General: C70 v V70

[Topper]

Picking your brains ...!! and experiences...!! ... been driving Volvo's since the mid 1980's and have have bought/driven and disliked BMW's, (Rovers .. then!), Honda's etc., in between. It depends on the use the car is put to and I now don't tow or carry large items.

Now have my 3rd V70, currently 2008 V70 D5 with 89K miles, having just had Cambelt work done... car immaculate with no problems and have owned this one for 5 years ... now just feel like a change .. perhaps it's an age thing .... and have the chance now of a C70 D5 with 52K on the clock, probably less price than a comparable V 70 ... with attractive trade in offer and warranty from a reputable dealer.

I know there are obviously major differences ( luggage space, back seat access etc.,) but has anyone else made this move ..either way ??? ... and if so, I'd be grateful for why's / why not's ..... and good / bad points. Do I stay with the V 70 or go all exotic ?

Topper

[tt82]

I have the same V70 as you and occasionally have use of a 07/08 C70 D5 Geartronic.

1: My experience of the V70 Vs the C70 (and 2 C30's) is that the build quality on the smaller cars is not on par with the V70. The C70 and 1 C30 have needed driveshafts and gearbox torque mounts replacing at 120k ish miles.

2: My V70 is Geartronic, as is the C70 and one the C30's. The 5 speed gearbox fitted to the C's is terrible compared to the 6 speed gearbox in the V70. The 6 speed manual C30 has quite an aggressive power band, when the boost comes in it just lurches forward as if you've floored the accelerator, even though you've maintained a steady throttle. I have no experience of a manual V70 D5 though.

3: The C70 is nice for cruising on a motorway, but not as refined as the V. The chassis are a stiffer and have sportier suspension which can make them more crashy round town.

4: Stepping from a V to a C, you will feel like your sitting on the floor. The seating position is a lot lower.

My overall opinion of the C70 is it is a poser's car. Take it slow and steady with the roof down and it's a nice place to be.

[phil1968]

The reasoning for me & the wife getting a C70 certainly was not to get a poser's car ;-) lol, we wanted wind in the hair motoring but with the security & weather protection in the Winter of a tin top Instead of going down the predictable Mercedes, Audi, BMW route we plumped for Volvo as to me it's a left-field choice.
It's not a driver's car, as tt82 said, it's more of a cruiser, which it does very well. I can't vouch for the differences in quality but I guess it may have suffered a little when Volvo was under Ford's wing & there was quite a bit of parts sharing going on. Only buy a C70 if you carry rear passengers infrequently though.

[Proghound]

I cant' offer anything on the V70/C70 comparison but the D5 engine is a good match for the weight of the C70. If it's a manual you can easily get 45mpg with a light right foot, but it's pretty short geared in 1st/2nd so traffic is hard work.

You NEED the C70 to have Bi-Xenon headlights if you want to see properly where you're going at night. Even then you'll probably want to adjust them upwards. The good spec starts with the SE, if it's an SE Lux you get the wonderful Dynaudio sound system (although the SE's Hi-Performance sound is pretty meaty also). That said, the SE Lux came with 18" wheels as standard which have a harsher ride than the 17" which were standard on the SE. Heated seats, the space saver spare and the wind deflector are desirable extras. The latter is particularly effective, making it possible to put the top down on sunny days the whole year through.

[Sasha94]

May be helpful, may be not but I made the step up from an S40/C30 to an XC70 same shape as your V70 and then back down again to a V50 so the same platform (only C1 platform car I haven’t owned is a C70!) and I’m not at all disappointed by the V50’s overall packaging in comparison to a P3 x70. There are a lot of differences most notably how much narrower the mini V is and how poor the interiors are for storage but you can forgive that a little. The design has aged well IMO and my V50 draws lots of comments on its lovely interior whereas my XC70 didn’t! I guess that’s because the 50 has the blonde seats and the 70 was black all over.

In short, I do miss the commanding driving position, better storage and space from my 70 but it’s nothing major and the retractable roof is always a winner for me and can make up for a multitude of sins in my book. I love a convertible so I’d be willing to make a sacrifice.

In a perfect world I’d go for a facelift car with as high a spec as possible, probably a Solstice model for the lovely seats, though even the SE Lux cars have lovely all sections leather seats, not leather faced like my 70 (that felt cheap as my S40 and V50 both have 100% leather seats as standard) and driver and passenger seat memory and a facelift has much sharper looks IMO and you get the choice of the more refined 2.0 5 cylinder diesels. In short, only you can decide what’s going to work for you but I’ve not felt short changed since i ‘downgraded’.

