V70 P3 Engine Choice
 

Hello

The time has come for me to replace my 20 year old petrol P1 V70 (well actually keep for best) and It appears quite complicated trying to choose the correct engine model... ie ...ideally made by Volvo or VW? reliable with improved mpg.

I just can't seem to find any information on what engines are available and the variants in the P3 V70.

Judging by the for sale adverts. There appears to be only one 1.6D which looks like a Ford focus unit which I think it is classed as a D2 and actually felt like a 1.0L when I took one for a test drive recently.

It then gets confusing from the 2.0D onwards (D3?) There appears to be several 2.0D available in various BHP and I want to try and avoid the engine that appears in the V50 which seems to shorten the life of that car by several years. (9 out of 10 appear to be spares or repairs)

Then I think there is a D4 and D5 but from the car adverts appear to have similar BHP and I have been told that the D5 replaces the D4?

Finally I haven't seen any petrol versions for sale either. Ideally due to congestion charging I would prefer petrol but my head tells me diesel is still going to be cheaper in the long run

Anyway any advice on engine and possible gearbox choice would be appreciated (I have always had a manual gearbox but most of the P3's appear to be auto's or multitronics or something)

So any advice on the P3 or links to info would be very welcome

Many thanks
:confused_smile:

Perhaps a little more info on what you want it for could help us advise?

Do you want economy, cheap tax, cheap parts, easy to work on yourself and not for towing or frequently fully loaded? Then 1.6 DRIVe or D2 is adequate.

Do you tow a large caravan across Europe and frequently drive fully loaded, live in a hilly area, enjoy overtaking and have money to burn? D5.

In between, take your pick.

P3's are a tough range to get your head around, as you have 10 years of model development with the change of ownership in the middle!

I'd have a look on the Parkers website or similar.
https://www.parkers.co.uk/volvo/v70/estate-2007/specs/

You can search specs. and you'll see how many variants for V70's there were for the P3 models.

There are a massive amount for engines, gearboxes and designations, and with Ford ownership finishing in 2010, it is a very complex range.

Lots of diesel options from 115-220ps (Ford/Peugeot, Volvo, 4-cyl, 5-cyl), so just find the one that suits your purpose & budget.

The D & T designations (D2,D3,D4,D5) now refer to power output (not capacity), but as engines evolved a newer D4 had the same power as an older D5. It certainly can be confusing if your not familiar with Volvo at this time.

Petrol is much easier. This isn't exhaustive (so please no posts from smartarses If I've missed something, just trying to assist someone asking for help).

T4 180ps 4cyl
T5 240ps 5cyl
2.5T 200-231ps 5cyl
3.2 234ps 6cyl
T6 281-304ps 6cyl
plus some bi-fuel options

You don't see many petrols about in the UK, and judging by what is available on Autotrader currently its mainly older models.

As said previously, it depends on what you need the car for but you certainly have lots of options!

Correction - T5 is a 4cyl engine - it was the Ford Ecoboost 2.0, while the T4 was the 1.6 Ecoboost from the Fiesta ST.

The 3.2 is a N/A volvo i6, but was also found in the Landrover Freelander (more for US market than here though)

Many people say that the diesels are cheaper to run... ultimately that wasn't really our experience. Diesels are more expensive to buy and maintain, cheaper to tax, but also there are potential issues with the diesels (egr, dpf) that don't afflict the petrols. Over 5 years and 46000 miles that we had our D5 (205bhp+Polestar) it averaged 38mpg and cost £7k to fuel, £11k in depreciation, £3k in servicing, £1500 in tyres, £1250 to tax,etc. If we'd bought a petrol for less money up front it would have cost £10-11k to fuel and £2500 to tax over the same time, but would have depreciated closer to £5-6k (ie if we'd bought a £10-£12k 3.2 or 2.5T at the time instead of an £18k D5TT P*). Total Cost of Ownership would have worked out similar for both.

Ultimately it's a matter of what mileage you want to do with the car, whether you want to tow with it, what level of performance you want.

