XC70/V70 Choice advice

[Sasha94]

Originally Posted by I-S

The economy won't be much different between v60 and v70 - they are very close in weight, share the same parts in suspension and drivetrain... the v60 just seems to trade away the space and comfort for styling (a matter of taste) and "sportiness". The latter will never realistically be achieved on this platform as the fundamentals are just not there compared to the 5 series (weight balanced rwd), Honda accord (double wishbones all around) and Subaru legacy (super-low centre of gravity).

It just seems like you'd be paying more for less.

I think it seems that fuel economy is more important to you than some other factors - I'd suggest that a manual D3 163 (or D4, if so badged), in either v60 or v70 would suit you best. You'll get most of the torque of a D5, most of the economy of a drivE and probably the best compromise floor the things you want.

MPG is a major concern for me tbh, 30k miles a year makes my fuel bill huge, my S40 is doing c.55 MPG average, so that's about £3141 per year in diesel, a V70 D5 at c.40 MPG average is about £4320 per year so over 2 years the D5 V70 will cost an extra £2358 ish over my ownership period which I'm happy with, any less and it'll start to hurt the old pocket again.

I will still take a V60 for a spin though I think, just to see for myself, not that I disbelieve you but we'll see how I feel about the 2 back to back. In a world of ideals, I'd drive a £500 banger to work and give Laura a lurvely T6 AWD to potter around in and I'd drive it the rest of the time, but there is no way she says she'll drive the big V by herself and she was uncomfortable driving the test car we took out the other day. I'll try working on that though...

Originally Posted by ferg55

My S80 D5 185bhp Geartronic returns between 38-42mpg depending on driving. It's covered 170k miles. I don't nurse it, using the power when necessary, and mostly drive on 50-60mph sweeping A-roads, combined with 75mph on the motorway. I have just worked out this weeks mpg and including some stop-start London traffic at the weekend I have got 38mpg. I think this increases to low 40's if i just do the A-road / motorway commute.

A note on the Geartronic box, the early ones (pre week 20, 2010) didn't have Sport mode and in my opinion the down changes do not happen at a high enough rpm, and therefore you will find yourself pulling out of a roundabout, or sharp corner, in too low a gear. You can overcome this by shifting down manually, but this defeats the object of an auto. I have read that the sport mode corrects this characteristic, and therefore I'd recommend going for a 2010 onwards if you are looking at an auto. To tell if it has sport mode shift the lever over to the Geartronic + and - manual mode, and the display on the dash will read "S", and not a gear number.

4C is a mixed bag. I have it, and love the minimal body roll, but you end up with a harsh ride which is very unrefined. That said, it may be advantageous for caravan towing, as set to Advanced the rear dampers would be very firm. If you go for 4C, bear in mind the dampers are very costly to replace so inspect well before buying.

Xenon ABL lamps not the best on dipped beam. I have mine set to maximum permissable height for the MOT, and new bulbs, but still not what I expected. The throw stops very short.

This is all very helpful stuff, and for me would almost seal the fate of any pre 2010 Geartronic car as I found the D5 I drove (60 reg 205ps) was swift enough but much less would be an issue. Better get myself behind the wheel of a D3 and see how I find that first.

[garethXC]

If you fancy a nice blue XC70 215 geartronic marshalls in bishops stortford have just taken in a 2012/12 plate one with 36500 miles, its pricey tho...

[PEGE63]

V60 vs V70, u get better visibility in a V70 IMO. A bigger car seems daunting at first, drive if for a few days and you'll got used to it. V70 all the way for me but agree that 4C is a bit firm, fuel into 40's on longer runs but a lot less due to how we use it.

[I-S]

Originally Posted by garethXC

If you fancy a nice blue XC70 215 geartronic marshalls in bishops stortford have just taken in a 2012/12 plate one with 36500 miles, its pricey tho...

If they're selling that in the OP's budget then something is seriously wrong with it!

[Sasha94]

Thanks for all the replies, just to confirm I don't mind the V70's size, it's my fiancée I can't convince haha, I'll try again today though as we're off to see a 2010 D3 manual today and a 2011 V60 D3 manual aswell. Try the pair of them back to back and see what we think.

Re the 12 reg XC70, yes I'd love that, but I can't see it being £8k either god dammit!!!

[st4]

Originally Posted by Sean94

Thanks for all the replies, just to confirm I don't mind the V70's size, it's my fiancée I can't convince haha, I'll try again today though as we're off to see a 2010 D3 manual today and a 2011 V60 D3 manual aswell. Try the pair of them back to back and see what we think.

Re the 12 reg XC70, yes I'd love that, but I can't see it being £8k either god dammit!!!

I'm in a similar price range/age of car budget to you - be curious to see what you think.

[I-S]

As indeed will I...

[Sasha94]

Sooooo today was eventful, the S40 has decided it doesn't want to be sold as on the way I may or may not have hit a pothole disguised as a small puddle so I had to jack the thing up and bolt on the space saver

And tonight outside the house is still the S40, the V70 D3 wasn't as good as described and didn't have the get up and go of the D5 and the ride on the large R- design alloys wasn't very soothing on poorer roads. The V60 was a bit small tbh and not noticeably quicker or more efficient as you guys opined, so I'm back to square one, neither car was as fuel efficient on the half hour test drive as I'd hoped either with high 30's achieved when my S40 did 51 MPG in comparison. I'm not convinced about either car tbh and perhaps I'm trying to make them fit what I want when there are better cars out there. Honest truth is I'm better off keeping the S40 for now and maybe I'll have to try and widen the field or stick with the current platform and have a newer V50 or another brand, though not sure what as I'd love another Volvo but not sold on the V70 or V60 for what we want, I can see me ending up with the car everyone told me I'd end up in, a bloody A6 :O

Thanks for all help and input though, may have to try the competition to remind me how good the V70 is before I go back to find one.

[garethXC]

How about the mondeo estate, for your budget you can get a great spec with reasonable miles, and its as big ( if not bigger inside) than a V70.....

[I-S]

The problem is... (and this will sound snobby)

When we were looking at cars we started off with the paper exercise, specs, sizes, running costs, etc.

On paper the Ford Mondeo 2.0 Powerboost was the perfect car for us.

I just didn't want one.

I don't think it's a bad car. I think it looks nice, I think they drive nicely, they're cheap to run, etc, etc, etc. The ONLY thing I have against it is that I don't want one. I can't adequately explain why, I just don't.