Classifieds' Car Of The Day: Retro-Rare Volvo 480 Hatchback

To the naked eye, this is one hell of an ugly car. It looks like a slab of cheese, is woefully underpowered and is older than baby Jesus...

BUT, you want this Volvo 480 for three very good reasons: 1. It's a Volvo and everybody loves Volvo (even Van Damme); 2. The 480 series gets pop-up headlights; 3. It's incredibly rare, which means with a few subtle mods, you'll have something truly unique.

Under the Classifieds' Car Of The Day microscope today is this decent-condition 1.7-litre petrol ES model (one of only a few 480s on sale in the UK right now).

The distinctive four-seat, front-wheel drive hatchback (the first front-drive Volvo with a transversely-mounted engine) was produced in the 1980s and early 90s and was designed to be sporty and technologically advanced; Volvo pulled the sporty part off nicely, thanks to Lotus-tuned suspension...

...but early cars were plagued by electrical faults. These issues were improved in the 90s, however, and Renault engines ensured the 480 was mechanically sound.

The 1.7-litre, four-pot in the ES produces 107bhp, which musters a 119mph top speed and 9.8-sec 0-60mph time. Also in the 480 line-up was a Turbo version (using a Garrett blower), which upped power to 120bhp.

Up for sale for £650, the ES you see here is a three-owner car with 135,000 miles on the clock. It's taxed until the end of the year and gets a longish MOT until June 2014.

If you decide to take a punt on a brilliantly retro Volvo 480, make sure you get yourselves over to a forum like this where you'll get support from like-minded owners. Chances are, you'll need them along the way.

Oh, and if you're wondering how amazing a Polestar version would look, here's the answer: