Volvo 700 Series - Volvo 740

Introduced in early 1984 (in the U.S. and Australia for the 1985 model year), nearly two years after the luxurious 760, the 740 was the lower-end version of the original 760. The 740 was intended to be a mid-size car that offered more style, performance, and luxury than the 200 series. The '4' in the middle of a Volvo model name had once signified a four-cylinder engine, but by the time of the introduction of the 740 it simply meant less luxurious equipment as four- and six- cylinder engines were fitted across the range. the 740 was available as a four-door sedan (sometimes referred to as the 744) and a five-door station wagon (also known as the 745).

Production of the 740 ceased on October 2, 1992, though the engine, transmission, chassis, and other details continued in the Volvo 940 (see below), which was essentially identical to the 740 with the exception of the rear of the sedans. For 1985, an intercooled version of the 2-litre turbo engine (B200ET) was introduced for markets such as Italy, where larger engines were heavily taxed. This unit produces 160 PS (118 kW) at 5,500 rpm, ten horsepower more than the preceding non-intercooled B19ET variant, enough for a claimed 200 km/h (124 mph) top speed. For 1989 a sixteen-valve version of the larger B230 engine was introduced (B234), with nearly as much peak power as the turbo version. This was Volvo's first multi-valve engine. In 1990 the 740 received a minor facelift with new, smaller, composite headlamps and 780-style tail lights. In 1991, both the 740 and the newly introduced 940 received an updated dashboard, similar in appearance to the ones found in the 760. The 740 remained mostly unchanged for the 1992 model year, and sales ended in 1993 in favour of the Volvo 940.

Aside from styling, 1990 marked a number of mechanical improvements to the 740 series. The B200 and B230 motors received larger 13 mm (0.5 in) connecting rods. The 740 Turbo switched from the Garrett T3-series turbocharger to the Mitsubishi TD04 series, which offers quicker spool-up and better boost at low engine speeds, albeit at the expense of top-end performance. The electronic fuel injection system was upgraded from Bosch LH-Jetronic 2.2 to 2.4 (in 1988 for naturally aspirated cars, in 1990 for turbocharged cars). The newer fuel system offered onboard diagnostics, which are accessible from the engine compartment and require no special equipment. For 1993, the final model year for the 740, the mechanical engine cooling fan was replaced with an electric fan. The 1990-92 Volvo 700-series cars may very well represent one of the most reliable 4-door passenger sedans of its era due to a limited number of engineering limitations and solid build quality.