Discussion
Time is fast approaching when we should replace Mrs BFB's 9-5 Aero Estate (LPG'd) and we're pretty much down to a couple of cars - the XC70 and the Outback.
Given that she (again, for a third time) trashed a tyre on the tracks that serve as roads around here, I'm increasingly drawn to the XC70 as something with a sensible tyre profile.
Thing is, what model to get?
There are one or two givens:
We won't be spending more than £7K in total (incl c2K LPG conversion, if applicable)
She must have an auto, non-negotiable. I know, I know...
I refuse to stump up more than £285 pa RFL.
...and of course we want sensible running costs, reliability, moon on a stick yada yada.
Running the Saab on LPG, we get an equivalent of high 30s mpg petrol, which is good for a car of that size and performance. We have a local LPG garage, and there are people locally who can service the system, and install, too. Helpfully, we also have a local Volvo specialist, who seems very good and who knows all about the AW box and its foibles (same box in the Saab, I think). So I'm quite pro LPG, overall.
Some thoughts, welcome any/all comments on the below:
Get the 2.5T and convert it. Thin on the ground, but nice to have if LPG'd. Don't know much about reliability, but I'm thinking basically OK as the engine's been around for donkeys in various forms.
The 2.4 petrol's even thinner on the ground, is a slug, and best avoided.
Get a D5 and have done with it, after all everyone else does. Plenty around, clearly. Trouble is, wife does primarily shortish journeys, school runs etc so I'm nervous about reliability and mpg, too (I'm thinking low 30s, perhaps, so equivalent to maybe high 20s petrol, which seems high).
Really welcome feedback and thoughts.
Given that she (again, for a third time) trashed a tyre on the tracks that serve as roads around here, I'm increasingly drawn to the XC70 as something with a sensible tyre profile.
Thing is, what model to get?
There are one or two givens:
We won't be spending more than £7K in total (incl c2K LPG conversion, if applicable)
She must have an auto, non-negotiable. I know, I know...
I refuse to stump up more than £285 pa RFL.
...and of course we want sensible running costs, reliability, moon on a stick yada yada.
Running the Saab on LPG, we get an equivalent of high 30s mpg petrol, which is good for a car of that size and performance. We have a local LPG garage, and there are people locally who can service the system, and install, too. Helpfully, we also have a local Volvo specialist, who seems very good and who knows all about the AW box and its foibles (same box in the Saab, I think). So I'm quite pro LPG, overall.
Some thoughts, welcome any/all comments on the below:
Get the 2.5T and convert it. Thin on the ground, but nice to have if LPG'd. Don't know much about reliability, but I'm thinking basically OK as the engine's been around for donkeys in various forms.
The 2.4 petrol's even thinner on the ground, is a slug, and best avoided.
Get a D5 and have done with it, after all everyone else does. Plenty around, clearly. Trouble is, wife does primarily shortish journeys, school runs etc so I'm nervous about reliability and mpg, too (I'm thinking low 30s, perhaps, so equivalent to maybe high 20s petrol, which seems high).
Really welcome feedback and thoughts.
I know that with the V70 the lower powered cars (163bhp vs 185bhp) have no DPF or swirl flaps, the changeover was in 2005. It's actually a great engine, I have a D5 C70 and was really surprised what a wicked noise it makes and how much character it has compared to the T5 in my V70.
FWIW you'll have a much easier time selling on a D5 than an LPG equipped 2.5T when you're done with it too.
FWIW you'll have a much easier time selling on a D5 than an LPG equipped 2.5T when you're done with it too.
Bonefish Blues said:
Thanks, yes I agree, the D5 is the default choice. Our tendency is to run a car for several years, so perhaps less of an issue, but it's one to weigh.
Useful info re the 163 - I assume the 185 had all the gubbins all the time then?
Yes it did. You can get the DPF removed and the ECU reprogrammed (and mapped up to 225bhp odd at the same time if you like that sort of thing) if it fails though. I gather that the DMF and clutch on the 185BHP cars is considered to be stronger and less prone to failure, but that might just be internet bUseful info re the 163 - I assume the 185 had all the gubbins all the time then?
ks. I can confirm they do respond nicely to a remap though ;-)That said I think a lot of the fuss about DPFs is more internet b
ks, and if it does at least one decent trip every 500 - 600 miles it'll be fine. I don't think I'd feel comfortable running a smoke belching diesel without a DPF personally, but I appear to be largely alone with my sense of social responsibility.Yep, agree there's a lot of tosh talked about it/them, but trouble is Mrs BFB often goes a month without doing anything other than low-level pootling (and has previous with causing her Audis to go into limp-home) so it's probably an issue we should look at and take into account.
