V70 AWD Transmission: V70 much bigger than V50? AWD worth going for?

[011ienw]

Can't decide on a petrol 2.4 V50 without AWD, or holding out ages and ages til a V70 D5 AWD comes on the used market in the UK.

Is the V70 much larger than the V50 in terms of trips to the DIY shop, furniture shop, kids holidays etc?

And in general, on the V70, is it worth waiting a long time to hunt down a model with AWD (not the R though!) or is the AWD not that much of an added bonus on the V70?

Cheers

[tykey]

A lot depends on what benefit you are expecting from an AWD.

For me AWD drives mean extra fuel and more things to go wrong, for little benefit to me. I've just got my first V70 without AWD, and driving is so perfect I can't see how it can be improved. The one negative point is that the turning circle is much greater than my last Estima, which doesn't help in car parks, but I reckon I'll get used to it.

[011ienw]

I think the answer to what I want from AWD is the security, in the back of my mind, of knowing it's there. But then maybe non-AWD V70 is fine for occasional trips across the Pennines in the middle of Winter with 3 colleagues in the car with me plus some equipment, that kind of thing?

[Bernard333]

there is a big difference between a V50 and V70 load lugging volume , have had large fridge freezers loaded which we couldnt get in the back of a 4x4 , I am constantly trying to squeeze more into my V70 and sometimes remove the rear seats and the front passenger seat completely which you can do in five minutes , had to also take out the centre console to get some doors in , suppose I would be better using a transit van but I like the comfort when I need to take two adults plus four kids . The V70 is a good compromise all rounder , far from perfect but I cant find anything that does the job better at the price .

[Silverbrick]

Originally Posted by 011ienw

I think the answer to what I want from AWD is the security, in the back of my mind, of knowing it's there. But then maybe non-AWD V70 is fine for occasional trips across the Pennines in the middle of Winter with 3 colleagues in the car with me plus some equipment, that kind of thing?

If it`s that slippery all it means is that 4 wheels will spin instead of 2! IMO the 2wd will be far better. I`ve had fwd, rwd & 4wd cars before and the 4wd did`nt feel any more "secure" Fit good tyres then it`ll grip and handle.