Recommendations please!

[CraigThomas]

Hi guys, my name is Craig, I'm going on 25 and from South Wales. Just joined here as I'm looking for a bit of advice basically.

At the moment I drive a 2007 1.4tdci Ford Fiesta, but to be honest as I'm 6'3 I just find it too small for what I need. Plus, I'm at the age now where I want to try to get away from the small hatchbacks and get something a bit more family friendly and mature. I've always liked the Volvos but don't know much about them. Basically, I have around £5000 to spend and I'm looking for a diesel.

Which mk/phase Volvo bracket would this put me into? Obviously the newer the better. Also, I like my cars to be practical as I always end up carrying a lot of stuff around for various reasons, which is why I've always stayed away from saloons, but can anyone comment on how practical these are? EG do the rear seats fold down?

Thanks in advance for any tips/advice

[Rick Barton]

£5,000 puts you in the 2001-2007 V70 or XC70 territory. It should get you a very good car with plenty of load carrying capacity and... lots of headroom!! (I am nearly 6' 5".) Spend plenty of time reading the forum and looking at cars (with cheque book left at home) and take a knowledgeable friend along when you're ready to buy to give you a reality check.

[banksy66]

S40 (saloon) or V40 (estate) should fit the bill nicely.

[CraigThomas]

Thanks guys. What's the difference between the s(v)40/s(v)60/s(v)80 too? Just different trim levels I imagine is it?

[mikealder]

S is for Saloon
V is for Variant (Estate)
C is for Coupe (both solid top and convertible types)

The number really denotes the size of the car, the larger the number the larger the car, the level of creature comfort and trim spec fitted is something of a minefield as so many options were available within any of the car ranges when new.

If you are considering the V/C70 route go for cars no older than 2003 as this avoids the troublesome Electronic Throttle Motor (ETM), its repairable when it goes wrong but they do fail. Later models also suffer from water ingress to some of the cars electronics. The Driver Information Module (DIM) is another part known to fail quite often, as is the ABS control unit on some models.

Don't take the above as a reason not to purchase one, its more of a heads up as to some of the more common failures the 2001 and newer suffer from, when they work they are a great drive, fantastic load lugging capability with combined with good reliability.

Go and have a look at a few of the different models and decide what you want then post back for a more detailed response as to any model for strengths and known weak points - Mike

[capt jack]

S/V 40 is the Volvo equivalent of an Astra or Focus estate.

The S60 is a saloon only, and is the Volvo equivalent of a 3-series beemer. It's a bit cramped in the back.

The S70 is a very under-rated car, but was only made in saloon form 1997-1999. The C70 is the coupe version, fixed and soft tops are available.

The V70 was introduced in 1997, and is one of the best and most versatile cars ever built. The earliest ones were a direct derivation of the Volvo 850, and were produced until 2000, when the phase 2 version was introduced. This has had several further re-vamps over the intervening years.

Big estates are what Volvo does best, and had I £5000 to spend on one I'd be looking at an 2003-2004 car, with a good history in a nice colour and leather interior. Old fogeys on here (me included) may well tell you that newest is not always better. A car built before Ford got involved is possibly going to be a safer bet for example.

Do your homework on here, and flag up any cars that you're thinking of. You'll certainly get frank, forthright and above all sound advice! Take your time too.

Good luck

Cheers

Jack

[CraigThomas]

Thanks for the advice guys, much appreciated. Will have a dig through and go through model specs, etc and get back to you when I've narrowed the search down a bit.

Thanks again, Craig

[Marty Dolomite]

Originally Posted by mikealder

S is for Saloon
V is for Variant (Estate)
C is for Coupe (both solid top and convertible types)

I always thought V meant 'Versatile'!!

[961]

Originally Posted by Marty Dolomite

I always thought V meant 'Versatile'!!

And here was me thinking it meant "Vagon" as in Waggon

Depends on the miles you're going to do

The V70 is the estate to beat all others and last forever. Reliable and comfortable and well sorted

But it's not the most frugal in fuel consumption, so if you are in to big miles perhaps V50 would be better

[CraigThomas]

Originally Posted by 961

And here was me thinking it meant "Vagon" as in Waggon

Depends on the miles you're going to do

The V70 is the estate to beat all others and last forever. Reliable and comfortable and well sorted

But it's not the most frugal in fuel consumption, so if you are in to big miles perhaps V50 would be better

I do around 300 miles a week just going to work without any other journeys that I do, so economy is high on the list of wants to be honest!