RE: Shed Of The Week: Volvo V50

[Reeves_and_Mortimer]

Wife had one of these for 4 years, did over 130k in it and engine was still as sweet as a nut. Managed to get a complete broken-down garden shed in the back of it AND fit two of us in to take it to the tip - The perfect shed for shedding sheds!

[Tje]

Dan_1981 said:

How bad is economy in the 2.0d

Was considering one of these as a mway hack

I have the 2.0d in my C30 and its just commuting on A and B roads and it easily hits 50mpg. Motorways at 70ish you'd be north of 60MPG

[Reeves_and_Mortimer]

Used to get mid-40's in ours in mixed driving. Easily 50 plus on the motorway. Not great by today's standards but this was a 54 plate car with 130k plus on the clock.

[Lotus Driver]

We had a 2011 with a D4 5 cylinder 2L engine. It was a great car and made a lovely noise.

[paulmaurice99]

legless said:

Super Slo Mo said:

Could be, I thought it was developed by Ford before they started sharing engines with PSA. Wouldn't be the first time I'm wrong though

There are 2 different 2.0 diesel engines. One is the Ford 'Puma' unit, used in the Transit, mk3 Mondeo, LR Defender, Jag X Type and PSA vans.

The other is the PSA DW10, used in the Focus, Kuga, mk4/5 Mondeo, Galaxy, S-Max, C-Max, Edge, Volvo C30/S40/V50/V60/S60/V70/C70 all PSA passenger cars

That's useful info. I quite fancy a C30/V50 as a daily and need decent economy. I was convinced the 2.0 TDCI unit was the same in the Mk3 Mondeo as it was in the Mk2 Focus (and therefore C30/V50). Given the bad reputation it has in the Mk3 Mondeo (injectors mostly, it seems), I had ruled out the Focus and C30/V50. So the DW10 is nothing to particularly worry about then?

[D200]

Lotus Driver said:

We had a 2011 with a D4 5 cylinder 2L engine. It was a great car and made a lovely noise.

If it was a D4 and 2.0 it would have a 4 cyl engine

A D5 a 5 cyl engine and 2.4

Which one did you have

[offshoreeddy]

I remember getting a cracking blowjob from a girl I worked with in a V50 once, so these will always be a favourite of mine.

[Stedman]

offshoreeddy said:

I remember getting a cracking blowjob from a girl I worked with in a V50 once, so these will always be a favourite of mine.

/threadends

[Lotus Driver]

D200 said:

If it was a D4 and 2.0 it would have a 4 cyl engine

A D5 a 5 cyl engine and 2.4

Which one did you have

In about 2011 the 5 cylinder 2.4 was replaced by a 5 cylinder 2.0. If I remember correctly this was badged as a D4. The lesser 4 Cylinder 2.0 was badged a D3.

[Matt-il77s]

I have the S40 saloon version. Only downsides are the small fuel tank, and because the doors are so thick, the front door pockets are tiny and there's none at all in the back.

[FN2TypeR]

D200 said:

Lotus Driver said:

We had a 2011 with a D4 5 cylinder 2L engine. It was a great car and made a lovely noise.

If it was a D4 and 2.0 it would have a 4 cyl engine

A D5 a 5 cyl engine and 2.4

Which one did you have

Not correct, there were indeed D3 and D4 five cylinder engines available

https://www.media.volvocars.com/uk/en-gb/media/pre...

I drove one of the five cylinder D3's, it was only 150bhp but it was bloody brilliant for a small diesel engine

From the article:

The new five-cylinder 2.0D diesel is, in principle, the same engine as the well-established 2.4-litre diesel, but its displacement has been reduced with a shorter stroke to optimise fuel consumption. The injection system also has a different type of piezoelectric fuel injector compared with the D5 engine. These injectors minimize fuel consumption with their exceptionally rapid and precise injection pulses under high pressure to promote extremely efficient combustion. This engine is now available to order in all cars across the range apart from the Volvo XC90 seven-seat SUV.

[TVR Sagaris]

Solid shed. Didn't realise these could be had so cheap.

[rtz62]

When I was still in '5-0' we used to call these BRC's; Bank Robbers Cars.
They are the sort of thing that is pretty anonymous, grey porridge if you will (although to be fair we first applied the nomenclature to Toyota Camrys, etc)
My brother in laws other half had a diesel, she liked it as she used it as a smoking shed at the hospital she works at, but he hated it, 2 new steering racks, new Turbo etc etc before it expired in a very colourful and was sold to a scrapyard (no one was interested in it even at rock bottom price)
Having owned a number of V70 T5s I'd always wondered about the V50 version but somehow never pulled the trigger.

