Best used estate

[Sotosound]

I have a 2014 64-reg V70 D4 SE Lux auto with 118K on the clock, which I acquired in April last year with 97K on the clock plus full main dealer service history.

This car feels solid as a rock and shows no age-related signs apart from a slight discolouration of the leather on the driver's seat due to 118K's worth of drivers' b*ms being sat on it.

I bought it for the comfort, ease of driving, reliability and the likelihood of many rust-free years of driving. Plus I wanted the practicality of an estate.

I had the gearbox oil changed at the last service for safety's sake.

The engine is the new 4-cylinder 2.0 VEA diesel engine with 181 ps, and it performs really well. For a 4-cylinder diesel, the installation is also excellent and the main indicator that it's only got 4-cylinders comes from my ears when pushing it hard. In normal driving it's just a really quiet and smooth operator.

The 8-speed auto gearbox is great since it's harder to be found in the wrong gear when there's eight of them. Also, I'm sure that it helps acceleration since 8 speeds allows the engine to be kept on the boil. An 8-speed manual - if one existed - however, would be a right pain.

If you buy a V70 of that era then the D4 makes a lot of sense since it performs very well and also has lower emissions than the D5. My VED is £30, whereas a D5 Geartronic will set you back £200.

(I also suspect that the D5 was quietly dropped in 2014.)

My intention is to keep the V70 for many years, until either it stops functioning or I stop driving.

I wouldn't say the same if it were any other brand, however.

When I was looking for my next car early last year, I also test drove a 2015 V70 D4 with 146K on the clock and, if anything, it was an even more solid car. It showed absolutely no signs of high mileage. It was, however, only an SE and was missing some of the bells and whistles that I wanted. Also, I was happier to get a car that was a only few months older but with 49K less miles on the clock. Just seemed to make sense.

What this says, however, is that whatever car you do buy, just ensure that it's been well looked after.