Austin Tasman & Kimberley “X6” cars.
In any case, I know a mechanic in Austin that can keep that Volvo going another 190k miles for a reasonable fee (in reality, a series of fees). An oil-burning Daewoo on the other hand? I ain’t the one who’s going to test its longevity (or lack thereof) out.
I grew up in a 2001 V70, my folks bought it new and kept it for over ten years. It even had the jump seat in the back, which was cool when I was a little kid but less cool when I was a teenager and got crammed back there, since I was the only family member who could ride back there without getting sick. I love that generation of Volvos, and I wish my folks had kept the wagon as a spare car like they originally intended, instead of selling it to my cousin who trashed it. But, it ended up in the hands of the owner of a shop specializing in European makes, so I hope it at least had a peaceful retirement.
My sister had a Verona and it was bad, I mean, really bad.
Volvo all the way. That 5-banger is probably a highway sweetheart.
One of these cars is interesting and unique.
The other is the Volvo.
At $1200, the Verona’s the winner. Oil out the exhaust is likely just valve seals, and I had zero trouble finding the parts. You’d think finding major repair parts for this car would be somewhat hard, but they’re not. Suzuki apparently reused a lot of key components from more common engines to build this I6. And should you be looking at rings, a complete rebuild kit including pistons is available as well as in oversize, at an entirely reasonable price.
It’s also a pretty damn sturdy engine. Valve seals at nearly 20 years with little driving? Not bad. Unlike the Volvo, the Suzuki also has a timing chain setup and the tensioner’s easy to source. A/C problem? No problem – from compressor to condenser, it’s all readily available and cheap. Sure, you’re not finding OE, but honestly that’s true for any car these days so shrug.
So not only is it surprisingly easy to maintain and repair, you’ve got a fun conversation piece at cars and coffee. One of the only FWD I6’s ever made, and a perfectly cromulent sedan to boot. (And believe you me, it makes a stunningly nice noise at full chat. Just don’t expect it to take corners well.)
I replied to affirmative in this vein a moment ago. Agreed on all counts. I’d love to have the chance to own one of these goofy cars.
The Verona’s looks have aged pretty well and the engine is intriguing, but I’m with the majority here: make mine the Swede, especially after some leather cleaner.
I mean, Shakespeare was moderately satisfied with his quasi-Suzuki.
This has nothing to do with the cars…. but was there a decision to have people sign in every single time they come here? I now have to sent an email to myself to sighn in. From a user perspective that’s not a great experience. I’m just saying this because people like convenience and having them jump through even the smallest of hoops means an impact on users. So I’d suggest re-enabling the feature to allow users to stay logged on.
Google signs me in automatically.
I’ve actually had to sign in less frequently since the migration. With the old setup I had to log in roughly every 3 days, I have maybe had to log in twice since the cutover on this computer.
My phone is set to delete all history and cookies when I close the browser, so I have to log in every time there, maybe your browser is similarly configured?
There are still some teething problems with the new system. I went through a couple. From those problems I went through I can say that you’re not supposed to need to sign in every single time so something might be wrong (or it could be something weird with your setup and preferences of your browser.)
If it is really bad I’d recommend emailing a couple of the people on the “About Us” page and ask if they can help.
I used to have to sign in every time. Since the change over I’ve never had to sign in again, you definitely have something wonky going on.
My first accident that wasn’t my fault, I got rear-ended. They gave me a Volvo S40 as a rental car.
Ever since I’ve had a soft spot for this era of Volvos.
Still would prefer a box on wheels, but what ya gonna do?