Volvo C70 Petrol mpg questions

[TheMajor]

Hey all,

I currently do not own a Volvo, I missed out on a C30 a few years ago and regret it. I am in need of a new car and I am looking at a C70. I am looking solely at petrol C70s and I drive 15 miles each way to work and mostly on motorways and country roads (nothing regular in town).

I have Googled and read a lot but searching the forum does not turn up many results. I am looking for some first hand experience.

It seems that both the 2.4i and T5 return the same or very similar fuel economy, is this correct? However, it seems that the biggest difference is between manual and automatics but how much of a difference does it make? (Tax is also cheaper on the manual).

Does anybody have any experience of the 2.4 or t5 in manual?

(I know they are not going to be the most efficient cars but I just want to know what I am getting into before purchasing, the autos seem much easier to find).

[iainmd]

The T5 is the better bet all-round. You'll get about the same mpg from both engines but about 50bhp more from the T5 and a lot more torque.

The 2.4i will feel a bit lazy in a car with the weight of the C70.

My S40 T5 did about 29-30mpg but is a much lighter car so expect maybe 27/28mpg on average from a C70 if you do a reasonable mix of driving.

[TheMajor]

Originally Posted by iainmd

The T5 is the better bet all-round. You'll get about the same mpg from both engines but about 50bhp more from the T5 and a lot more torque.

The 2.4i will feel a bit lazy in a car with the weight of the C70.

My S40 T5 did about 29-30mpg but is a much lighter car so expect maybe 27/28mpg on average from a C70 if you do a reasonable mix of driving.

Interesting, was your S40 an auto or manual?

I am used to about 32 to 37mpg in my MX5. It struggled at 70mph sitting at 3,500-4,000 rpm.

[Sysyphus]

I have a C70 T5 Auto.

On my 10 mile suburban road up and downhill, traffic lights and stop sign ridden commute I get a touch less than 20mpg. I guess I could get it a little better if I didn’t insist on making sure I have no cobwebs in the turbocharger and encouraging most of the 225 horses to have a least a little bit of a canter on every run, but I didn’t buy the car to save me a few cents on the way to work every day

Once I get out on the highway cruising at 75-80ish I get to 30mpg, sometimes a bit beyond.

Those are US gallons, so in English those numbers translate to 25/37 mpg

[T5R92011]

Here's my two pence:

The difference in fuel consumption between my heavier 2.0T S60 (177bhp) and my lighter S40 T5 (227bhp) is extremely noticeable.

There's a 50bhp/80nm difference between the two, which is very similar to the 2.4i/T5 comparison being made. I know that 2.4i engine is also offered in the S60/V70, and it returns slightly better MPG than the 2.0T.

I've found that I can thrash the 2.0T around town and fuel economy remains just about acceptable. And If I drive it economically (virtually never do this) then mpg climbs nicely to around 30mpg. The conclusion is that I can afford to run this car, and having commuted in it for nearly 4 years, I'm very accustomed to it's mpg.

Whereas the 2.5 T5 is terrible on fuel all of the time, no matter how you drive it. To the point where I'm questioning whether I can afford to run it as a daily driver. Same as the S40 T5 I had around 10 years ago..really heavy on juice.

However, the up side is that there is a huge raft of tuning available for this engine, and even heavyweight C70 could be made into a rocketship with some of the mods available... K16 turbo kits etc.

I wouldn't buy this engine if I wasn't going to tune it... seems like it burns through fuel as if it has 300bhp.

[iainmd]

Originally Posted by TheMajor

Interesting, was your S40 an auto or manual?

I am used to about 32 to 37mpg in my MX5. It struggled at 70mph sitting at 3,500-4,000 rpm.

Mine was manual. I'm not keen on Volvo's auto boxes. Perfectly reliable but 5 gears is properly old school.

[TheMajor]

Originally Posted by T5R92011

Here's my two pence:

The difference in fuel consumption between my heavier 2.0T S60 (177bhp) and my lighter S40 T5 (227bhp) is extremely noticeable.

There's a 50bhp/80nm difference between the two, which is very similar to the 2.4i/T5 comparison being made. I know that 2.4i engine is also offered in the S60/V70, and it returns slightly better MPG than the 2.0T.

I've found that I can thrash the 2.0T around town and fuel economy remains just about acceptable. And If I drive it economically (virtually never do this) then mpg climbs nicely to around 30mpg. The conclusion is that I can afford to run this car, and having commuted in it for nearly 4 years, I'm very accustomed to it's mpg.

Whereas the 2.5 T5 is terrible on fuel all of the time, no matter how you drive it. To the point where I'm questioning whether I can afford to run it as a daily driver. Same as the S40 T5 I had around 10 years ago..really heavy on juice.

However, the up side is that there is a huge raft of tuning available for this engine, and even heavyweight C70 could be made into a rocketship with some of the mods available... K16 turbo kits etc.

I wouldn't buy this engine if I wasn't going to tune it... seems like it burns through fuel as if it has 300bhp.

Thank you, I have no plans to mod the car at all. It will be a cruiser and just for getting around. I do not have a heavy foot but I like enough power to just get about without issue. I am going to have to think of the T5, I think.

Originally Posted by iainmd

Mine was manual. I'm not keen on Volvo's auto boxes. Perfectly reliable but 5 gears is properly old school.

Thanks again. Same here. I like a manual.

[FredGraham]

Just to add to the more experienced views that have been posted. I bought my T5 on 1st Feb 2018. I previously owned a C70 2.0ltr coupe 20 valve LPT. I was very happy with the car but wanted something with a bit more oomph! I certainly got that however the mpg is, in my humble opinion, not great. That having said I chose the car because I liked it. But I waited for nearly 5 months to get the one I wanted. A 2006 model, geartronic as most of the time with the manual coupe I was only getting into 3rd gear as most of my driving is around town. Only just under 40K miles on the clock. Registered before 23rd Mar 06 so tax is same as the manual. But what an exhilarating drive, especially with the roof down. I can't comment on the newer models as these were beyond my budget. I've had a couple of issues but for it's age, kind of expected that you would get some things. Just be careful you don't miss out on the most fun driving experience!

[philrocks]

I have a T5 Manual and do between 18-70 miles a day, and average between 26 MPG - 30 MPG, on a run I will get 35 MPG, with mostly economical driving (keeping it under 2500rpm), and the occasional boot on open straights.

It does go down drastically if you do small miles, My old place of work was 1.3 miles away, and averaged 17MPG, and some days, the temp needle of the engine hadn't moved at all.

Now this mostly depends on traffic, when schools in, my MPG goes down a bit due to more traffic. School holidays, it goes up.

[TheMajor]

Originally Posted by philrocks

I have a T5 Manual and do between 18-70 miles a day, and average between 26 MPG - 30 MPG, on a run I will get 35 MPG, with mostly economical driving (keeping it under 2500rpm), and the occasional boot on open straights.

It does go down drastically if you do small miles, My old place of work was 1.3 miles away, and averaged 17MPG, and some days, the temp needle of the engine hadn't moved at all.

Now this mostly depends on traffic, when schools in, my MPG goes down a bit due to more traffic. School holidays, it goes up.

Hey Phil,

What type of route is it to your work?

I will be mainly country roads and dual carriageways then 2 miles in a village (15-17 total).

Out of interest, how long have you owned your C70? Any problems or things you would say are good to look at? I love the roof but it concerns me as I am coming for an MX5.

I hope to go see two tomorrow both 2.4 as I can not find a T5 manual within 2 hours of me.