Me and my wife had a red 360 in the beginning of our marrige. We really liked that car. The 360 eventually had to go, but the wife still stays. 😊 We sometimes bring the topic of the 360 up and talk about how cool that car was. If I would find one in good condition I would love to buy one. To bad space on our drive way is limited.
What a blast from the past, my parents had 3 of the 360 series cars firstly a maroon 83 GLS just like this, then two GLE injections an 85 and then an 88 both the awkward looking saloons with massive rear headrests , and weak electric window switches but very comfortable to ride in, all did around mid to high 20s mpg at best but very reliable.
Had three 340s and a gold coloured 360GLS in the 1990s. The first I had was the smaller engined (Renault?) 340 about 1300/ 1400 cc? Both nice cars but changed to the 360GLT which was a brilliant towcar and very comfortable for a family. I don't recall it 'wallowing' at all. I bought a 240 saloon late 90s but we kept 'Goldie' on as a second car which was fortunate because it took leaded petrol which you could get more easily during the petrol tankers strike about 2001? I've owned 740 estate, two 240 estates, a red 940 estate that I sold on about 2012 when I purchased my current car, a 940 2.3 Torslanda Estate (1997), silver, with just 164000 miles on the clock, just qualified for the Volvo High Mileage Club bronze award. Lovely motor. You might say I'm a Volvo Man! As they say, "You don't need brawn to drive a Volvo, just brains". My car is one of the last REAL Volvos built.
I had a 1983 360 GLS. It was a lovely car to drive. Because the gearbox is on the back axle, it makes for a really balanced handling car, which was a real surprise to me. We must have made about four trips from the South of England to Scotland and the car cruise beautifully. The 2.0 engine was a good torquey engine. The turning circle was amazing on it.
My father had a blue '83 360 GLS. Sat on GLT alloys, white lettering on the tyres and a semi decent sound system. Was not a bad car, brought it for £300 about 30 years ago!
Worked in a volvo dealer as a tech in the late 80s early 90s just as the 440 was out but people still bought these. The 360glt was quite a nice drive. I liked the 740 turbos and the 480 which was such a departure for them at the time. Those b200 and b230 engines do 500k easy.
We had a 1985 265 GLE with the PRV, camshafts went, sourced the parts from Renault at half the Volvo cost, was a great car, replaced with a 1987 240GLE, not a patch on the 6 pot
*New Subscriber* : That was great. An interesting car; a focused walk around; good commentary on the car's dynamics; and you're a natural in front of the camera. Your channel should have thousands more subscribers in no time ! My sister bought a 1988 Volvo 340DL from the brother of the local big Volvo dealer. It had a problem with a leaking differential, due to someone jacking the car up on the diff ( if I remember correctly, there was a plate on the underside of the diff, and using it a jacking point bent the plate and led to the leak ). That was easily fixed. She was the 2nd owner from 1993 to 1999, and then I bought it from her. I *loved* it. So comfortable ( like sitting in an armchair ); surprising quick ( I was coming from a 1.1L Fiesta, maybe that's why it felt so ); and built like a tank. The only reason I gave it up was that I got a company car in 2022. Otherwise, I might still be driving it. Living now in Prague, I haven't had the need for owning a car in 20 years. But I'll be living back in either Ireland or the UK by the end of the year, and my plan is to buy a reliable 2nd hand modern machine for the first year until I get settled, and then swap that for a 30+ year old Volvo ( to get classic car tax : look up the tax rates in Ireland for big engined old cars younger than 30 years and prepare yourself for a shock ! ). All the best and looking forward to more content.
hello - thanks for subscribing! hope your enjoying al the content. I've more Volvos coming to the channel soon, 360 glt, 144, and hopefully a 760 turbo and 480. good luck with your hunt when you re-locate - send some pics!
I had four 3 series, a 1984 360 gls as a first car, a 340 gl 1.7, a 340 gle 1.7 and a 360 glt saloon. I did the most miles in the gls. Also I uprated the dampers to gas ones, and fitted conti tyres. Transformed the handling. The body control was tighter, it cornered a lot flatter and the ride quality was better too. My gls had front fog lights and a rear spoiler 😂 all factory fitted and an aftermarket sunroof 🙈😂 They are happier sitting at 90mph than they are at 70mph in Germany of course 😉 due to the power band. The 360 glt felt more sprightly to drive and being a saloon was even more solid that the hatches plus it had pas which the gls and 340s didn't. Also the glt had 14" alloys with lower profile tyres too. Nice review though 👍😎
The main difference underneath is this has a torque tube connecting the engine to the rear mounted gearbox, the 340s had a propshaft and the cvt 2 belts.
