I too, was "totally confused" by Consumer Reports knock on the 99 S/V 70. I haven't seen too many complaints about them on the brickboard.

One of the weak points of the CR ratings is that it doesn't distinguish between severity of failures within a category. For example, x70 models have a problem with the front turn signal bulbs heating up and burning their contacts and the sockets. CR would rate this as an "electrical problem", but would give it equal weight to a car that stopped dead on the highway from a short circuit or an alternator failure.

The recommendation to look at the RWD V90 from 1998 may be a good one for you. They depreciate faster than the V70, so you can get a better value, and if you are unsure about the quality of the 70 series, the V90 is a known commodity.

FWIW, my 99 has had only 4 problems:

Passenger window switch DOA

Immobilizer antenna flaky from new

low coolant sensor got stuck in the on position

turn signal bulb/socket

all were fixed under warranty