2.4 (170) auto - how thirsty are they?

[Barkychoc]

I'm looking round for another car, I've just got my licence back after being medically unfit to drive for the last 12 months.
I've seen S60's and S80's at bargain prices, particularly the petrols, but do I need my own oil well to run one?

I am specifically after an auto, and probably looking around the 2002 - 2004 era, and was thinking of the 2.4(170).

Anyone thats run one I'd be interested to know best and worst MPG figures (and whether you're Wogan or Schumaker!)

Thanks

[Timberwolf]

I don't think Volvo offered either of the naturally aspirated 2.4 engines (140 and 170) in the S60 in the UK; so if you're looking for the 170 engine it'll only be in the S80.

I have a 2.4T S60 auto (200bhp), and the economy is surprisingly good for the performance. On a clear run over A/B roads and through towns in light traffic I'll see 35+mpg without effort; a typical mixed run (15 minutes A road, 15 minutes town centre with stopping) in heavier traffic is more like 30.

Heavy urban use will see you down to 20mpg, and booting it hard on the open road will drop about 5mpg off the figures I mentioned above. 40mpg is perfectly feasible on the motorway if you've got the iron resolve and high boredom threshold to keep it at 60-65mph.

As for the S80 it's a larger, heavier car, so I'd expect to see somewhat poorer figures, albeit not disastrous. The adaptive autobox isn't a disaster when it comes to economy, being quite eager to change up and lock the torque convertor when you're not pressing on, and it suits the character of the car very well.

Edited by Timberwolf on Wednesday 11th March 20:03

[cptsideways]

To give you some idea our V70 2.4 manual averages about 32mpg daily & it did 36mpg to alps & back a few weeks ago fully loaded with a BIG roofbox on the top. I guess an auto would be 2-4mpg less.

[J-Skid]

We have a V70 2.4 (170) Auto - that averages about 26-29mpg on a mix of urban crawl (40%), booting down A roads (30%) and sitting on the motorway with the cruise at, ahem, 70 mph (30%).

[Barkychoc]

Thanks for your help folks - I figured about 10mpg less than the D5 which sounds about right (plus petrol is about 10% cheaper). I've always driven diesels but the latet euro 4 emissions really seems to have given diesel economy a hammering in my view.

I have been looking more seriously at the S80 than the S60, I far prefer the look of the S60 but I'm 6'3", wifey is 5'10" and my oldest son is over 6 foot now so I think the S60 just won't cut it for space.

So is there anything major to watch for - I've found an S80, 2002, 1 owner from new, full Volvo history, 53k locally, so I may go and have a look at that.

Is the auto box a weak point?
The one I'm considering going to look at doesn't have a towbar which I think is good news.

I've had a look on the honest john website and there's a few pointers on there, are there other volvo forums worth looking at to get an idea of what to look for?

Cheers

Edited by Barkychoc on Thursday 12th March 09:21

[J-Skid]

I've just been through the same process for a V70.

First thing is that there are plenty around at the minute, so you can be really choosy.

In terms of things to look for - depending on your view point (and where you are buying from) then I would look for the following, which I think are all common big Volvo issues:

1. FSH - obvious one I know, but these are complicated cars electrically (CANbus I think?) and need people who know their onions / have the correct tools. I think (might be wrong) that only Volvo main dealers have the ability to update software etc. My one has full main dealer history and I've just spent over £1k getting it serviced at the local main dealer - expensive I know but I'd rather things were done properly and I have some recourse if things go south.

2. Autobox - I think there are mixed views on this. I don't think they are a weak point as such, but definately something to watch for just as any other auto car. Does it take up / change smoothly. There is an established view that the oil should be changed in some of them at around 60k. Mine is one 86k and will probably do it myself over the summer. The box in mine was a little clunky, but the dealer uploaded the latest map to it and that has all but gone now, so I'm not sure it is totally necessary.

3. Electrics - Make sure everything fitted works, down to the heated mirros. Electrical gremlins seem to be at the root cause of 50% of problems from my research on the various forums.

4. Front suspension / tyres - As these are heavy FWD cars, be prepared for wear on the front end components.

Ermmmm - could prattle on, but I hope someone more knowledgeable come along shortly.

I spent many hours looking at www.volvoforums.org.uk/

Edited by J-Skid on Thursday 12th March 12:37

[morgrp]

its all in the driving, the Fly by wire throttle helps them over the early V70 models - around 30 to maybe even 35 on a run but much less if you toe it a bit - round town 20-25mpg

[Timberwolf]

J-Skid said:

2. Autobox - I think there are mixed views on this. I don't think they are a weak point as such, but definately something to watch for just as any other auto car. Does it take up / change smoothly. There is an established view that the oil should be changed in some of them at around 60k. Mine is one 86k and will probably do it myself over the summer. The box in mine was a little clunky, but the dealer uploaded the latest map to it and that has all but gone now, so I'm not sure it is totally necessary.

From what I recall the cooling capacity is marginal for continued high-rev driving; it's something far more common on Geartronics (the ones with the manual shift option) than it is on regular autos - probably because it's much more likely these cars have been held at high revs; on my car the autobox doesn't get anywhere near the redline unless you do something psychotic with the throttle pedal, and even then only briefly.

There have been various gearbox map updates made available over the years, and the general impression seems to be that these can make a positive difference to a jerky 'box.