Chris, just looking back at some old photos of the family's 300 series Volvos the earlier models didn't have a rear wiper. The rear wiper was probably introduced around 1986 and continued until the end of the production run in 1991, switched from the edge of the tray below the gearstick. That's how when you reviewed the 1.7 you felt that the rear wash/wipe switch was an after thought. I changed from a 'C' reg. 360 GLE with Carb. to an 'F' reg. 360 GLT with fuel injection which made a difference in performance.
I had the 360 1986 at one point. It was way superior to 340. The transmission on mine was proper Volvo (rear mounted) manual gearbox, no DAF variospeed. Same 2.0L engine as the 240 series of the time. Great little car, not great at winter roads though.
I currently own the the 340 1.7 gle you tested. I used to drive a lot of these when I was 17 and 18 . Am had from the 1.4 340s to the 360 glt . The one I would perfer is the 360 glt . To me they are not much in it between the 1.7 340 and the 360 gls . The 350 just had that bit extra grunt on the hills .
I had a 343 1.4, it was quite underpowered and the gear ratios seemed a bit off, it was OK to drive at steady speeds but maybe the 1.7 would have been a better bet!
Pretty sure the 360 should have had alloy wheels. One of the lads in my Apprenticeship back in 1988 had one of these. 2.0, Very comfortable and heated seats. He always got picked on as it was a grandads car, but it was actually really nice. I remember the heater on it was a weapon, could literally make the inside about 40c lol.
Fuel injected 360s (GLT and GLEi) had alloy wheels, carbureted 360s like this GLS had these steel wheels. In other markets outside the UK some fuel injected cars had a bigger 14 inch steel wheel and a lot more optional wheels throughout the years. I think there were in total 12 or 13 different wheels between 13 and 14 inch with all the different variants
Me and my wife had a red 360 in the beginning of our marrige. We really liked that car. The 360 eventually had to go, but the wife still stays. 😊 We sometimes bring the topic of the 360 up and talk about how cool that car was. If I would find one in good condition I would love to buy one. To bad space on our drive way is limited.
When I was 21/22 ish i bought a B reg 360 gls loved it owned it 5 years run it from 48000 to 154000 I replaced it with a 1986bmw 518i
What a blast from the past, my parents had 3 of the 360 series cars firstly a maroon 83 GLS just like this, then two GLE injections an 85 and then an 88 both the awkward looking saloons with massive rear headrests , and weak electric window switches but very comfortable to ride in, all did around mid to high 20s mpg at best but very reliable.
My first car was a Volvo 360 GLT. 🎉
i had a late model 360 GLT.. big mistake letting it go.. ive wanted it back ever since
Had three 340s and a gold coloured 360GLS in the 1990s. The first I had was the smaller engined (Renault?) 340 about 1300/ 1400 cc? Both nice cars but changed to the 360GLT which was a brilliant towcar and very comfortable for a family. I don't recall it 'wallowing' at all. I bought a 240 saloon late 90s but we kept 'Goldie' on as a second car which was fortunate because it took leaded petrol which you could get more easily during the petrol tankers strike about 2001? I've owned 740 estate, two 240 estates, a red 940 estate that I sold on about 2012 when I purchased my current car, a 940 2.3 Torslanda Estate (1997), silver, with just 164000 miles on the clock, just qualified for the Volvo High Mileage Club bronze award. Lovely motor. You might say I'm a Volvo Man! As they say, "You don't need brawn to drive a Volvo, just brains". My car is one of the last REAL Volvos built.
I had a 1983 360 GLS. It was a lovely car to drive.
Because the gearbox is on the back axle, it makes for a really balanced handling car, which was a real surprise to me.
We must have made about four trips from the South of England to Scotland and the car cruise beautifully. The 2.0 engine was a good torquey engine.
The turning circle was amazing on it.
Same car, same opinions.
My father had a blue '83 360 GLS. Sat on GLT alloys, white lettering on the tyres and a semi decent sound system. Was not a bad car, brought it for £300 about 30 years ago!
Worked in a volvo dealer as a tech in the late 80s early 90s just as the 440 was out but people still bought these. The 360glt was quite a nice drive. I liked the 740 turbos and the 480 which was such a departure for them at the time. Those b200 and b230 engines do 500k easy.
