Volvo V70 / XC70's 2007 onwards
Discussion
My old runaround has given after 140k miles, so I'm in the market for another.
When I was last looking at V70's the sweetspot was a 2005 V70 manual D5 (without the DPF). Obviously, these are getting on a bit now and are few and far between, especially with sensible mileage!
I've got a budget of between £3k-£6k. It's going to be used mainly for rural comuting/shopping trips/transporting dogs and bikes/going on walks etc - I don't expect to cover more than 10k a year.
There are a lot of 07 onwards V70's well within my price bracket. Which engines/gearboxes are the ones to go for and which should I avoid? Have auto's improved at all as I know they were troublesome in the previous era? Diesel or petrol? I don't mind either, but I'd like running costs to be kept to a minimum, as I'm hoping to add something special to my stable towards the back end of the year.
Oh, there are a few XC70's (and first gen XC60s) knocking about too, should I also be considering these?
When I was last looking at V70's the sweetspot was a 2005 V70 manual D5 (without the DPF). Obviously, these are getting on a bit now and are few and far between, especially with sensible mileage!
I've got a budget of between £3k-£6k. It's going to be used mainly for rural comuting/shopping trips/transporting dogs and bikes/going on walks etc - I don't expect to cover more than 10k a year.
There are a lot of 07 onwards V70's well within my price bracket. Which engines/gearboxes are the ones to go for and which should I avoid? Have auto's improved at all as I know they were troublesome in the previous era? Diesel or petrol? I don't mind either, but I'd like running costs to be kept to a minimum, as I'm hoping to add something special to my stable towards the back end of the year.
Oh, there are a few XC70's (and first gen XC60s) knocking about too, should I also be considering these?
Quite a broad subject to cover and everybody has an opinion but mine, based on 40+ Volvos and several P2 V70's lately...
The Volvo die hards love to tell you the P3 is just s Mondeo / not a real Volvo etc etc and in some ways that's correct but I don't see that as being a negative.
I've had several P2 D5's... two 163bhp manuals, a 185bhp auto, a T5 auto and an R manual and yes they're pretty solid, reliable things and I'd agree the 163bhp in facelift guise with a manual box seems to be the safest bet but they are, as with any car, not bombproof.
I got tired of their crappy road manners and general worn out with the miles feeling and I was considering a P2 XC70 and viewed a couple but ultimately just felt they're now old hat but with the retro coolness and finding s non baggy, abused one is hard unless you pay a fortune and even then, I'm not convinced they're worth that money. I'd struggle to pay more than £2k for one, even a good one but it's now supply and demand.
I ended up looking at a P3 and debated an R-Design but remembered my wife drives it so that plus rural / kids etc would wreck it. So I bought an XC70 and didn't a long time trying to find the right car. It had to be manual as I've a special hatred for Geartronic boxes, I think they're unreliable and crap. I also wanted the 185bhp D5 as it's arguably the most solid, less breaky. I wanted AWD because I tend to try and go places I shouldn't. I wanted black leather and minimal toys... it's just more expensive failures waiting to happen and I absolutely didn't want 4C as it's just garbage. Expensive garbage.
I paid £3500 for an 08 that fulfilled all of the above via an independent dealer. It'd fine 200k but I didn't care as it was a one owner, FSH car with recent invoices for the cambelt, front shocks, brakes etc. I went to Wales for it (from Edinburgh) and I've had it a year now and put 8k on it (well, she has mostly) and it's been fantastic.
It makes s P2 feel prehistoric - it's so much fresher, bigger and more user friendly inside and aside for a sticky door lock, it's been flawless whereas all my P2 cars seemed to have endless niggles. It's also wearing it's miles far better, one owner or not even against the nicer of my P2 cars it feels better built, it doesn't rattle or squeak and it feels a lot less cumbersome to drive despite being rather massive and on 235/65/27 tyres.
