Hello.
Sorry to bring this thread back to life. I am new to this forum & joined because I want to buy a V70/XC70 (7 seat) to replace our dead Pug 806. We tow a caravan 2 or 3 times a year so a diesel model seems sensible. Until reading this thread I was looking for a face lift (post 54 plate) car. However we live in deepest Suffolk & often go for weeks without driving on dual carriage ways or motorways. Is this regeneration issue a real problem? In which case a low mileage Euro 3 car might be a better bet.
What do people think?
The Peugeot used to do about 16000 miles a year (until the cam chain broke!), yes the chain not the belt.

Simon.

Interestingly, I bought a 56 plate D5 (185) auto 3 months ago (22K) one of the last of the old model, and my experience so far has been very positive. Most days I am doing short runs (about 8 miles each way on rural roads), but have also done 4 long motorway trips. I haven't noticed any "regeneration symptoms" at all, but in 2000 miles I assume one must occurred. I get around 33mpg on the local runs, rising to 40 on the last long trip (to Suffolk), including the M25 crawl. I have taken the precaution of only using BP Ultimate diesel, after the first tankful, as I had excellent results on my previous car (Vectra 3 litre diesel). I also find the Volvo reaches normal temperature in under 10 minutes, whereas the Vectra would take 25 (which was apparently normal for that motor). The Volvo is slightly noisier, but not unpleasant; the only thing I don't like is a flat spot on starting off from rest with a heavy right foot, which feels like turbo lag. This has been well-covered in other threads I have read....I'm learning to work around this by accelerating gently, and picking the gap in the traffic carefully.

Are you sure your swirl actuator is not broken? the mechanical lever near the tempeature sender .. Get someone to rev the engine and make sure it moves back and forth .

After c65k miles with a Euro iV S60, I'd advise you don't contemplate a car with a DPF. Even if your normal habits include regular motorway trips that allow the DPF to regenerate, there may be times when your habits change.

For example, might you ever want to take the car for a relaxed holiday when all you want to do is potter around the resort? How would you feel then if the car suddenly said 'SOOT FILTER FULL', demanding that you go for a 20 motorway detour on your way from the villa to the beach?

Another example was when the snow came down last January. Crawling around in the snow must presumably mean the DPF will be getting clogged up, especially if it hadn't regen'd recently (and you've no control over when it does). Do you live in such a place, preferably near a motorway, (and are the grit lorries reliable?) that you could possibly have responded to a 'SOOT FILTER FULL' message by going for a good fast drive on ice-free roads?

Some people drive DPF cars without ever seeing a problem and - actually - I've avoided it myself so far. But there are movies in which people play russian roulette without shooting themselves, and it doesn't mean you'd want to try it.

On top of all that, there's the ongoing issue of oil-dilution by diesel fuel, resulting from DPF regeneration cycles (see various other threads).

Get a Euro 3... you know it makes sense.

Just my opinion.

I haven't seen anyone post with a DPF related problem at all on the XC90 forum. The only thing seems to be that the DPF engine use a bit more fuel than the 163 bhp euro III engine, but the DPF engine delivers more power. (185 bhp)

Yes, cam chains can break. They need to be changed at about 130,000 miles 150,000 miles or therabouts usually. Costs a lot more than a belt to do as well. Often the chains get noisy before they go though.

Just noticed you want a seven seat. Volvo no longer do a seven seat V/XC70 as the old fold down seat used to be in the crumple zone. The only seven seater is the XC90.

Thanks for the replies, I will keep an open mind for now. Finding a 7 seat in the grey/black interior is proving quite difficult, I might consider a 140 or 170 bhp petrol as they seem to have much lower mileage for their age. I realise that the 7 seat option is no longer offered & it seems that the kit is now only available in beige and expensive. We would only use the seat very occasionally as we rarely travel as a whole family anymore.
The DPF issue seems to be industry wide, I think they are clutching at straws trying to make "dirty Diesels" appear clean, which is fine for new car owners but not so good for those of us further down the car buying chain.
Roy, this is very off topic I know, the chain was getting noisy but I couldn't pin point the noise. You may know that these Peugeot engines are notorious for seized in injectors & mine is no exception! so far I have been unable to get it apart to repair it.

Simon.

A petrol engine can tow a caravan as well as a diesel. The least troublesome V70 would be a 2.4L petrol 170 with either a 5-spd auto or a manual. No turbocharger to go wrong, but 170 hp is plenty of power to handle towing. The one thing I would question is whether the lowest trim level with a petrol 170 has correct rear suspension to handle towing. My 2004 US base model V70 2.4L petrol 168 hp does not have a rear anti-sway bar (aka anti-roll bar). I cannot say whether a rear anti-sway bar would benefit towing. I do tow a light utility trailer with it and have no problems, but I don't know whether it would be up to a max weight caravan.

The XC70 is much more robust than a V70 and must certainly be a more capable and safer towing vehicle than a V70. But the XC70 will not get as good a fuel efficiency as the V70 petrol 170.

Don't be dazzled by the high torque of the diesel. The tranny and torque converter convert the torque--that is what they do. The tranny cannot make more power--that is fixed by the limitation of the max output of the engine. So if you believe that 170 hp is simply not enough, but 185 hp is, then you would have to go with that diesel.

I'd certainly encourage you to consider a petrol car.

The S60 was my first diesel and, quite apart from the DPF issues, I now question whether the gain in fuel economy was worth the sacrifice in refinement. The Volvo diesel is pretty good in terms of refinement, heaps better than a BMW 520d I had as an interim car before buying it. But when I get into my other half's (petrol) Polo I remember just how smooth and quiet a modern engine really ought be.

Re-inforcing Jim314's comments... There's also an awful lot of nonsense spouted about the 'pulling power' of diesel cars. They do usually produce a lot more torque at the flywheel, but it's torque at the road wheels that makes a car accelerate up the hill, and the different gearing between petrol and diesel cars means the torque at the road wheels is comparable. And all that torque at the flywheel can actually cause other problems, some diesels seem to suffer from early transmission, clutch or DMF failure (search the forums for how that relates to Volvo).

The only advantage of diesel, in my opinion, is fuel economy. But with the benefit of hindsight, I really don't see the point in spending big bucks on a premium car, then settling for a diesel. If economy is all that matters, then why not buy a cheap (petrol) Japanese, German, etc. car - what you save on the purchase price will more than make up for the increased fuel cost, and you'll have a nice quiet, smooth, car to enjoy. And no DPF worries either!

Could not agree more. IMHO as the companys have tried to make the diesel engine smaller and more responsive/meet various legislative requirements they have produced a hugely less reliable machine which requires constant, often specialist and expensive maintenance to work at all, let alone efficiently! The result is a more expensive and less reliable car which over a lifetime will cost far more in maintenance than can be saved in fuel costs. The same seems to apply to automatic gearboxes, (particuarly as they reach C100K).

For the manufacturer this is generally good news. Produce a car which only works well for 3 years/100K miles and convince an image consious public that it is a quality product, ie worth paying a premium for!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A great man once said that cynicism is the inevitable result of experience!!!!!!