V50 2.4: differences between original and facelift version?
 

Anything notable to report? Does the facelift have greater reliability in certain areas, etc?

Also, what's the preference with regards to aesthetics?

reliability , engine wise as long as serviced correctly on time and or mileage with the correct grades of fluids etc,, pretty much "the same"

bodywork,, depends on how the car has been treated , use in a dry climate V sea salt laden one ,,,winter salted roads/not etc
Any prior owner having Any sort of "on the drive/chipsaway" style paint "repairs" will compromise the paintwork, it Will fail and "hello rust/peeling clear coat" all the way to "missing paint", same with a Lot of bodywork "resprays" esp when they cut corners (but not price) and "blend in" (what a joke) patch repairs/replacement panels


electricaly, about the same,,they have A life span ,some fail early some fail late,, and if sunroof equipped Keep ontop of the front drain pipes or play hunt the gremlins :D


interior totally dependant on prior owners care of , or Lack of
Thankfully the carpeting IS of a decent quality so if its Only "dirt" then a good clean/extract Can turn them around,, wear holes ya stuck with
headliners ,, Will sag eventually, sooner rather than later if you let the sunroof drains block up (£600+vat + fitting for a gen new one,, a Lot less to recover it yourself + a full days work + donation or 39.6 to the swear jar)

looks wise,, err err thats a "who likes short shorts/who likes bell bottom jeans" Q, only you can answer that


Plus points
the older ones have Bulbs in the rear lights, easy to change when needed, the newer have LED , change the whole cluster at £ow
the newer ones have led lighted rear clusters which may last longer than bulbs .

dip beam headlights on both Will at some point Need replacement projector units if halogen bulb versions due to burnt out/flaking reflector (get DRL=OFF done @ main dealer and say hello to longer lasting dip beam reflectors after the Very easy job of replacing _,,if you cant see a car in good light unless it has its lights on, why is your guide dog driving,, the construction and use lighting regulations cover all light conditions as to when they Should be on otherwise)

fog lights at the rear ,, work,, work well, unfortunatly there is only the drivers side one, on both new/old,, the older it IS possible to add the passenger side,, dont think it is on the new/led ones,,, so your choice there ,,me im in the camp of Two rear fog lights = best option,, esp given how many cars you see with 1 headlight out,or 1 -2 brake/rear lights out )

The single rear foglamp is deliberate. It avoids sleepy myopic fools from mistaking them for brake lights as they are switched on.

and ? that makes it all better does it???
two lights allows for the cant be assed to change a bulb brigade of which there are Millions

I think it's cost saving to meet minimum legal standards lol. I did the dual rear fog light mod.

Was just wondering if there was any specific result from the facelift; improvement in reliability or purely aesthetics? I'm talking a well looked after vehicle and non extremities. No sunroofs here, don't need one and don't need the bill to fix it 😎