She has, you see, the mechanical sympathy of someone who is rather unsympathetic, to say the least, and I'm not much use because all I do 5 days a week is the 4 mile station commute - in a petrol, mind
She has, you see, the mechanical sympathy of someone who is rather unsympathetic, to say the least, and I'm not much use because all I do 5 days a week is the 4 mile station commute - in a petrol, mind
Bonefish Blues said:
Yep, agree there's a lot of tosh talked about it/them, but trouble is Mrs BFB often goes a month without doing anything other than low-level pootling (and has previous with causing her Audis to go into limp-home) so it's probably an issue we should look at and take into account.
She has, you see, the mechanical sympathy of someone who is rather unsympathetic, to say the least, and I'm not much use because all I do 5 days a week is the 4 mile station commute - in a petrol, mind
You may well be better off with a petrol in that case, even without a DPF. FWIW they seem to take horrendous abuse and lack of mechanical sympathy very well, and if my V70 T5 is anything to go by they can return surprisingly good economy on a run. Not if you drive like my wife does though, 21MPG is her average.She has, you see, the mechanical sympathy of someone who is rather unsympathetic, to say the least, and I'm not much use because all I do 5 days a week is the 4 mile station commute - in a petrol, mind
Plot thickens...but the mist clears.
Just spoken to the local specialist who I've spoken to a number of times.
He says get a 163 D5, no question, in our circumstances. Rates the 2.5T as occasionally troublesome with low oil pressure and just sheer scarcity.
I do like speaking to people who have an opinion
Just spoken to the local specialist who I've spoken to a number of times.
He says get a 163 D5, no question, in our circumstances. Rates the 2.5T as occasionally troublesome with low oil pressure and just sheer scarcity.
I do like speaking to people who have an opinion
My ex V70 (now driving XC70) belonged to my mother before me, D5 185 model
She spent three years driving it on the IOW, where the closest thing to motorway is a 500m stretch of dual carriageway, which is only NSL for half it's length...
In three years the engine had no issues with the DPF, it maybe got a motorway run once every eight weeks, and from perusing the owners forums, it's not an issue that appears much, if at all...
The Diesel engine suits the XC70 better than petrol IMO, and as you said, they're far more prevalent - I went 185 because I was also transitioning to an auto and didn't want the double whammy of less power and slower gearbox
I'd get it bought, I doubt you'll have any DPF related issues to be honest
She spent three years driving it on the IOW, where the closest thing to motorway is a 500m stretch of dual carriageway, which is only NSL for half it's length...
In three years the engine had no issues with the DPF, it maybe got a motorway run once every eight weeks, and from perusing the owners forums, it's not an issue that appears much, if at all...
The Diesel engine suits the XC70 better than petrol IMO, and as you said, they're far more prevalent - I went 185 because I was also transitioning to an auto and didn't want the double whammy of less power and slower gearbox
I'd get it bought, I doubt you'll have any DPF related issues to be honest
Well, I got one (D5 163) bought and early signs are very encouraging indeed.
The Specialist i've been talking to sourced it for me and I think he bought well. Drives perfectly, wife and child like it. It laughs in the face of the roads around here, driving over potholes that caused the Saab to shudder.
All in all the right choice I think.
The Specialist i've been talking to sourced it for me and I think he bought well. Drives perfectly, wife and child like it. It laughs in the face of the roads around here, driving over potholes that caused the Saab to shudder.
All in all the right choice I think.
S10GTA said:
Good news. Pics?
Will do, but I'll likely detail it first - it's very straight indeed with one single tiny crease on a door, but it hasn't been washed with any skill (in fact it looks like the work of a carwash to me) but it will polish up nicely given a little effort.Mrs BFB is laughing at potholes now, she tells me
Just wait 'til she punches an upper mount through the bonnet...Quick bump for the below, no luck as yet with a thread on a Volvo Forum:
In our 9-5 Aero Estate (which Mrs BFB hasn't given a backward glance to, incidentally "Why didn't we get one of these before?" I was asked today ) we had an OE boot liner in rubber with a c50mm lip around it.
I've been looking for something similar for the Volvo without success. I can find rubber mats without a lip, plastic liners with a lip, nylon complete liners and much else besides, none of which I really particularly want.
