Hi All,
Had 1991 740, 940 and now 2004 V70.
Looking for opinions on the 3rd GEN. V70
How much has Fords input improved/screwed things up?
Reliability?
Likes/dislikes
Are the seats as comfy?
cheers ian

A few months late to the thread. We have a 2008 V70 3.2 that is wonderful. 115,000 miles and the only problem has been a failed alternator.

We're a family of four, all 6'+ and recently drove from Memphis to Dallas and back for an overnight. I've driven 12 hours straight and love this car for city and highway use. Solid, quiet, quick enough even loaded and on the Dallas trip we averaged 28mpg while cruising 80mph with the four of us and luggage.

It's my wife's car but we use it for traveling instead of my F150. It's our 5th Volvo and it's a great car.

Erwin
'88 745T 200,000+ miles
'95 855T (My favorite) 200,000+ miles
'01 945T 200,000+ miles
'07 C70 98,000 miles
'08 V70 3.2 (Superb highway muncher) 115,780 miles

One thing I would note is that our '12 XC70 has a much livelier throttle response than our '08 - get a later model if you can. (I guess this is true of all cars!)

We have two XC70s, a '08 and a '12.

The '12 is a front wheel drive base model that we purchased new for 26K - a steal IMHO - we really do not miss the extras that our loaded '08 has.

We just drove from Massachusetts to Minnesota across Canada with a FULL load of my daughter's stuff - 27.5 MPG, Plenty of punch for the passing lanes every 15k or so.

If you know of any articles about Ford influence on Volvo, I'd like to see them. I figure that Volvo influenced Ford - their big SUV was built on a S80 platform - they never advertised turbos as they have after Volvo.

We sold off our P2s and both got P3 XC70 T6s.

This is dream station wagon -- excellent powertrain @ 300 h.p. w/ near-zero vibration.

I call it a rocket enclosed minitruck (we keep the rear seat collapsed).

Excellent road-trip car....for rural / mountain night driving, I recommend to buy one with Active Bending Lights (headlights steer in the direction of a curve). 27 mpg on open highway.

Yes, the front bucket seats are rated the best in the luxury wagon market.

No harder to work on than 240s, 850s, S60s, V70s. So far I've done AWD service, tranny flush, spark plugs, battery, removed front bumper (to de-crater radiator fins), air filter box, pollen filter.

Changing a headlight bulb is finally EASY -- the Volvo engineers listened to all the complaints about the P2s. The entire headlight assy. slides out forward, then easy access to bulbs.

Thanks all for the comments

I know so little of the 3rd generation cars. I've only looked at 3 or 4 of them.

1) Avoid the screwy motorized ignition fob socket. I read they fail.

2) Isn't the blower motor buried deeply in the dash such that failed units have prompted owners to sell.

3) The 3.2 I6 drinks fuel.

My friend’s 2011 XC T6 actually gets pretty good highway mileage. Seen 26 mpg on long trips. That’s the same as my old 240. Don’t know what it delivers in town. She doesn’t keep track....
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Will I buy another Volvo??? We'll see....

Hi Ian,

IMOHO, each generation of Volvo is better than the last. When I say better, I mean that Mother Volvo progressively improved just about everything. For instance, you know all those electrical gremlins that you fight in your 7/940? A 2004 V70 will have (almost) none of those. With the advancements in reliability and efficiency came some nits, problem points, but they are well-documented. IMO, the biggest thing to look out for is a car that hasn't been well-maintained. I don't think they stand up to neglect as well as the older RWD (red block) cars.

Comfort is a bit subjective, but IMO the front seats in the 2001-2007 V70s are the most comfortable seats of any car I've ever strapped myself into.

Please forget about any ideas that Ford's influence screwed anything up for Volvo. Ford gained from Volvo; Volvo did not suffer for it. You may see a lot of parts labelled "FoMoCo" but not because Volvo was drawing from the Ford parts bin. Ford was using Volvo's designs.

Best,
Will
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XC60 / Odyssey

Opps maybe I goofed. I have 2 2004 V70, 2.4NA, 5sp. Shy of being a little anemic the cars are great. Yes crazy comfy seats.
I was looking for lived experience with the 2007+ generation.
I live in a crazy winter salt environment and even far better corrosion protected V70's (vs 740/940) show signs of that harsh environment.
SUVs, PU's and minivans are about the only choice now if you want space to carry toys now.

I perhaps deserve some credit for the confusion too.

My experience with the 3rd generation (2008+) cars. My parents have had a 2009 XC70 with the 3.2 for the past 7 years/100+k. It's been largely trouble free for them.
The seats don't adjust in the same way as the earlier models so I find it impossible to find that sweet spot of comfort that I had in the older model. As far as driving, the six cylinder is silky smooth with plenty of power. My initial reaction to driving it was that it feels like driving nothing at all; a direct but soft, effortless, coddled experience.

Since you mentioned minivans, I've been quite happy with my 3rd gen Honda Odyssey (excepting the frail transmission). Not nearly refined as our Volvos, but comfortable, reliable, and people/cargo space for days.

Happy Hunting,
Will
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XC60 / Odyssey