mine is a 2.4i SE 04 geartronic
170bhp is more than enough to get a shift on with, the box makes the most of it with nice smooth shifts, you Do have to pay attention to downshifting in manual mode
otherwise its smooth, and when left in auto mode lazyness, effortless and smooth,
buying the 2.4i rather than the T5, saves you all the aggro of the turbo system,
boost leaks, turbo failure, added wear and tear on the clutch (a ££ item) or geartronic box, saves countless hours of fiddling and hunting down odd/random turbo problems BUT your getting 23-24mpg round the doors (more on a run ) which isnt That much more than the turbo's mpg
they arent pointless, as not Everyone wants the "turbo" with its known and documented issues,extra costs hassle and aggro
Same suspension issues as all the V50s
if you can get one with "comfort" suspension, they are comfy
Some dont check and slate it as "not sporty", without checking the suspension type as sporty was an option, as is comfort and standard.
Headlights, if halogens are poor on dip beams, high beams are outstanding, easy fix for the dip beams (replace the projectors )
Size isnt That much smaller than a V70, until you get to the load space
me, id buy another V50 2.4i SE/se lux but id go for one with the grey/black leather not cream
id still go for the sunroof option,its an easy fix , "rti nav" isnt a yes/no for me
Sound system "premium/performance/dynaudio" yes
thats a thing, it really is "you get whats in the car, adding things isnt cheap" and you can pretty much forget "change the head unit"
i like mine, prefer it to my previous S40, and the 940 i had before that,