V70 170 bhp - does it feel underpowered
Discussion
dont driving anything that quick anymore, just sold our 4.4 L322 RR & 320d e46 touring, looking for something barge llike and a 2005 V70 SE 170 has come up for £1800 with 100k miles / fsh
am I going to be pleasantly surprised, I didn't feel the e46 320d was underpowered but its a smaller car, anyone had both?
will get trany flushed
am I going to be pleasantly surprised, I didn't feel the e46 320d was underpowered but its a smaller car, anyone had both?
will get trany flushed
I had a -99 v70 manual with the 170bhp and a -96 855 auto with the 140bhp, and in no way did they feel underpowered. Of course they won't be quick either, but you will be far from the slowest on the road.
What's interesting is that the 140bhp auto was as keen on petrol as the c70 T5 auto, while much, much slower.
What's interesting is that the 140bhp auto was as keen on petrol as the c70 T5 auto, while much, much slower.
thanks chaps, i realise its not going to set the world alight but neither did I want to struggle up some of our long motorway hills at 90, interesting on the MPG front, I do have the option of a T5 in exactly the same year and spec for very little more but assumed the MPG would be allot worse 
are the stereos and comfort as good as they say? 2005 SE spec.
are the stereos and comfort as good as they say? 2005 SE spec.
kapiteinlangzaam said:
I just got ride of my 05 SE.
The stereo should be the HU-850 Pro Logic II, which is indeed very epic.
The seats are also marvellous.
Is the T5 also on an 05 plate? If so (and its not ex-Plod) thats a very rare car. Epic engine, but anything above 20mpg is good going.
Mine is a -98 T5, since I started feeding it 98 octane (highest available in Sweden) it is returning >27mpg, on 95 octane it averages around 25, which is the same as the 140bhp 855 did.The stereo should be the HU-850 Pro Logic II, which is indeed very epic.
The seats are also marvellous.
Is the T5 also on an 05 plate? If so (and its not ex-Plod) thats a very rare car. Epic engine, but anything above 20mpg is good going.
No idea why yours was so thirsty. Having fun in mine equals a tad over 20, normal is 27.5 on 98 octane, and on a run at 70mph around 34mpg on 95 octane, haven't tried it on 98 yet.
Mine had an aftermarket MAF that finally gave up and once I swapped for a genuine Bosch, the mpg increased and even more with the use of higher octane petrol.
Mine had an aftermarket MAF that finally gave up and once I swapped for a genuine Bosch, the mpg increased and even more with the use of higher octane petrol.
Mine is an auto too, and to further complicate things, the c/s/v70 all weigh about the same 
The more recent T5 models do not seem to have the explosive "kick-up-our-butt" power delivery as the older versions were known for, don't know if that matters for LPG conversions and possible problems in the long run though.
The more recent T5 models do not seem to have the explosive "kick-up-our-butt" power delivery as the older versions were known for, don't know if that matters for LPG conversions and possible problems in the long run though.
checking out the facelift changes & I quite like them, the stereo changes are described as direct access buttons, I take it there were no changes to the stereo itself? I'd like it to be as good as its predecessors, anyone heard the ML system in the Lexus for comparison? pretty much the bench mark I think.
£1800 for 100k miler in good condition sound like good value? put the reg through webuyanycar and it appears a good price.
£1800 for 100k miler in good condition sound like good value? put the reg through webuyanycar and it appears a good price.
I don't know much about the HU stereos, but if you have the chance to pick one with Dolby surround, then go for it. I have the older version SC in my c70 and it really is excellent, the head unit and amps are made by Alpine and the speakers are made by Dynaudio, and the sound is nothing short of spectacular.
info, cheers, used to be very into sound systems when I was young and used to compete in sound offs with my home built systems i'll be very interested to see how a good system stacks up, I only have the std system in our L322 Range Rover to mark it by these days, have heard the Mark Levinson system in the Lexus LS430 and that was pretty good tbh.
Is there anyone on this board that works for Volvo who can access the network? I might need to do some digging on the service history.
kapiteinlangzaam said:
I just got ride of my 05 SE.
The stereo should be the HU-850 Pro Logic II, which is indeed very epic.
The seats are also marvellous.
Is the T5 also on an 05 plate? If so (and its not ex-Plod) thats a very rare car. Epic engine, but anything above 20mpg is good going.
any idea what sort of MPG you were getting on a run? we only ever do a constant 60 or 80 and we dont have traffic.The stereo should be the HU-850 Pro Logic II, which is indeed very epic.
The seats are also marvellous.
Is the T5 also on an 05 plate? If so (and its not ex-Plod) thats a very rare car. Epic engine, but anything above 20mpg is good going.
do they respond to a MAP well (for mpg not hp)
kapiteinlangzaam said:
If you have the reg number, or even better the VIN, then call up Volvo UK customer service, they are usually very helpful
will give them a go monday I have a 170 with the manual gearbox. The engine is torquey enough, but does need high revs to extract the full 170bhp. I'd never call it underpowered though, and as a bonus the engine sounds great!
MPG wise you should see around 35mpg at a steady 60, maybe dropping to 30mpg at 80mph.
MPG wise you should see around 35mpg at a steady 60, maybe dropping to 30mpg at 80mph.
If you can get the T5 for a good price then I'd say go for it. You'd possibly regret not getting it at some point.
