I'm still looking round for a car to tempt me enough to buy one, and when I called in to a local dealer to look at a Mazda CX5 again I noticed a few pre registered Volvos on their forecourt. There was an XC60 R-design with £8k off and similar discounts on an S80 and some others.

Having looked at some broker sites there are great offers on the V70 and XC60 and they also do 5 years servicing for £500 which has me tempted. The V70 also seems very good on fuel, especially for an auto.

I'd not considered them before, assuming they would be out of budget, but they could be an option.

Does anyone here have any experience of them?

Mmm a Volvo ? Are they as good as they used to be ?

Mmm a Volvo ? Are they as good as they used to be ?

No idea, though they do feel very nice to sit in in the showroom. Neither the XC60 or V70 are new designs, but they seem well specced for the money.

I was looking at the v50 before the golf but that's history, yes they seem to be nice but what's underneath ? Volvomeg may e the best too answer your questions

The S80, V70, C30, S40 and V50 are all on run out. No more factory builds as far as I know. New models due soon. Hence the decent savings. My best mate has picked up a C30 2.0 R Design Lux brand new for a touch over 13k.

The S80/V70 are pretty good in D5 form, with the auto. Even better remapped

What do you want to know???

What year is it and what engine, drive train combo you looking at

The S80, V70, C30, S40 and V50 are all on run out. No more factory builds as far as I know. New models due soon.

It looks like a facelift for the first two, but the others are going for good.

What do you want to know???

What year is it and what engine, drive train combo you looking at

The pre reg ones were 13 plated D4s I believe.

The pre reg ones were 13 plated D4s I believe.

D4 in 2wd or 4wd as there differant engines in the XC60

D4 in 2wd or 4wd as there differant engines in the XC60

Not a clue. I wasn't looking closely at the time, then when I got home thought about them a bit more.

Ill go for a second look at the weekend.

The D3 and D4 is a fantastic engine, i would dare say its the best in the range in the 2wd cars as its basically a 5 pot single turbo diesel engine,

The D3 and D4 in the AWD cars is basically a detuned D5 5 pot twin turbo diesel engine,

The auto boxes are basically the same in all the D3.D4 and D5 engines in 2 and 4wd and fairly reliable altho benefit from oil changes if you intend to keep it for a few years

Don't bother looking at the D2 engine its rubbish compaired to the volvo engines

Almost bought an XC70 earlier this year as there was some crazy offers on... it was all going well, price, spec, size, quality... until i drove it... almost fell asleep awaiting the gearbox to change! - It was a D5 SELux. Yawn!

The engine (new, 240 bhp D5) connected to their 6-speed GearTronic box, was terrible, even when foot hard on the floor, it was unsatisfactory... Maybe something wrong, but dealer who came on the test drive with me thought it was FAB!

That was the end of the road for me and a Volvo... tried Audi's but A4 too small and A6 too pricey, Hyundai SantaFe was an option for a while, but dealer put me off... so went and bought an E250 CDi Estate.. much better engine and box (IMHO)

Al.

The D3 and D4 is a fantastic engine, i would dare say its the best in the range in the 2wd cars as its basically a 5 pot single turbo diesel engine,

The one I saw was an R-Design Nav D4 (163bhp) 2WD manual with the winter pack fitted which is right up my street.

I have a test drive booked on Sunday.

I must admit during my what seems like yearly "do I sell up and go for a diesel" I've been looking closely at volvos, how do you tell which engine they have fitted?

Apologies for the hijack

I must admit during my what seems like yearly "do I sell up and go for a diesel" I've been looking closely at volvos, how do you tell which engine they have fitted?

It varies slightly depending on the model, it seems.

I've been reading a bit more since the helpful posts above and this seems about right though there may be exceptions.

There's a 4 cylinder 1.6 with 115bhp which is usually a D2

There's a 5 cylinder 2.0 with either 150 (D3) , 163 (D4 2WD in some cars) or 177 (D4 2WD in others)

There's a 5 cylinder 2.4 with either 163 (D4 in 4WD) or 215bhp (D5)

Apologies for the hijack

Welcome aboard. It seems like an interesting place, and as usual there's a friendly Briskodian with the answers.

I think this is what you need

I think i need to buy a Retro Volvo as my driving and parking is getting quite poor now.

Just out of interest, I got a quote for insurance on the XC60 - cheaper than my bravo.....

Just out of interest, I got a quote for insurance on the XC60 - cheaper than my bravo.....

My 300bhp v70 is cheaper than it was to insure my octavia.

Although mine is nothing like the ones your looking at I'd recommend one.

I have an XC60 2.4d drivE manual. It's a 2WD economy model so emissions are 159g. This equates to £175 tax. It's basically a detained D5 with175 bhp which is plenty enough.

I came to this car from a 300bhp BMW 335i so initially hated it, as it was a massive compromise. As time has passed it's a fantastic family car. Really comfortable, spacious and economic compared to the Beemer. The mpg claims are fictitious and this model doesn't really fare any better than a 4 WD model. 35mpg at best.

If I was buying again I'd go for a 4WD D5. I feel a bit silly in the snow in what looks like a 4x4 when I'm skidding all over the road. Snow tyres would obviously eliminate this embarrassment.

The handling is not as good as a Beemer but is still good for a 2 tonne vehicle. It's an ideal tow car even for 2WD.

Be careful on the spec though. There are some cheap cars out there but they really are bare bones. I went for an SE Lux Premium model which ticks a lot of boxes but there are still a few toys that I miss from the Beemer.

In summary. A damn good comfortable family car.

As far as I'm aware, the D4 and anything below is 4 cylinder. Volvo are trying to phase out all 5 and 6 cylinder engines and chase the Eco dream!

Well, I had the test drive and liked it a lot.

It stops, goes and handles far better than I expected a car of that size to manage. It's obviously spacious and comfy, but being a pre-facelift one the interior is a little dated in some areas.

The fuel consumption was fairly tragic though - 33mpg on a sensible mixed run. If I wasn't paying for the diesel I'd be all over it, but it's making me stop and pause. It claims 49mpg mixed which is never going to happen.

I'm waiting for a call back to see what sort of figures they come up with for the finance and see if that helps persuade me one way or another.

Are you talking about the XC60? That hasn't had a facelift yet..

D3, D4 and D5 engines are all volvo 5 pot diesel engines, its only the D2 that is a 4 pot diesel engine

33mpg? Eek.