What to do

[RM955I]

At the risk of upsetting the Volvo loyalists, my V70 is the dullest most uncommunicative barge I have ever owned...it's the practicality and solidity that makes it all worth while

[savabill]

Well reading through your list, you've still got wish bones and rear shocks to do yet. Both can improve the drivability of your XC.

[pacman67]

Originally Posted by savabill

Well reading through your list, you've still got wish bones and rear shocks to do yet. Both can improve the drivability of your XC.

Done front shocks and wishbones, rear shocks are nivomats, and seem to be ok, cant afford to stop them anyhow.

[100K+]

I have been in a similar position re my v70 T5, but in my case it was to buy a newer model/fewer miles.
I reasoned with 231K it was time to pension the old gal off. BUT most of the "common faults" have been fixed ( at least twice in the case of drop links) but I consider them " consumables".
What is getting my attention is at 231k the original clutch & exhaust can't have long to go, but its far cheaper to replace these bits than buy another T5 with questionable unknown history (to me) which would cost me £4000 -£5000.( my budget at the time)

Additionally,I worked out on 10,000miles /year moving to a diesel v70 @ 45MPG would only save me £600 in fuel, but would cost x5 that to change to the diesel, and would it be more reliable??????? less expensive to run??????
I decided better the devil I know.... still does not stop me wondering/looking though.

Cheers

Bob

[TiredGeek]

Originally Posted by pacman67

The one thing I really don't like, is the handling, down the twisty roads to home it's like steering a boat, something negative from the positives I guess.

The yanks have a simple mod that is supposed to help no end for the handling - fit R anti roll bars front and rear. They're thicker than the XC ones which afaik are thicker than V70 ones.
Yank spec suspension may be different from Europe spec 'cos we have corners and like cars to handle not float so it might not make as much difference to your car as theirs.

Of course, you could go the whole hog and lower the thing, but that's serious money and negates the lovely speed bump ignoring ground clearance....
(http://www.volvoxc.com/forums/showth...e-piece-wheels)

Power is easy, you basically have a detuned T5 under the bonnet, with the right mods you can have over 300bhp and the traction to use it

First thing though is to pump up those tires, 38 front and 42 rear gives much more neutral to tail out handling rather than understeer (but be careful, it can snap out of line in fast corners if you hit a bump. ESP is really good at that point).
42 all round makes it "drifty" if you really push it.
I tend to run 'em at 38/42 for round town and local stuff with 44/44 for long high speed loaded cruising.

[pacman67]

Right, gave her a good wash and brush up today, amazing how much better a thing looks when clean, also went out and checked inflation in handbook etc. I went for the fully laden values, although I mostly use the car on my own, however I have a bit of kit in the boot, plus my lpg tank. So 34 front and 38 rear as apposed to the 30 f&r, and what a difference, not so sure on the higher settings as they are for 100mph plus. I'm going to see how that goes and search out some 17 rims and R anti roll bars.

[Christerart]

Originally Posted by Simon Jones

Get a D5 XC70 then . On a decent run you'll get 45 mpg for auto, perhaps 50 on a manual 'box and it'll still pull the skin off custard if you need it to. I do a 600 mile round trip to north Wales every few weeks in mine and it's the most comfortable car I've owned.

We did a trip to Isle of Skye (1,000+ miles) with our '05 auto XC70. When parked at home the display said 62.8 mpg.....

[StaffsS60]

Originally Posted by mechakev

Get a diesel? I get quite a lot of miles out of my s60.

Staggered to see my tank range showing as 900 miles on filling up this morning 🤣🤣🤣

[StaffsS60]

Originally Posted by Christerart

We did a trip to Isle of Skye (1,000+ miles) with our '05 auto XC70. When parked at home the display said 62.8 mpg.....

Just done Stafford to Holsworthy and car showing 65.2. Most impressed

[Kev0607]

Originally Posted by RM955I

I fancy a P3 XC70 - purely for the looks and security of AWD, but I want something reliable without 'common faults'

'Common faults' certainly are that....mine has suffered most of them: leaking heater matrix, wishbones, self destructing HU850, rotten exhaust hangers, alarm service, drop links, irritating rattles and squeaks and a host of others. Thank God i bouth a facelift 2005 which avoids even more common problems.

Having said that, XC70s seem to come with their own AWD woes unless that was sorted on later (P3) models. I don't need AWD so maybe a V70 R design.....but will the 18 inch wheels be a nightmare? And, will a P3 be as fickle as a P2 or better built? so many factors to consider.

The later 205BHP diesel seems to offer better MPG too presumably due to improved engine design.

Cars...great when their good but tiresome when they need constant fettling.

P3’s are great cars, but they have issues too. Suspension is a common one, being a heavy car. I don’t mean you’ll be needing a set of shocks every 30k, but they will need replacing at some point. Self levelling rear suspension is expensive, easily £500 per shock absorber plus the labour to fit them, if a garage is doing it for you. Keep that in mind if you do buy one. For towing, self levelling is fantastic. I think (not certain) that all XC’s have self levelling rear suspension, but not all “ordinary” estates do (V70’s).

The later D5 engines (euro 5 onwards) are more economical & they can shift, as they have twin turbo’s. The older ones weren’t exactly slow either, but there’s no comparison in terms of power.

In my opinion, the P3 is a very well built car. My Dad has a V70 D5 (euro 4) with just shy of 160k miles & it just floats down the road. He has done suspension work to it (new shocks all round, no self levelling in the rear though), replaced the cam belt, auxiliary belt, water pump, tyres & services it every year… cracking car.

Also keep in mind that an AWD vehicle has more parts that need fluid changes, such as the diff & angle gear. Only buy AWD if you definitely need/use it would be my suggestion. Try to get a car with full service history too.