I would avoid a 2.0D (which is a Ford/PSA engine) with Powershift automatic transmission, and I’d avoid the D2 because for many it’s underpowered. The manual 2.0D is a good engine but marginal for such a heavy car.

The D3, D4 and D5 diesels are all Volvo engines. The D5 is always a 5-cylinder and finished in 2014. The later 4-cylinder D4 has issues if only used for short runs.

Otherwise simply look at the specs in Autotrader ads. You can tell the number of cylinders by dividing the number of valves by 4.

Choose the vehicle by trim level, mileage, service history and condition.

If you want more go then choose a 161bhp D3, a D4 or a D5.

If you want more bells and whistles choose an SE Lux.

If in doubt do nout.

More Info
 

Hello,

Firstly thank you to everyone who has responded to this thread.

Due to work relocation and increased fuel costs. I am looking for better economy and something newer as my daily car. I don't do any towing but often need to transport large items so that's why I have an estate car. My P1 2.4 petrol (manual) can be very spirited when needed but I wouldn't say that I enjoy overtaking or regularly drive too fast or anything like that. However it does put a smile on my face, can deal with all situations (at any speed) and has a great sounding engine that always feels/sounds quality. However its just getting old, doesn't have all the incar technology and it's time for a change.

The 1.6 was my first choice until I drove one. It felt like i was pulling a house, hand the handbrake half on, or someone had put a lawnmower engine in the engine bay. No Volvo power or sound and just didn't drive like a Volvo - Perhaps it was worn out with 88,000 miles on the clock and FSH ..who knows but such a disappointment.

So I then I started to look at other engines from 2.0 upwards hoping to find a genuine volvo. That's where it got complicated. No brochures to study just used car ads which appear to show so many versions of the 2.0 and then D5's or should that be 2.4D or even D4 and then D3's and no petrol versions - Then it appears most of the V50's have the 2.0 units and are spares or repairs far too young and hence why I have asked for advice on here

So its all down to finding the right engine that can carry the weight of the car. It must be more economical than my 20year old and still reliable to own and enjoyable to drive - Happy to have an auto if needed (Most of them appear to be auto's anyway) but there again there appears to me more than one of them too. Geartronics/powershifts/multitronics help!

All advice welcome. It used to be so simple buying a car, just choose the size/ type and then the internal spec and only a few engines to choose from. Now its complicated.

In my slightly purist opinion there's only 1 option for an XC70 and that's the D5 Geartronic. Simples.

I think I am correct in saying the D5 was available until the end of UK spec production (June 2016) in AWD models (XC70 etc).

Whilst I also think the D5 was the best engine in this car - the post 2015 MY D4 comes close in terms of performance and is more refined. For a luxury cruiser it might be a better option.

I have a V70 with the 2 litre D3 (161BHP, 400 NM max torque). IMO, this is the best engine as it does not have the complication of a second turbo and is consequently more economical.

It is a very smooth engine (5 cyls helping) and so far after 75k miles proven very reliable.

For sporty looks and a slightly firmer ride ( but with a few less toys) look for an R-Design. Otherwise as said above, SE Lux is a good choice.

Whatever you end up with you won’t be disappointed, it’s a Volvo after alll ( and yes, Iam slightly biased).

Something to be clear on is that no P3 V70 is particularly cheap to run, even the diesels.

For what you describe then there's a few engines to look for:

2.4d 175PS, D5244T14: this is a "gen 3" engine (higher injection pressure, more reliable dpf) with single VNT turbo. Good torque, power, reasonably efficient, but quite short-lived in the line-up. Euro V

2.0 D3, 163PS, D5204T3: this is a short-stroke version of the above. Gen 3 with single VNT.

The twin-turbo 5 cylinder D5s (various engine codes, 205PS-225PS) euro V and euro VI are powerful and capable. Generally better fuel economy than earlier euro IV cars and less incidence of DPF issues.

With all diesels you must have longer journeys (over 1hr) with reasonable regularity (once every thousand miles or so) to ensure that the dpf can properly clear.

Any of those engines should return high 30s into low 40s mpg. Petrols unlikely to best 30mpg.