V50 experiances?

[Wafflesmk2]

Looking for a new car, and i like estates. I dont really need one, which is why i cant justify something like like an a6 or 5-series, but i like them anyway.

I think i'd prefer a diesel this time around, and was looking at either the 320d or V50.

The V50 D5 sport seems a nice car, was wondering if anyone has had any experiances?

I could go for a petrol, but the 2.0 petrol has woeful figures, and the T5 is quite rare to find. The onyl thing im not a fan of is the piano key style seat interior.

I could look for a 330d (or maybe even a 330i) M sport but they seem a little out of budget. I dont want a 318 or 320i because again, too slow.

I know diesel isnt amazingly fast, but the power delivery just makes it feel faster for me.

I've also had a look at s-line A4's which arent too bad.

The downside is having to piss about with cambelts on the volvo or audi, but not on the 3-series (as im buying at an age and mileage where they're about due).

Not a fan of the octavia or mondeo either.

[Wafflesmk2]

anyone?

[Chris944_S2]

My brother has a T5, reasonably swift but most importantly it sounds rather nice. If you're not on a tight budget go for that one for the engine alone, worth finding even if they are rare

[Edmundo2]

Just coming to end of 4 years running V50 2.0D RDesign. Have to say I've been very happy with it.

Pros

Looks good
Incredibly Comfortable
Suprisingly gutsy motor
Fun/chuckable handling, ( VAG owners have mentioned to me that they miss this trait since moving on from their V50 )
Reliable

Cons

Engine a bit coarse, ( all be it punchy )
Not much room in back
No where to rest left foot


I should imagine D5 is great.

[callahan]

Edmundo2 said:

Just coming to end of 4 years running V50 2.0D RDesign. Have to say I've been very happy with it.

Pros

Looks good
Incredibly Comfortable
Suprisingly gutsy motor
Fun/chuckable handling, ( VAG owners have mentioned to me that they miss this trait since moving on from their V50 )
Reliable

Cons

Engine a bit coarse, ( all be it punchy )
Not much room in back
No where to rest left foot


I should imagine D5 is great.

I had a V50 D5 R Design for about 6 months and would echo the above, although I never did find the seats that comfy, surprisingly for a Volvo. The D5 engine is great (for a diesel), nice and punchy. Also surprisingly I thought the boot space was terrible, I could never get anything to fit properly, particularly with the roller blind cover thingy in place.

[mollymoo]

We got a new V50 a few months ago. It drives surprisingly well for what it is, the gearchange is pretty snappy and you can have a bit of fun when you turn the DSTC "off" (down). It looks pretty good too, there's something about roof bars on a Volvo estate that works really well.

We got the 1.6D DRIVe Stop/Start so what I think of that engine isn't really relevant to your question. It's... nostalgic. Remember when diesels were slow and loud? Yeah. That. All the other engines are better.

Sadly the boot's not that big, the satnav is a bit annoying (you can't enter a bloody postcode!) and all the switches are tiny and bunched up. The electric seat isn't that great either - maybe the manual ones are better. The lack of somewhere to put your clutch foot is a damn sight more annoying than I expected it would be.

Nothing has broken yet, but as it's based on the Focus platform it should be fairly cheap to fix when it does.

It has its flaws but overall it's a pretty decent package.

[McMacro]

I've had a T5 R since new, just over two years old now. Can't fault it at all, it's been flawless. Very comfy on long journeys and not bad mpg for a 2.5 turbo. It surprises a few people Same engine, brakes and other bits were used on the focus rs.

Try and get one with the "high performance" audio or the 5.1 system, amazing sound quality. Not driven the D5 so can't comment on that.

Edited by McMacro on Thursday 9th February 04:11

[djglover]

Had a 2.0d an octavia estate and a 330i. The volvo was the worst. Poor economy, agricultural engine, poor seats. On the plus side, the stereo was superb and the handling pretty good. Skoda was a much better car, and the BMW more so again.

[Vladimir]

D5 engine is borderline "old tech" now but it's still a good unit. There's a lot of power and torque for FWD but it copes well, they look great (IMO) and seem to be fairly reliable.

T5 is obviously fun but more to run.

I have always liked them a lot - if I could live with FWD, I'd probably have bought one.

[Wafflesmk2]

I've got a mondeo so putting the left foot somewhere isnt a new problem.

Drove another car the other day which had a shelf for it and it was like being in heaven.

Im suprised so many car makers miss this out.