V70: General Slightly dissappointed as a towcar

[Westyman]

We did look at the XC90 once, around 2009ish but one thing, and I know it's a minor thing, every Volvo from the 240 onwards has had that useful storage beneath the boot floor. The XC90 fills it with seats I don't want. I have seen a thread on the XC90 section about removing them but then I assume the flat boot floor would go.
Anyway, got fed up watching the rain so been out and fired up the compressor to raise the tyre pressures. Trying 35F and 37R. Caravan tyre pressures were down a touch too so sorted that and only lost one valve cap under the car....(now recovered)...
Will re-check nose weight tomorrow.
Sell caravan? NEVER!! :-)
We're having a narrow boat built next year too but will still use caravan. Happy times for over 30 years.

[JetBlastDeflector]

Originally Posted by cloggers

Was the Mondeo not based on a development of the V70 which was already underway instead of the other way round?

Anyway, I had a Mondeo Estate with a decent trim level (Ghia) for nearly 3 years before buying my 59 V70. Personally I think the difference between the two cars is night and day when it comes to the way they feel inside. Everything in the Ford was more flimsy and less confidence inspiring than the Volvo.

Handlingwise I can tell you that my V70 feels sharper than the Mondeo I had but that might be the R-design pask and its 18" alloys. As I don't have a towbar I can't compare towing differences between Mondeo and V70 but both are heavy and long enough to look like good contenders on paper...

My advise would be to stick with the V70 instead of an XC90 and sell the caravan; a nice en-suite holiday appartement sounds better to me than waiting in line at the shower block of yet another busy French camping spot

Yes I believe that the Mondeo was based on the V70, I am not trying to knock the Mondeo or the newer V70, they are both fine cars. I just feel that the "Volvo feel" was lost once Ford took over and the new range of Volvo s were introduced from the Ford/Volvo merger.

[JetBlastDeflector]

Originally Posted by Westyman

We did look at the XC90 once, around 2009ish but one thing, and I know it's a minor thing, every Volvo from the 240 onwards has had that useful storage beneath the boot floor. The XC90 fills it with seats I don't want. I have seen a thread on the XC90 section about removing them but then I assume the flat boot floor would go.
Anyway, got fed up watching the rain so been out and fired up the compressor to raise the tyre pressures. Trying 35F and 37R. Caravan tyre pressures were down a touch too so sorted that and only lost one valve cap under the car....(now recovered)...
Will re-check nose weight tomorrow.
Sell caravan? NEVER!! :-)
We're having a narrow boat built next year too but will still use caravan. Happy times for over 30 years.

I know what you mean about the stowage under the boot floor of the V70, I found it really good too. But all the stuff that was under the boot floor of my previous V70 fits just as well in the small storage area around the battery at the rear of the XC90, easily accessed via a removable panel. There is space in there for jacking kit, 1st Aid kit, some tools, hi-vis jackets, tyre pump, etc. There are also two stowage compartments above the rear wheels. The post 2007 V70 is an excellent car and I may have another one in three years time, but the XC90 still retains that "Volvo feel".

[Westyman]

So now it's stopped raining I have adjusted the nose weight from 70kg to 88kg with full gas bottles. This has included adding half a breeze block into the gas locker!!! So we'll see how it is next time out now, though I have been naughty and altered two things at once, much against my engineering training!!

[Jameshow]

Does the new v70 clunk when you shut the door?
Or twang like the mondeo?!!!!!

james

[Clan]

Originally Posted by Jameshow

Does the new v70 clunk when you shut the door?
Or twang like the mondeo?!!!!!

james

Traditional volvo feeling there , although it feels half the weight due to special HSS and Boron steel

[expat1]

Originally Posted by Jameshow

Does the new v70 clunk when you shut the door?
Or twang like the mondeo?!!!!!

james

I drove a Mondeo (Ghia 2.0TDCi) for 3 years and 78000 miles (before handing it to the wife) and the doors don't "twang" . They "Clunk" just like the doors on my MY2011 V70 D3 (13 months old 28,000 miles). Which I have to say is a very good towcar. It is poised, sure footed and so far been nothing but 100% reliable.


I run with the tyres at "ECO" pressure all the time as I always have a very full boot (there was reason for buying a large estate) So I'm use to the feel of the car with a lot of weight at the back. I don't have any of the special chassis "gizmos" just a bog standard D3 ES (FWD). I do try to get close to the max for the towbar but find running at 80Kg is optimum (max for the van is 88Kg). Too little weight in the van can be as bad as to much (just not likely to get you a ticket).

[outnumbered]

what is the ex works nose weight. on mine it is 88 kg which is a bailey, if it was me start at the basics first weight van empty and noseweight, then add to front locker or just behind wheels.i had to play about with mine for awhile .also i have noticed that on certain road surfaces and whats in front of me HGV wise mine twitches and does not feel right so i slow down this has happened on the last couple of times i have gone out to the same location but not on the way there but on the way back.
mike

[apersson850]

Remember that it's not the car that keeps the caravan stable. You can have a lorry and it will not keep the caravan stable, unless the caravan does that by itself. The only difference is that with a lorry, the only thing you notice is that you see the sides of the trailer in your rear view mirrors occasionally, when it's skidding from one side to the other.

I know, I've tried it.

Then some caravans simply never track, for some reason, even if you do have a proper pressure on the tow bar. Look at an Adria from the 1980's, for example. They were always swaying from one side to the other, regardless of how you loaded them. Now they have got their act together and aren't inferior to tow, compared to anything else.

Reasonable nose weight and not too much concentrated mass far back in the caravan to start with. If that doesn't help, then there's something wrong. What about the caravan's suspension? Does it have separate shock absorbers or integrated suspension/shock absorption in the axis?

[Westyman]

When we hot the van home from Vanmaster with two full Gaslow refillable cylinders and minimal contents it was around 50kg. As the 'van's layout was same as previous 'van, we loaded up with stuff in same places and I think, this brought it to about 60kg, not enough, so did some re-distribution to get 70kg. After Monday's fiddling it's up to near enough to towbar's limit of 90kg so I'll see how it is next time out at end of month.
The 7% of MTPLM would be 126kg which isn't possible and anyway I'm nowhere near full mass.