We had a 1985 265 GLE with the PRV, camshafts went, sourced the parts from Renault at half the Volvo cost, was a great car, replaced with a 1987 240GLE, not a patch on the 6 pot
*New Subscriber* : That was great. An interesting car; a focused walk around; good commentary on the car's dynamics; and you're a natural in front of the camera. Your channel should have thousands more subscribers in no time ! My sister bought a 1988 Volvo 340DL from the brother of the local big Volvo dealer. It had a problem with a leaking differential, due to someone jacking the car up on the diff ( if I remember correctly, there was a plate on the underside of the diff, and using it a jacking point bent the plate and led to the leak ). That was easily fixed. She was the 2nd owner from 1993 to 1999, and then I bought it from her. I *loved* it. So comfortable ( like sitting in an armchair ); surprising quick ( I was coming from a 1.1L Fiesta, maybe that's why it felt so ); and built like a tank. The only reason I gave it up was that I got a company car in 2022. Otherwise, I might still be driving it. Living now in Prague, I haven't had the need for owning a car in 20 years. But I'll be living back in either Ireland or the UK by the end of the year, and my plan is to buy a reliable 2nd hand modern machine for the first year until I get settled, and then swap that for a 30+ year old Volvo ( to get classic car tax : look up the tax rates in Ireland for big engined old cars younger than 30 years and prepare yourself for a shock ! ). All the best and looking forward to more content.
hello - thanks for subscribing! hope your enjoying al the content. I've more Volvos coming to the channel soon, 360 glt, 144, and hopefully a 760 turbo and 480. good luck with your hunt when you re-locate - send some pics!
This example really does deserve one of those “scrappage scheme survivor” stickers!
absolutely
I remember these new, made them for a very long time with little change.
I had four 3 series, a 1984 360 gls as a first car, a 340 gl 1.7, a 340 gle 1.7 and a 360 glt saloon.
I did the most miles in the gls. Also I uprated the dampers to gas ones, and fitted conti tyres. Transformed the handling. The body control was tighter, it cornered a lot flatter and the ride quality was better too.
My gls had front fog lights and a rear spoiler 😂 all factory fitted and an aftermarket sunroof 🙈😂
They are happier sitting at 90mph than they are at 70mph in Germany of course 😉 due to the power band.
The 360 glt felt more sprightly to drive and being a saloon was even more solid that the hatches plus it had pas which the gls and 340s didn't. Also the glt had 14" alloys with lower profile tyres too.
Nice review though 👍😎
The main difference underneath is this has a torque tube connecting the engine to the rear mounted gearbox, the 340s had a propshaft and the cvt 2 belts.
Chris, just looking back at some old photos of the family's 300 series Volvos the earlier models didn't have a rear wiper. The rear wiper was probably introduced around 1986 and continued until the end of the production run in 1991, switched from the edge of the tray below the gearstick. That's how when you reviewed the 1.7 you felt that the rear wash/wipe switch was an after thought. I changed from a 'C' reg. 360 GLE with Carb. to an 'F' reg. 360 GLT with fuel injection which made a difference in performance.
Rear wiper could be ordered as an option on earlier cars.
glt video coming soon!
I had a 343 gls 1981model for 4 years fantastic car and later on bought a 1989 360 GLT model
I had the 360 1986 at one point. It was way superior to 340. The transmission on mine was proper Volvo (rear mounted) manual gearbox, no DAF variospeed. Same 2.0L engine as the 240 series of the time. Great little car, not great at winter roads though.
The humble Volvo.(360)
If you want the full 340 experience, you need to drive the 1.4. I owned three of them back in the 80s & 90s.
agreed! it was a 1.4 my parents had back in the 80s, so would be nice to review one. a C plate if possible lol
This car was designed by DAF and the early ones had the continuously variable transmission. Volvo bought DAF and inherited the design.
lol yes, my mate nearly killed me trying to show me "it doesnt change gear" whilst going round a housing estate on 2 wheels !!!
I'm not shure if the 340 design was made at the time when Volvo bought Daf. Daf 66 became Volvo 66...
I currently own the the 340 1.7 gle you tested. I used to drive a lot of these when I was 17 and 18 . Am had from the 1.4 340s to the 360 glt . The one I would perfer is the 360 glt . To me they are not much in it between the 1.7 340 and the 360 gls . The 350 just had that bit extra grunt on the hills .
You had to make a video about the 1.4 340 with cvt, that is the original one, missing in your rewies
agreed
I had a 343 1.4, it was quite underpowered and the gear ratios seemed a bit off, it was OK to drive at steady speeds but maybe the 1.7 would have been a better bet!
Not alloy wheels though.... They're steel with chrome rings.
I had a 343 dl i think it was. 1.4 drank like a fish, prob leaking it all lol.. long time ago cheap car, serious comfort though
Pretty sure the 360 should have had alloy wheels. One of the lads in my Apprenticeship back in 1988 had one of these. 2.0, Very comfortable and heated seats. He always got picked on as it was a grandads car, but it was actually really nice. I remember the heater on it was a weapon, could literally make the inside about 40c lol.
Fuel injected 360s (GLT and GLEi) had alloy wheels, carbureted 360s like this GLS had these steel wheels. In other markets outside the UK some fuel injected cars had a bigger 14 inch steel wheel and a lot more optional wheels throughout the years. I think there were in total 12 or 13 different wheels between 13 and 14 inch with all the different variants
Thankfully all scrapped. Lone survivor