Mine has 204k miles on it now and still makes 38MPG at 70 mph on a run. A well looked after T5 (especially the 2004 onward 2.4 version)is an excellent car and the difference in MPG is miniscule when compared to the extra power under your right foot when you want it.
Oh, don't overlook the ex plods - there are some real gems out there. Admittedly, mine was a dog when I got it but she's all god now
Love this pic...
Mine has 204k miles on it now and still makes 38MPG at 70 mph on a run. A well looked after T5 (especially the 2004 onward 2.4 version)is an excellent car and the difference in MPG is miniscule when compared to the extra power under your right foot when you want it.
Oh, don't overlook the ex plods - there are some real gems out there. Admittedly, mine was a dog when I got it but she's all god now
Love this pic...
Finlandia said:
Mine is an auto too, and to further complicate things, the c/s/v70 all weigh about the same
The more recent T5 models do not seem to have the explosive "kick-up-our-butt" power delivery as the older versions were known for, don't know if that matters for LPG conversions and possible problems in the long run though.
looking at the possibility of the later T5 without lpg now, what do we think a post 2005 2.4 T5 'gaytronic' would do on a run (mpg wise) Autotrader are quoting 46 max which i'm thinking is a tad optimistic The more recent T5 models do not seem to have the explosive "kick-up-our-butt" power delivery as the older versions were known for, don't know if that matters for LPG conversions and possible problems in the long run though.
eta this pic, not sure this is the 850 stereo mentioned that's in the post facelift, cant quite make out the digits but it looks more like 605 which would be weird in a 2007 car, it is a an ex police though so I guess someone could have retro fitted the pre facelift 605??
Edited by Pvapour on Thursday 22 August 16:49
Edited by Pvapour on Thursday 22 August 16:51
you get a good service history with them though, other history I'm not so sure about 
but like you say, the spec level is low and that's quite important to me, the lure of a T5 that has a good mpg as the 170 I was looking at is very temting though, hey ho, onwards...
looking at a 2005 D5 SE at the moment but a weird one turned up on the MOT history, anyone got ideas on why the DVLA would choose to change the vehicle description half way through its life?
this is how the VOSE check reads
but like you say, the spec level is low and that's quite important to me, the lure of a T5 that has a good mpg as the 170 I was looking at is very temting though, hey ho, onwards...looking at a 2005 D5 SE at the moment but a weird one turned up on the MOT history, anyone got ideas on why the DVLA would choose to change the vehicle description half way through its life?
this is how the VOSE check reads
The later plod spec cars didn't have cruise or foglights, among other things. Mine is a 2003 and has basic climate control, cruise, foglights and 5 alloys.
The picture above is of a facelift model with a pre 2004 stereo fitted. That must have been a pain as they would have needed the code to get it running. The later facelift models don't need the stereo coding. You can also fit a steering wheel with cruise buttons and it's just a case of having the function activated through dice/vida.
Fitting leather seats and doorcards isn't too hard either, i got a full interior from my local scrappy for £55.50 and fitted it in 4 hours, including the roof lining.
The picture above is of a facelift model with a pre 2004 stereo fitted. That must have been a pain as they would have needed the code to get it running. The later facelift models don't need the stereo coding. You can also fit a steering wheel with cruise buttons and it's just a case of having the function activated through dice/vida.
Fitting leather seats and doorcards isn't too hard either, i got a full interior from my local scrappy for £55.50 and fitted it in 4 hours, including the roof lining.
Edited by martinrpeachey on Friday 23 August 07:30
martinrpeachey said:
The later plod spec cars didn't have cruise or foglights, among other things. Mine is a 2003 and has basic climate control, cruise, foglights and 5 alloys.
The picture above is of a facelift model with a pre 2004 stereo fitted. That must have been a pain as they would have needed the code to get it running. The later facelift models don't need the stereo coding. You can also fit a steering wheel with cruise buttons and it's just a case of having the function activated through dice/vida.
Fitting leather seats and doorcards isn't too hard either, i got a full interior from my local scrappy for £55.50 and fitted it in 4 hours, including the roof lining.
that pretty cheap & If I had the time I would tackle it but I dont The picture above is of a facelift model with a pre 2004 stereo fitted. That must have been a pain as they would have needed the code to get it running. The later facelift models don't need the stereo coding. You can also fit a steering wheel with cruise buttons and it's just a case of having the function activated through dice/vida.
Fitting leather seats and doorcards isn't too hard either, i got a full interior from my local scrappy for £55.50 and fitted it in 4 hours, including the roof lining.
Edited by martinrpeachey on Friday 23 August 07:30
tbh I think the 185 std or even the 163 mapped would be plenty, I think my original 170 plans are thwarted somewhat by the fact that more power can be had for the similar outlay with no difference in MPG, it makes buying a 170 a little difficult for me, even the earlier 163 with a map is going to be more fun, all be it pre 2005.
mnkiboy said:
I'd say it's a mistake by whoever updated the reg plate details, as it happened on the same date. Perhaps they accidentally deleted the make/model at the same time and had to re-type it. I wouldn't worry about it.
thanks, I'll pursue it further then, Volvo customer services are very helpful 
I'm now hunting for a D5, auto, post 2005 with FSH for £3k, 150k>200k miles, may need to visit auctions but I'm getting very close with two days searching and talking to dealers, privately I've just missed one
if anyone hears of anything
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