Which Volvo for the Isle of Man

[Bennymanx]

Hi folks,

We’re finally in a position to sell our Ford Fusion (family of five in a fusion = no fun). We used have an old v70 which we loved but just wasn’t worth repairing. We were thinking of getting another V70 but the last one a 2.4 turbo I think, was extremely thirsty on the Manx roads so I was thinking of a diesel but then have read that they like long journeys (difficult on a rock in the Irish Sea!) Any advice would be most appreciated, our budget is around 6 - 7k.

[sherman]

You probably dont need a diesel for your mileage
Would something like an xc90 or a v50 work if you can get a petrol one ?

[47p2]

Anything without a DPF

[Bennymanx]

We were thinking of a xc90, just hoped to get something reasonably economical....... Is there an xc90 model that members can recommend? I’m not particularly mechanically minded so I’m not sure which ones have particulate filters?? Thanks for the help folks, buying the wrong car when you live on an island can be a painful and costly mistake!

[wiliferus]

XC90 and reasonably economical are not things that go together. Mine, a 197 with DPF gets mid 20s mpg. If you want a non DPF model you have to go for a Mk1 163 version which will all be getting long in the tooth now, and also suffer from prop shaft spline issues. I’ve never owned one but doubt the MPG on the 163 is much better than the DPF models.

The flip side is the 163 in a V70 (manual) was superb. I struggled to get it to drop below high 40s MPG.

Any petrol Volvo of the generation you’re looking at isn’t going to return you huge MPG. The 2.4 is a thirsty beast on urban driving whether turbo’d or not.

Maybe a 2.0 petrol V50 may be a compromise? But not very big.

[MYOB]

The v50 is too small for a family of 5.

[Bennymanx]

We’re not intending to do big trips in it as we’ve got a camper for going to the big smoke! Are v50’s any good?

[DavidY]

I have a V50 (bought it new as they sold them off cheap as the V40 was released), its just passed 160K miles, touching a lot of wood, has been very reliable, but...

Its quite cramped in the back, if you have a tallish driver, I'm just over 6ft, and although adults can travel in the back its not very comfortable.

Its an old chassis design now, based on a Mk1 Focus, so in terms of ride, its certainly showing its age.

On the plus side, its very cheap to run (low cost third party servicing, and 40K out of a set of tyres), does 55-60mpg (Diesel D2), great climate control system, comfortable front seats, decent stereo, good mile eater.

[Bennymanx]

Thanks Dave, i think the v70 is obvious choice for us, does anyone know if they all have particulate filters?

[blearyeyedboy]

I know it's heresy round these parts but if you want something bigger than a V50 but more economical than a V70 or XC90, then I think the car you're looking for is not a Volvo.

Mondeo estate?
Skoda Superb?

[wiliferus]

Bennymanx said:

Thanks Dave, i think the v70 is obvious choice for us, does anyone know if they all have particulate filters?

The older generation D5 Euro 3, 163bhp is DPF free. Basically pre 2005, pre facelift. There were a few facelift 163 ‘Holy Grail’ cars made - I owned one and it was a peach. I think you’ll not go far wrong with a V70 D5. One point of note is if you go manual, bear in mind the clutch is a ~£1000 job, so look for that having been done in the history, or make sure the clutch is strong.

[elanfan]

You might need to stretch your budget a bit but how about this:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

[Bennymanx]

That would be a stretch! Nice though. Thanks folks for all your help, maybe I do need a re-think or maybe I just need to accept the low mpg for a lovely safe motor.