I'm not a P3 fan boy but it's just a much better all rounder than a P2. Don't get me wrong, I really like the P2's but I don't buy into this "it's not a real Volvo" rubbish. Just to add some weight, off the back of me buying mine... my father in law bought a 2011 D3 2wd manual and whilst the snob in my rubbished the lack of AWD, on decent all seasons it's been brilliant and like mine, his is proving to be excellent too. He's not a Volvo man but he loves it which says a lot I suppose.
A friend has a 215bhp XC70 manual and to be honest, I struggle to notice much difference in the drive but he's had quite a few expensive issues - thermostat failed, boost sensor, something to do with the intercooler went missing. Not terminal and possibly isolated cases.
You just need to decide what spec you want / need and then go from there, I'm telling this as a middle aged bloke who's sick of potholes, has two kids under three and a wife who drives like she's invading Iraq most of the time hence the P3 XC70 suits my needs really rather well. Granted I'd like a T6 but a) they're dear to live with and b) she'd destroy it in seconds.
The Volvo die hards love to tell you the P3 is just s Mondeo / not a real Volvo etc etc and in some ways that's correct but I don't see that as being a negative.
I've had several P2 D5's... two 163bhp manuals, a 185bhp auto, a T5 auto and an R manual and yes they're pretty solid, reliable things and I'd agree the 163bhp in facelift guise with a manual box seems to be the safest bet but they are, as with any car, not bombproof.
I got tired of their crappy road manners and general worn out with the miles feeling and I was considering a P2 XC70 and viewed a couple but ultimately just felt they're now old hat but with the retro coolness and finding s non baggy, abused one is hard unless you pay a fortune and even then, I'm not convinced they're worth that money. I'd struggle to pay more than £2k for one, even a good one but it's now supply and demand.
I ended up looking at a P3 and debated an R-Design but remembered my wife drives it so that plus rural / kids etc would wreck it. So I bought an XC70 and didn't a long time trying to find the right car. It had to be manual as I've a special hatred for Geartronic boxes, I think they're unreliable and crap. I also wanted the 185bhp D5 as it's arguably the most solid, less breaky. I wanted AWD because I tend to try and go places I shouldn't. I wanted black leather and minimal toys... it's just more expensive failures waiting to happen and I absolutely didn't want 4C as it's just garbage. Expensive garbage.
I paid £3500 for an 08 that fulfilled all of the above via an independent dealer. It'd fine 200k but I didn't care as it was a one owner, FSH car with recent invoices for the cambelt, front shocks, brakes etc. I went to Wales for it (from Edinburgh) and I've had it a year now and put 8k on it (well, she has mostly) and it's been fantastic.
It makes s P2 feel prehistoric - it's so much fresher, bigger and more user friendly inside and aside for a sticky door lock, it's been flawless whereas all my P2 cars seemed to have endless niggles. It's also wearing it's miles far better, one owner or not even against the nicer of my P2 cars it feels better built, it doesn't rattle or squeak and it feels a lot less cumbersome to drive despite being rather massive and on 235/65/27 tyres.
I'm not a P3 fan boy but it's just a much better all rounder than a P2. Don't get me wrong, I really like the P2's but I don't buy into this "it's not a real Volvo" rubbish. Just to add some weight, off the back of me buying mine... my father in law bought a 2011 D3 2wd manual and whilst the snob in my rubbished the lack of AWD, on decent all seasons it's been brilliant and like mine, his is proving to be excellent too. He's not a Volvo man but he loves it which says a lot I suppose.
A friend has a 215bhp XC70 manual and to be honest, I struggle to notice much difference in the drive but he's had quite a few expensive issues - thermostat failed, boost sensor, something to do with the intercooler went missing. Not terminal and possibly isolated cases.
You just need to decide what spec you want / need and then go from there, I'm telling this as a middle aged bloke who's sick of potholes, has two kids under three and a wife who drives like she's invading Iraq most of the time hence the P3 XC70 suits my needs really rather well. Granted I'd like a T6 but a) they're dear to live with and b) she'd destroy it in seconds.
Gassing Station | Volvo & Polestar | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff