My son, a Volvo, tech and salesman recommends the 2001 or newer XC. He says there are less AWD problems with the 2001 or newer.
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Leon Ramseur in NC, 2001 V70XC, 1997 855, & 1990 745.

I traded in my old 98’ XC on a 04’ XC. Really love the overall design. You may want to see the service history concerning factory recalls. The reason I am saying this is 1998 was the first year XC came into the States. I had a lot of little problems with the car in the beginning. The dealer fixed all of them at no expense to me. I think the XC you are looking at should of have had all the corrections. I would recommend you have the auto transmission power flushed, I did every thirty thousand miles (30,000) in my mind it made a difference.

Hi Marc,

The 850/V70 was Volvo's intended replacement for the 2 decades old 240. I own both a 90 244 and a 99 V70 AWD. I think the Volvo did a great job in replacing the amazing 240. The V70 is incredibly safe. I was in a pretty bad accident in my previous car; 855T, and I can attest to it's safty. It's as hardy as the 240. Besides that, Volvo did a lot of things better in the 850/V70.

850s/V70s:
1)don't rust (much)
2)have comfortable seating
3)handle better
4)have more power
5)have a better layout
6)have AWD

My 240 has it's fair share of electronic issues. My V70, abeit much newer, has very few problems, electronic or other.

Snow-worthiness:

It really depends on what sort of offroading your going to be doing on whether or not this car makes sense. Dirt roads or logging roads are fine. Despite the name, the cross country is not an offroad vehicle. If that's what you want, go for the truck. On the highway or secondary roads in snow, the Volvo is a better option. Most 4WD trucks don't offer full time AWD, you've got to shift into 4WD high and your max speed is not too fast. That means, you're probably not going to use it on the highway. You never know when black ice, or a drift is going to be upon you at highway speeds. AWD, IMHO, is better for this reason. The volvo's also have a much lower center of gravity. High center of gravity and short wheel bases make SUVs unstable. How many times have you driven by SUVs in the ditch in your RWD volvo? I live in Vermont; 90 miles south of Montreal, I see it all of the time. SUVs are an American problem. I recommend you not make it yours! Sorry, I find SUVs really annoying!

I haven't had a problem with the AWD system. But I do try to take care of it. I'd start with flushing the Transmission oil when you purchase, no matter the number of miles on it - unless it's almost brand new.

Best of luck with whatever you buy,

~Ben

I live in the Seattle area so we might have some similarity in weather and topography. I have a 2000XC and am happy with it. By its nature the forum attracts the polar ends of the spectrum on this issue. There are many in the middle that are not heard from. Thus said, the 98-2000 xc's have a viscous coupling system. That is the source of many of the complaints. It is sensitive to unequal tire circumferences because relative speed differential is how the chip distributes power to each wheel. You must maintain equal tire pressures and equal tire wear patterns on all four tires to maintain long life for the system. For instance, if a tire becomes unserviceable and has to be replaced it is recommended that all four be replaced at the same time. In addition, 99 was the first year for software upgrades vs hardware upgrades for a couple of systems on the car. For that reason I looked for 99's and up vs the 98 model. If you could find a 99 xc on a Volvo lot that was one of their used Certified"(read extended warranty), that would be worth a serious look. If not, check the internet and purchase an extended warranty for the intended vehicle. More bells and whistles can mean potentially more problems, especially electrical ones. The extended warranty takes some of the worry out of the equation. My wife drives the car and won't even think about driving anything else. If wife is happy ...