Question is, does what I want exist, and if so, has anyone got one for sale or knows where I can obtain one?
Appreciate the help, thanks.
In our 9-5 Aero Estate (which Mrs BFB hasn't given a backward glance to, incidentally "Why didn't we get one of these before?" I was asked today ) we had an OE boot liner in rubber with a c50mm lip around it.
I've been looking for something similar for the Volvo without success. I can find rubber mats without a lip, plastic liners with a lip, nylon complete liners and much else besides, none of which I really particularly want.
Question is, does what I want exist, and if so, has anyone got one for sale or knows where I can obtain one?
Appreciate the help, thanks.
Bonefish Blues said:
Question is, does what I want exist, and if so, has anyone got one for sale or knows where I can obtain one?
Saw your thread - I don't think I've seen a rubber liner with a lip, if there was I'd probably have got one as I wanted the same thing - the Volvo forums move waaaaaaay slower than Pistonheads so a reply might pop up in a month or so...I have one of these liners in the XC70, it's plastic, but due to the shape it doesn't move around at all - The entire centre square you see on the picture is rubberised with a material similar to grip mat:
I bought that in Feb as I work outdoors and it's been abused daily since then, the grip material has some small tears but the plastic is fine - It's survived having heavy pointy survey kit (tripods and road signs) chucked in the back and driven off-road for over 12k miles now, as well as an accident that wrote off my previous V70
Would definitely recommend it, the boot looks like new every time I take it out and the car goes from off-road workhorse to smart executive car with nothing more than a £5 wash at the local car wash and removing the rubber mats/boot liner...
Thanks for the reply - it's one of the type I'd seen and discounted because things slide on it.
Maybe a combination of that plus one of these might be the best option for us: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/370926751360?_trksid=p20...
Seems odd that Volvo didn't have an equivalent of the Saab item, but hey ho!
Thanks
Maybe a combination of that plus one of these might be the best option for us: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/370926751360?_trksid=p20...
Seems odd that Volvo didn't have an equivalent of the Saab item, but hey ho!
Thanks
Bonefish Blues said:
Thanks for the reply - it's one of the type I'd seen and discounted because things slide on it.
I've not found things slide, obviously it depends on your cargo though - the grip stuff is more grippy than the genuine Volvo rubber matI have two of these boxes in mine almost all the time:
One weighs ~8kg, the other ~5kg - never had an issue with them shifting around, if anything I'd be more concerned by the whole mat and cargo shifting, which has happened a couple of times during emergency braking
Just an update as I was browsing and saw my old thread.
Car still much loved by Mrs BFB, which is good. Minor and major problems sorted:
Almost as soon as we got it, it started to feel not quite right, as if it was fwd only. So it proved, with the classic worn spines issue diagnosed and fixed under warranty. Also fixed (at my expense) was the alignment, completely sorting the slight tip-toe feel to the car. Also fixed under warranty was headlight wash, which has meant, along with my polishing the clouded lenses, we can see where we're going more often than not. Full atf change sorted the autobox too, again warranty.
Sounds like we bought a lemon, but actually not, I think - what we did do is buy from someone I trusted, and who has stood behind the car (in stark contrast this a dealer I spoke to today about an S80 who stated that as Volvo washed their hands at 3years you were on your own the moment you drove away - unbelievable!).
Overall a very positive experience. Horton Cars in case anyone's interested.
Oh, and I bought one of the boot trays and the poor little dog slides around like a ballbearing on ice Carpet offcut incoming methinks.
Car still much loved by Mrs BFB, which is good. Minor and major problems sorted:
Almost as soon as we got it, it started to feel not quite right, as if it was fwd only. So it proved, with the classic worn spines issue diagnosed and fixed under warranty. Also fixed (at my expense) was the alignment, completely sorting the slight tip-toe feel to the car. Also fixed under warranty was headlight wash, which has meant, along with my polishing the clouded lenses, we can see where we're going more often than not. Full atf change sorted the autobox too, again warranty.
Sounds like we bought a lemon, but actually not, I think - what we did do is buy from someone I trusted, and who has stood behind the car (in stark contrast this a dealer I spoke to today about an S80 who stated that as Volvo washed their hands at 3years you were on your own the moment you drove away - unbelievable!).
Overall a very positive experience. Horton Cars in case anyone's interested.
Oh, and I bought one of the boot trays and the poor little dog slides around like a ballbearing on ice
Carpet offcut incoming methinks.Gassing Station | Volvo & Polestar | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff