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Hi Dick, I just bought an 01 V70 and I agonized over this same issue. We have 1 14 year old so no baby stuff to haul either. I took a used V40 from a used dealer for about a week. It was in mint condition and a local car with only 37K miles. But when I picked up my buddy to go to a meeting,we were just about rubbing shoulders. We're both about 6' tall and 200# or so. I've heard of some problems with the early 00, 01 V40's, so if your son bought a 99 V70, I doubt it would cost much more than say, an 01 V40. THe other thing I noticed was mileage. I didn't find the mileage any better on the cramped V40 than I do on my V70. We also have a friend with a V40 wagon and she confirms this as her mileage is no better than mine and perhaps a bit worse. I get about 29.5 mpg highway, and 24 city driving (if I keep my foot out of the turbo!). The mileage was the final kicker... if the V40 got 5-10mpg better, I'd have to look at it closer with today's gas prices, but if it's the same, I'll stick with the V70 which has better impact protection with a complete side air curtain, and many other improvements and Volvo calls it "The safest car they've ever made" which is what lead me to Volvo cars many years ago and that's all I've bought since. Good luck!
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Don 01 V70 2.4T & 96 850S
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