[BFleming]

Rear drivers side door has had paint, and the trims have been put on with blue tack afterwards. S40's & V50's have never done it for me. Someone said 'classless' above, but bland probably fits better. Only slightly less bland than the Focus they're based on, but all of the faults*. I will never again buy something with a PSA-sourced engine - My Focus 2.0 TDCI (2008) went from a 'DPF blocked' warning to blown turbo seals (due to backpressure) quicker than it has taken me to write this sentence.

• I wonder if these spontaneously combust like the Focus?

[405dogvan]

Probably the most stylish way of driving a Ford Focus

Downside - lots of bits from a Ford Focus!

We had one in today - needed a new heater fan - we declined to take the job because it involves removing THE ENTIRE fkING DASHBOARD!!

[Niffleman]

I bought one of these in January 2016 with about 128k on it and it now has about 140k on. Mine is an 05 plate car which was originally a Volvo management staff vehicle so it is fully specced including leather and an electric sunroof and has a six speed manual box and the same diesel engine as this week's shed. I am careful about oil changes and it has had a clutch and cam belt since I bought it. For my purpose it is perfect as we have no children but we do have a dog, so boot space is more important than rear seat space. Having said that we have carried rear seat passengers on long journey with no problems.

It is an excellent mile muncher and the long top gear makes for relaxed cruising. We drive to Poland about twice a year and it is almost perfect for that purpose. Given that it is a diesel estate the performance is fine and it handles OK. I like the looks and the comfort and so far it has been very reliable, touch wood. The interior is easy to live with and the whole thing feels pretty solid, even on a fair mileage. I don't plan to replace it any time soon, mainly because I am not sure if anything else would do the same job significantly better.


Things I would change? I agree that the door pockets are useless and I would like it to be a bit more economical. I keep brim to brim mpg records and I have never seen better than 46mpg, with about 40mpg being more typical. Perhaps I have a heavy foot........Also the idiot from Ford who designed the car in such a way that to change the cabin pollen filter you need to drop the main fuse board needs to be given a P45 and shown the way to the door. That is a completely stupid piece of design, which I guess the V50 shares with its Focus sibling. That said, the oil filer is nice and easy to get to, so you just can't have it all. Overall, a thumbs up as far as I am concerned, but I guess plenty here think differently.

[D200]

FN2TypeR said:

Not correct, there were indeed D3 and D4 five cylinder engines available

https://www.media.volvocars.com/uk/en-gb/media/pre...

I drove one of the five cylinder D3's, it was only 150bhp but it was bloody brilliant for a small diesel engine

From the article:

The new five-cylinder 2.0D diesel is, in principle, the same engine as the well-established 2.4-litre diesel, but its displacement has been reduced with a shorter stroke to optimise fuel consumption. The injection system also has a different type of piezoelectric fuel injector compared with the D5 engine. These injectors minimize fuel consumption with their exceptionally rapid and precise injection pulses under high pressure to promote extremely efficient combustion. This engine is now available to order in all cars across the range apart from the Volvo XC90 seven-seat SUV.

Excellent I stand corrected, every day is a school day

I assumed only D5 were 5 cyl hence the '5'

I drove one before but it must have been pre 11

[imagineifyeswill]

I currently have a V70 20 which Im perfectly happy with but have taken quite a liking to these V50s but have seen quite a few 54 and 55 plate examples for sale at this price and even cheaper all in dealer clearance offers, makes me wonder if theres some common expensive problem about to manifest itself thats been kept quiet from the general public.

[blade7]

I had the petrol version 5 or 6 years ago, don't remember if it was a 1.8 or 2.0. I do remember it was gutless and not a patch on the 2.5 850 I had before. It was a happy day when someone bought it and drove it away.

[405dogvan]

imagineifyeswill said:

I currently have a V70 20 which Im perfectly happy with but have taken quite a liking to these V50s but have seen quite a few 54 and 55 plate examples for sale at this price and even cheaper all in dealer clearance offers, makes me wonder if theres some common expensive problem about to manifest itself thats been kept quiet from the general public.

Honestly, I think it's just lack of desire/interest on the part of buyers...

Focus platform plus a lot of it's electricals - no different to a Focus (which are popular and easy to sell) - engines arguably better than the Focus (tho pricier if they go bang)

People THINK the whole thing will be pricier/parts scarcer and people never really did get smaller Volvos (some of us remember the easlier DAF/Nedcar junk and perhaps tread more carefully?)

That said - people buy Saabs, so anything's possible...