General: Xc 70 or Xc 90 ?

[Dicky Boy]

Hi Guys and Girls,

Volvo newbie here.

I am looking to upgrade my 2002 Suzuki Grand Vitara that I use mostly for fishing trips which means the odd trip off road but nothing too serious as in regards to terrain but there is often the muddy paddock or field to cross or steep hill to descend/climb to and from a river. I am torn between the XC 70 or the XC 90 but as either will be around a 2008 ish (Budget allowing) I was wondering if you wonderful people could steer me in the right direction regarding off road performance and of course the maintenance of either one.

As either will be a bit old, reliability will be a major issue as a pensioner I wont have lots of money to throw at it.

So any recommendations of model and year will be most helpful.

Thank you.

[S60D5-185]

I have had all 3 vehicles that you mention ( currently running an XC90 ).

Our 2004 Grand Vitara had all terrain tyres on it as does my XC90 and I would say that the Vitara is way more capable off road than either of the Volvos.

On the road, both Volvos are in a different league in terms of comfort and refinement BUT with that comes complexity and potential costs that your Suzuki does not have.

[Bonefishblues]

Buy a Fiat Sedici - a petrol one, not diesel. Job jobbed with the correct tyres, but also civilised on road.

Worth a look to see what the heck I'm on about

[S60D5-185]

Originally Posted by Bonefishblues

Buy a Fiat Sedici - a petrol one, not diesel. Job jobbed with the correct tyres, but also civilised on road.

Worth a look to see what the heck I'm on about

Good little car 👍

[Bonefishblues]

Originally Posted by S60D5-185

Good little car 👍

One of the best I ever ran - with Nokian Winters on it was unstoppable, switchable 2wd/4wd/locking diff, the whole 9 yards (Vitara underpinnings courtesy of Suzuki who engineered it)

[S60D5-185]

Originally Posted by Bonefishblues

One of the best I ever ran - with Nokian Winters on it was unstoppable, switchable 2wd/4wd/locking diff, the whole 9 yards (Vitara underpinnings courtesy of Suzuki who engineered it)

My problem is that I have a huge soft spot for little Fiats. Great cars.

[Dicky Boy]

Nice looking thing but way too small for my needs I'm afraid. Thanks for the info though.

[Dicky Boy]

Hi Guys,

Thank you so much for your honest and sensible answers. My Vito is BRILLIANT off road and has never let me down on or off road. Main problem is it's starting to show signs of rust and I will be lucky to get it through one more MOT. I have off road tyres on the back and all terrains on the front and there is no denying that it's noisy on the road. The big issue for me is that it takes about a week to get to 60 mph and I am thinking turbo and associated equipment is are on their last legs so uneconomical to repair. My darling wife bless her has offered to sell her Corsa so we can buy a better/later Volvo and she will drive that. I know some of the Volvo's had transmission problems with certain years but do they all suffer from it or did they fix it ? Normal servicing is well within my grasp as is changing steering components etc but AWD is a new beastie to me and I'll be honest I am a bit nervous of it. Thanks again for your help folks.

[Volvo6]

I know some of the Volvo's had transmission problems with certain years but do they all suffer from it or did they fix it ? Normal servicing is well within my grasp as is changing steering components etc but AWD is a new beastie to me and I'll be honest I am a bit nervous of it. Thanks again for your help folks.

I think 2008 is beyond the year the AWD typically fails, but 2008 is now quite some time ago and nothing lasts for ever. I know haldex is pretty much standard on most family SUVs now, but a traditional and robust 4WD system is still in my opinion less likely to fail long term.

I remember buying a 2005 XC90 years ago and despite checking that the prop could not be moved by hand, it still had a problem with the haldex that cost about £1k to fix. Got the car for what was then a good price so was not hugely disappointed.

We also have a 2008 XC70 at the moment, it's actually a rare 3.2 petrol but most considered opinion is that the D5 is best. The D5 in our XC90 felt like it would go forever. Both have been reliable generally, the XC70 did throw an ABS sensor, which was a pain because it went into limp mode in Cornwall, but other than that no surprise bills.

I would avoid the autos - in 80s/90s Volvos seem to have some very hardy 4 speeds, unfortunately a lot of the 5/6 speeds don't seem to last more than 150k without rebuild and even if they do get grumpy with age as the valve body and clutches wear. Our XC70 is an auto and I don't really rate the box even though its currently working as it should.

As others have said the platforms are very similar, in terms of running costs and reliability there is not much to split them. Personally I liked the higher driving position of the 90, but both really drive the same handling wise.

[Tannaton]

Originally Posted by Volvo6

I think 2008 is beyond the year the AWD typically fails, but 2008 is now quite some time ago and nothing lasts for ever. I know haldex is pretty much standard on most family SUVs now, but a traditional and robust 4WD system is still in my opinion less likely to fail long term.

I remember buying a 2005 XC90 years ago and despite checking that the prop could not be moved by hand, it still had a problem with the haldex that cost about £1k to fix. Got the car for what was then a good price so was not hugely disappointed.

We also have a 2008 XC70 at the moment, it's actually a rare 3.2 petrol but most considered opinion is that the D5 is best. The D5 in our XC90 felt like it would go forever. Both have been reliable generally, the XC70 did throw an ABS sensor, which was a pain because it went into limp mode in Cornwall, but other than that no surprise bills.

I would avoid the autos - in 80s/90s Volvos seem to have some very hardy 4 speeds, unfortunately a lot of the 5/6 speeds don't seem to last more than 150k without rebuild and even if they do get grumpy with age as the valve body and clutches wear. Our XC70 is an auto and I don't really rate the box even though its currently working as it should.

As others have said the platforms are very similar, in terms of running costs and reliability there is not much to split them. Personally I liked the higher driving position of the 90, but both really drive the same handling wise.

The AWD splined sleeve issue was specific to the AW55 5-speed box which was replaced in the XC models in MY2005 with the TF80 6-speed.

The reliability of the 6 speed boxes is fine, the main issue is that Volvo does not include a transmission fluid change in their standard services which other manufacturers who use that gearbox do - including Peugeot/Citroen, GM/Opel/Vauxhall/Saab & Jaguar/Land Rover.

So if you get one - change the fluid.