General: V50 - Contemplating a Petrol V50 - Questions

[pjrouse]

Hi all,

I'm contemplating replacing my 103,000 mile Focus 1.8 with a Petrol V50 to accommdate my growing family.

I dont need a diesel as I only do between 6-8K a year and whilst 60% of that is urban at 30-40mph, the additional cost of Diesel (5p more a litre at present), and the DPF issues dont add up for my needs.

From what I've read on here Petrol V50 owners seem to be in the minority, but was wondering if there are any fellow Petrol owners out there to give me a rough idea of MPG and servicing costs (and intervals)?

Any common faults to look out for?

Is it a cambelt or chain? Whats the changer interval?

As far as I can see there's not a huge difference between the 1.8 and 2.0 petrol units? I assume these are the equivalent engines used in Focus's of a similar age?

Thanks

Paul

[Loskie]

If it is to accomodate a growing family I do not think the V50 will offer much more usable space than the focus.
Sorry to sound negative but I find it small coming from a Mk1 Octavia.
Skoda Octavia Estate will admirably fit your needs.

[pjrouse]

Originally Posted by Loskie

If it is to accomodate a growing family I do not think the V50 will offer much more usable space than the focus.
Sorry to sound negative but I find it small coming from a Mk1 Octavia.
Skoda Octavia Estate will admirably fit your needs.

When I say growing, I meant our first child. The focus is a 3 door which is a pain and the lenght of the boot isnt great. From what Ive read the V50 will be better on all counts.

I like the Octavias but something of that size will be too big a a jump from the Focus for my wife to drive.

Thanks
Paul

[jasonb]

I drive a 1.8 V50.
It's about as cheap to run as you're going to get for a petrol Volvo.
Has plenty of power for my needs, even with a complete load on a holiday to Cornwall with 4 people and a large dog/luggage.

You have to get the SE spec with the leather seats.
Heated seats are a bonus at this time of year ;-)

As for reliability, going great so far.
I have a wheel bearing on it's way out but no worse than any other manufacturers car.
Engine is chain driven.

There are a few gremlins with the electrics but not so much so that you should worry. Boils down to amount of computers in modern cars and all manufacturers have such gremlins, just search the owners club forums like this.

To sum up, one of the best cars I've owned but....not perfect.
It fails in the available storage stakes.
Pathetic door pockets and none in the rear doors.
No underfloor storage.
Basically you have the glove box and the centre console...oh and the boot ;-)

Door cards and centre console revised late 2007/early 2008.
The rear cargo cover is a bulky item and was revised at the same time.

Poor dipped beam headlights but better bulbs help however, with DRL's the bulbs seem to have a short life span.

I don't do too many miles either and around town I don't think it's the most economical car about!
My wife drives it, loves it too.
My kids grand parents quite enjoy the ride in fact, I have not found anybody who dislikes the V50!

Buy one, you'll enjoy it!
Not all interiors are black, personally speaking I went for the light coloured leather and love it.
There is a grey which looks nice and then there is the black.

Look for the toys.
Heated seats
Electrically adjustable seats
Cruise control on the steering wheel
In-dash 6 CD system

Extras worth considering:
built in satnav that pops up in the middle of the dash
Dolby Radio or premium radio.
(I have the high performance system and the sound is fantastic)
There is the sports model with the sport body kit (rather nice!).
Various different types of alloy wheels!
Note, if you go for a sport with the 18" wheels, the tyres are rare and cost quite a bit to replace but, you can fit a more common size and ask volvo to adjust the speedo reading to compensate.

Nothing is impossible!
Automatic versions seem to cost more for road tax.
If you get a pre-2008 model, you can always do the facelift later on!

Good luck!

[pjrouse]

Thanks for the honest and detailed response!!!

At present I've got 2 potentials

One's a 2.0 sport in Barents Blue (lovely colour!) with winter pack, and reverse parking sensors (no leather though), and 18" Medusa alloys (thanks for pointing out the tyre issue with these).

The other's a silver 1.8SE with Winter Pack, electric drivers seat, High Perf Audio, but no reverse sensors (the wife will demand these), and leather (which the wife doesnt like). Plus it has the wood trim (which I'm not a fan of).

Is the sport on 18"'s a much harsher ride than an SE on 17"'s?

Thanks for pointing out about interior storage too - didnt realise it was so lacking. From some of the pics ive see there appears to be some storage available behind the floating console? Is that right?

Thanks again.

Paul

[jasonb]

I'm sure the sport model looks a lot nicer with the sport kit and wheels.
And to be honest, I would have purchased a sport if I had seen one at the time!

I think your mind is made up between the two!

Go look at the running costs for the 2.0 as the engine will be more in road tax, potentially more thirsty (don't quote me, I've not looked at the mpg) too.

Yes there is storage behind the floating console and you can buy a "deeper" bin to stop stuff falling out so readily. Not a huge space!

Reversing sensors can be fitted cheaply, £15-20 for the kit and then the install is straight forward but does require drilling of the bumper or....you can go for the electromagnetic or what ever they call it. Basically a kit for £75 and involves no holes or ugly sensors. Apparently works very well. Long metal strips with self-adhesive attach to the inside of the bumper across the length of it!
With the Volvo sensors, they can fail and become annoying but you will know if this has happened when you test the car in reverse!

With the sport bodykit, check the front bumper lip for signs of damage, quite common as easy to bump on kerbs etc.

Mine is barents blue and I've decided to update the looks to the post 2007 look. Easy enough to do but painting is taking a lot of time as I'm a perfectionist...

Centre console and interior door handles can all be changed for little money.
Don't be put off by the current colour!
You should note that the aluminium version does "dent" easily.
There is a dark grey version, light and dark wood and a transparent light blue plastic version.
In the US they sell a carbon fibre version as well!
Mine was the dark wood effect but now I've changed it to light oak and added a sports steering wheel with the alloy insert.

Other things to be aware of in terms of looks!
Door mirrors, the shape was changed from 2006 and they became larger and more round (less rectangular).
Fake aerial on the roof (which is for the GPS module as the aerial is in the os rear window in the boot) changed shape after 2005.
External tailgate handle has changed a few times, first change was the addition of a small lip below the VOLVO letters.
Next came the spaced out V O L V O lettering.
And very recently they've added a chrome strip to the lip.

Take a look here: http://gallery.me.com/chris_stewart#100203
There are many pics of S40/V50's which people own and you can see some small modifications or just good examples of their cars!

One point to be annoyed with as many people are annoyed ;-)
Opening the doors! When you drive the doors auto-lock after 5mph which is fairly common.
When you stop and get out, you have to pull the door lever twice to open the door. There are a few functions in the central computer which can be set but this is a feature! The radio acts as an interface in to the car computer to adjust things like external lighting and so on.

The A/C is a weak point and one of the pipes will leak in time but this is £75 part and then you just need a re-gas. No different from many other manufactures cars A/C systems!

Having had my Barents Blue for well over a year , I can say it is a great car.
Not sure I am fond of the colour but then again I've had a few blue cars.
I prefer Silver or a late shape version in White or Black!
Avoid anything in a daft colour like orange or a bright green as re-sale is tougher as with any car in a less popular colour!