[tt82]

Originally Posted by phil1968

I can't vouch for the differences in quality but I guess it may have suffered a little when Volvo was under Ford's wing & there was quite a bit of parts sharing going on.

The S/V/XC60, V/XC70 & S80 are all P3 platform cars based of Ford's EUCD Mondeo platform. They share a lot of suspension and drivetrain components, much like the smaller C1 platform cars with the Focus platform. The driveshaft/torque mount issue for the 2 D5's is a horrible vibration on acceleration which make the whole car feel like it is shuddering. Searching this forum it seems that T5's also suffer from this. Both are Volvo engines so it seems like not all the issues can be attributed to Ford parts.

[dme123]

I've taken a 2008 Manual D5 C70 from 50k miles to 125k miles over the last three years. The 5 speed automatic in these cars is pretty far off the pace, and is fragile enough that the engine torque is restricted in 1st and 2nd. This makes for very soft performance off the line. On the manual, as noted, 1st and 2nd are irritatingly short geared. The boot is pretty huge with the roof up, but fairly hopeless with it down. Rear seat legroom is among the best of any 4 seater convertible but access can be awkward. You get no folding rear seats, so getting larger items in the car can be a pain. I've very rarely had to resort to using another car though.

I think the actual build quality on the C1 platform cars is actually much the same as the larger EUCD cars, however the quality of the trim is lower and less "luxurious" as in a well equipped V70 and they are more cramped. Both will suffer the odd failure of annoying small parts that invariably have the "FoMoCo" stamp on them.

My C70 is much improved for being on 17" wheels replacing the SE Lux 18" standard fit ones, it now rides and handles better. The dampers on mine were shagged out by 90k miles and the ride/handling was transformed by replacing all four and the front lower wishbone arms at that point. Same as any car really. Car looks great inside and out for the mileage, even the seat bolsters are in good shape. It's a heavy car, but you can have quite a laugh chucking it around and it does well up to about 8/10ths but struggles for traction if you're being an absolute ****. I had an MTE remap on mine to take it up to a claimed 220bhp or so, which livened it up no end. It's no sports car, no 4 seater convertible is, but to call it "slow and steady" overstates it. Mine is very happy well up into three figure speeds with the roof down and the wind deflector in, and point to point on some fun roads it's quick and entertaining. Compared to a small hatchback of equivalent power you are aware of the extra mass and girth though!

In short I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the C70, and the truth is that the same age V70 is as tainted with Ford cost cutting as the smaller cars, but in keeping with the rest of the industry their real world reliability and robustness is actually miles better than the much hallowed older models. Best thing you can do is stick to the 5+ cylinder models in any case! Noise levels are higher than in an S80/V70, as it general cabin vibration. The base car comes from a class and a half below the V70 remember. It's not a noisy car, but noticeably less quiet than my colleagues S80 D5.

Dynaudio/Premium Audio is an absolute must in the C70 in my opinion, and the sovereign hide leather is much nicer than the standard stuff too.

[Topper]

Thanks to everyone for all the very comprehensive comments on this issue and I've now got some serious thinking to do.

I must lean toward staying with what I have, i.e. with the V 70, which is so comfortable, reliable and practical, and does exactly what I want of a car.The major plus so far has been it being trouble free, to date ( touch wood !!), it just gets up when told to, and then does its job without complaint, as it has done for over 5 years. In all, I've had some 30 Volvo's, both Estates and Saloons, and this one has been, without doubt, the best.

I do admit to anxiety, having seen the enormous amount of problems on't t'internet regarding retractable roof on the C 70, as well as the spec. apparently not quite coming up to V 70 standards, not to mention worries about convertibles and their practicality ( that is not Volvo's fault .. just the same problem with any convertible).

Loss of space is going to restrict the regular holiday journeys to and from, and the carriage of wine from, France, and comments as to restricted access to rear seats also worry me.... both major influences from my point of view, in deciding change or stay ( bit like Brexit !)

The C 70 is a very nice looking car and I can understand why they are attractive. I'm still scratching my head, but your informative comments have been invaluable, but I think I know the decision ... thanks all.

Topper