2007 SE or Sport ?

[newrangerfamily]

Hello

A newbie here, both to the forum and to Volvos.

I tow a caravan and having test driven a 2007 XC70 D5 SE this weekend thought it was great but am considering the Sport. This is more expensive and this seems to be mainly due to the 4C chassis with 3 settings. What I'd love to know though is if the extra money is worth it for the extras on the Sport and do people tend to use the 3 settings or just leave it on one?

Thanks guys

Newrangerfamily

[waterglen]

Hi, I have the new model XC70 auto sport & tow a caravan of 1560 kg, I don`t find much difference which setting is used, its a decent towcar but not a patch on my last car, an Audi 2.5 tdi Quattro when I was getting an extra 8 mpg when towing, you can only get Volvo`s own towbar, I got the detachable model made by Brink, when after only 1500 towing miles, knocking occured when going over bumps & turning corners, there was about 3mm of play, Volvo stated this was ok & up to 8mm of play was acceptable, and refused to take the matter further.
I then contacted an independent towbar firm who said Volvo should have replaced the towbar with that amount of wear, then advised me to contact Brink, who arranged with them to replace the complete towbar, but they had to get it from a Volvo dealer, after it was fitted, the keys didn`t fit, replacements had to be obtained direct from Volvo, Not impressed with Volvo one bit, would not buy another.

[Volvo-in-my-blood]

If you are planning on keeping the car long term it may be best to avoid the 4C suspension. I recall it being mentioned (on here?) that the replacement cost for shocks was about £2000. As good as 4C is I personally wouldn't want a potential cost like that.

[BIGH66]

Originally Posted by newrangerfamily

Hello

A newbie here, both to the forum and to Volvos.

I tow a caravan and having test driven a 2007 XC70 D5 SE this weekend thought it was great but am considering the Sport. This is more expensive and this seems to be mainly due to the 4C chassis with 3 settings. What I'd love to know though is if the extra money is worth it for the extras on the Sport and do people tend to use the 3 settings or just leave it on one?

Thanks guys

Newrangerfamily

First of all Welcomein my humble opinion i would have the SE over the SPORT, just for the fact i would say it will have a better resale value when you come to get rid of it ! and be cheaper on the likes of the suspension parts etc..

[Chaddie]

Originally Posted by newrangerfamily

Hello

A newbie here, both to the forum and to Volvos.

I tow a caravan and having test driven a 2007 XC70 D5 SE this weekend thought it was great but am considering the Sport. This is more expensive and this seems to be mainly due to the 4C chassis with 3 settings. What I'd love to know though is if the extra money is worth it for the extras on the Sport and do people tend to use the 3 settings or just leave it on one?

Thanks guys

Newrangerfamily

I've got a 2008 XC70 SE Lux with the 4C Chassis, I've had other XC70's (old shape) with and without the 4C and I like the 4C, I do tend just to leave it in the Comfort setting.

Its only once you've had it and switch to a car without you notice its working all the time even in comfort, there is less understeer going around tight bends or round-abouts. Is it worth the extra £1k for the odd tight corner I'm not 100% sure.

As for towing with 4C, I don't tow but have been told and read many times that the Self-Levelling on the standard SE is far better for towing.

Therefore if I was in your shoes, I'd buy the SE (if you've never had 4C, you can't miss it) and if you want spend some of the saving on a couple of extas ie Winter Pack.

Chaddie.

[testrider]

It seems a distinctly odd idea that a car with vaguely off road capabilities has a sport model option. If you wanted/needed better handling why not buy a normal AWD V70?

For what it's worth, I'd take the self levelling option on the SE everytime.