Replacing a Volvo V70 P3.

[Skyedriver]

I'll admit I've never liked this car preferring the various 940 models I've had previously but my wife loves it so I'm a bit stuck.
It's a diesel, quick (enough) £35 VED, 50mpg, spacious (but not as spacious as a 940), comfortable, quiet, light enough steering etc etc etc .
But still I hate it and more so today after I'm struggling to do what should be an easy job on it. Don't like the poor turning circle, the electric handbrake, the rear hatch that doesn't lift high enough (or drops on your head!), the worry about EGR & DPF problems on short runs (much of ours are 20 mile round trips). I could moan on all night.

Replacement option ideas please
Passat? slightly shorter bigger payload, (even) wider than the V70.
Not a Merc fan
Petrol maybe, better on shorter journeys although diesel are more torquey and petrol can have a higher VED.
More modern Volvo XC??
Anything in the Ford range?
Leather seats a bonus as she puts the dogs on the back seat rather than in the rear of the estate where they should go! Leather easier to clean, they can get a bit sick in the very back.

If you've had a V70 and moved on what did you move on to?
Thanks

[MattsCar]

I assume this is the 1.6D with 113bhp in a car that weighs over 1.5 tonnes.

I have a 2.0 D3 5 Cylinder and it is fantastic. 170k miles on the clock and £500 maintenance in the past 4 years. No engine/ DPF issues and it regularly does short journeys.

A D5 would be even better.

Would not for one minute contemplate swapping it for a VAG car.

[dhutch]

We have a 20plate second gen V60 with the T4, my first foray into volvo (wife grew up with them) and I mist say its a very nice car.

Did a bit of a back to back with a gen4 octavia. I thought the dsg gearbox on the vag offering was a touch better, but otherwise the volvo wins hands down. Much nicer seats, interior generally, external looks, etc.

A D4 or D3 would make slightly more sense on fuel costs, but we wantes the adaptive cruise which is semi rare on the v60 and calculated only a £500 year fuel penalty which isnt that bad vs getting diesal on your hands.

[PomBstard]

About 10 years ago I had a 2007 V70 T6, so 3.0 TT I6 engine and AWD. It’s still by far the most disappointing car I’ve ever owned - I tried to like it but ended up despising it and sold it within 8 months, accepting about 25% less than I’d paid.

I had come from a 2005 Subaru Liberty GT wagon and a short stint with a Mazda CX9 - the Volvo was miles off both of those. Replaced the V70 with a 2012 Subaru Liberty GT wagon which bettered the V70 in every criteria of ownership, driving and living with it.

Can’t help you with the diesel bit, but I wouldn’t go for a VAG car either - after years of Japanese stuff the engineering just seems skin deep.

[Chris_i8]

Any budget constraints OP?

My first thought was a Forester or Outback?!

Alternatively -

Corolla hybrid estate?
V60 CC T5?
Mondeo Vignale estate, 2.0 petrol specifically

I too would not consider a car from the VAG stable with a DSG box or a Ford/Peugeot with a wetbelt engine.

[Skyedriver]

MattsCar said:

I assume this is the 1.6D with 113bhp in a car that weighs over 1.5 tonnes.

No, D4, 5 cylinder.

Moving on from the current 2013 car, I would really like to go back to petrol but they seem to be rarer than unicorns.

Edited by Skyedriver on Sunday 13th September 08:33

[stevemcs]

If you don’t like working on the Volvo you will hate the Passat when it goes wrong

Mondeo Vignale petrol would be a nice car. I would even go with the diesel, the belt isn’t much of an issue.

[D_G]

I have a 70 plate V60 T4, the last of the petrol ones before they added hybrid. It's a great car, friends have another two, one is a T5 CC and the other a D4. All three have been excellent (so far...).

They do have an electric handbrake though.

[Skyedriver]

Thanks I'll investigate the Mondeo, can't say I've even seen one, are they not the same underneath as a Volvo of the same era?
The V60 sounds great, and likely sufficient for day to day us BUT if we go away on holiday (ok maybe only twice a year) the V70 is full. And we use a roof box too.

[ZX10R NIN]

Look for the best E Class estate that fits your budget.

[Chrispee]

I've had a late 2020 (pre hybrid) V60 Cross Country T5 for a little over a year now and have been very pleased with it as an overall package in the 13k miles it's done with me so far.

Mine was being sold without adaptive cruise fitted and Volvo retrofitted it for me. Adaptive handbrake has not been an issue.

[Skyedriver]

ZX10R NIN said:

Look for the best E Class estate that fits your budget.

You're probably right but I have a thing about Mercs having owned one a few years back.

[Skyedriver]

Chrispee said:

I've had a late 2020 (pre hybrid) V60 Cross Country T5 for a little over a year now and have been very pleased with it as an overall package in the 13k miles it's done with me so far.

Mine was being sold without adaptive cruise fitted and Volvo retrofitted it for me. Adaptive handbrake has not been an issue.

Need to do a load comparison between the V70 and XC60. Could just get a bigger roof box for the holidays....

Have investigated the last (2016) V70 petrol as opposed to the current V70 D4. VED goes up from £35 to £395, fuel consumption down fro 50mpg to mid 30s mpg but petrol is cheaper. Don't have the worry of DPF and EGR when doing shorter journeys. Would be nice to stick with Volvo. Seems like everything now has an electric parking brake.