New XC70 owner
Discussion
I've just taken ownership of a 58-plate XC70 that would appear to have it's original Pirelli Scorpion Zero boots on. It's done 31,000 miles and I reckon there are about 4,000 miles left so I'm needing to start the search for replacements.
I live in the sticks and snow is a significant possibility, but my commute for the next year is heavily motorway biased (about 90% of the route will be motorway, the last 10% sub B-road and private track). Does anyone have any experiences / suggestions for replacement 235/55/17 tyres?
(p.s. I've tried the search and found drips and drabs of people suggesting the odd make/model of tyre, but that's it)
Dr Rick
I live in the sticks and snow is a significant possibility, but my commute for the next year is heavily motorway biased (about 90% of the route will be motorway, the last 10% sub B-road and private track). Does anyone have any experiences / suggestions for replacement 235/55/17 tyres?
(p.s. I've tried the search and found drips and drabs of people suggesting the odd make/model of tyre, but that's it)
Dr Rick
I am on my third set of scorpions. They are a good motorway tyre - not much road noise and give pretty good grip if you end up somewhere more boggy. Although they are m&s rated we put winters on the last few years and there is a bit of a difference. With proper winter tyres the car is unstoppable. The xc70 makes a great motorway cruiser, apart from the fuel economy which isn't great. It is also fairly speed dependent - you'll get about 10mpg more at 70 than 85! Enjoy the car. We've had ours since new and that was six years and 100k miles ago!
Spoke to the dealer in Edinburgh who had a new Ocean Challenge version sat in the showroom. It starts with a base spec car and adds badges, leather and a bit of lanyard rope for the load area cover. And for that you have to pay top money. This one was sat at about £38k I think.
I did however notice a difference between the idle noise in mine (MY09) versus a new one (MY11) that also parks in the nursery car park. Mine definitely has that diesel rattle on idle more than the new one that is more of a light buzzing sound. Mind you, when you press on it sounds little like a diesel and more petrol like.
The only criticism I have is the gearbox action. Given the torque of the diesel, the gearbox seems very keen to drop a gear or two but then there is no real push of the torque kicking in. Seems like it drops too far. This is in comparison with my Discovery 4 which starts to pull like a train as soon as the gear drops.
Think I might go for replacement Scorpion Zeros if no one has any better ideas.
Dr Rick
I did however notice a difference between the idle noise in mine (MY09) versus a new one (MY11) that also parks in the nursery car park. Mine definitely has that diesel rattle on idle more than the new one that is more of a light buzzing sound. Mind you, when you press on it sounds little like a diesel and more petrol like.
The only criticism I have is the gearbox action. Given the torque of the diesel, the gearbox seems very keen to drop a gear or two but then there is no real push of the torque kicking in. Seems like it drops too far. This is in comparison with my Discovery 4 which starts to pull like a train as soon as the gear drops.
Think I might go for replacement Scorpion Zeros if no one has any better ideas.
Dr Rick
I'd go for Nokian WR G2s as the feedback from running them all year round on XC90's is very positive here http://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=102...
XC70's should be similar I would think.
Vredestein ultrac's may be also be worth a look.
Maybe some more info here specifically for XC70's
http://www.volvoforums.org.uk/forumdisplay.php?f=1...
XC70's should be similar I would think.
Vredestein ultrac's may be also be worth a look.
Maybe some more info here specifically for XC70's
http://www.volvoforums.org.uk/forumdisplay.php?f=1...
Another vote for the Nokians. We use them all year on our old v70. The car does muddy fields and motorways with equal ease. The winter grip was great for our winters - ie mostly cold slush, heavy rain and greasy / icy patches. Plus they are good value opposed to the Michelin Alpines etc.
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