Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see May lease deals!
Options
Popular New Cars
Popular Used Sedans
Popular Used SUVs
Popular Used Pickup Trucks
Popular Used Hatchbacks
Popular Used Minivans
Popular Used Coupes
Popular Used Wagons
Comments
what you'd face anywhere, anytime, unless you go off-road. Afterall, it wasn't that long ago that most people were driving in all sorts of adverse conditions with RWD and a couple of bags of sand in the trunk.
AWD is for that intangible peace-of-mind, and a certain amount of "cool" factor!
Just remember that AWD is no substitute for winter tires. AWD might let you accelerate, but it won't help much with stopping or turning. Just ask those SUV drivers you see in the ditch during every winter storm.
You can get a Volvo 2.5T AWD if you want AWD without all of the extra plastic cladding and cost of the XC.
I have the Volvo Nav system and think it's great. Someone just posted a huge evaluation with lots of pictures on the R forum of swedespeed.com, if you're really interested.
If you live north of I90 or north of NJ and want to go to work early, maybe stay late, and stop somewhere on the way home before you head into the barn at 8PM or so, AWD is the only way to fly. Its a real productivity tool when everyone else is leaving work early to rush to get home before it gets worse. I figure, no joke, that AWD gives me many more productive hours each winter. I can get in early, not get alarmed about impending weather, stay late, always get out of the parking lot alone after everyone else has left, get in a workout after work, drive home in solitude, etc. Could I do all this with a set of spare wheels and good Blizzaks ($1000)? Probably. But I'd rather be in control, not the weather.
Volvo wagon tops for family
XC70 occupants wrapped in safety
Better resale opportunity, as well as the peace of mind of AWD.
The V70 AWD is a waste of $$$, same price as an XC70, but w/out the increased ride height or the mud-snow tires. Resale not as good as an XC70.
3rd seat can be installed at any time, so you could always put one in later. Its meant for kids over the age of 3 anyway.
Boosters are available as a stand alone option.
Fairly popular option for the wagons.
The nav system works well, not a streamlined as some.
There are some good deals available now, overseas is nice if you have the time, or want a specially configured wagon.
Good Luck!
Some of us like the standard ride height, though. If you can afford a new V70 AWD, you can afford Blizzaks, too. :-)
I would go after a clean, good condition used wagon, but we are firm in our desire for VNS and I can't find any used wagons that have it installed. So, its new Volvo or bust.
If the third row seat can be added later, is it possible to add the booster seats later as well?
I too wanted a V70 AWD but was told that it had to be special ordered. One interesting reason that a sales person mentioned is that the awd system is in short supply. XV90s have the same system, as do some S60s. It would seem to make sense as the AWD system would be a rate limiting step for producing XC70 but not the V70. I don't believe that resale value will be much better XC70, especially since the V70 awd is so rare and it is far more attractive than the "rubbermaid 70".
The real resaon there are no V70 AWD's is because
1 it is a special order car
2 The public prefers the XC70 by a wide margin.
Dealers stock what sells, and the XC70 outsells the regular wagons by itself
2003 year to date ALL V70's 8,934
2003 year to date XC70 12,880
Source Volvo Cars North America.
We can't keep used Cross Countrys in stock and the V70's just sit.
Remember, sometimes cars are rare for a reason.
My ability to find a new XC70 like this or my ability to get one in a relatively short period of time is going to factor into my decision about which car I buy. I don't have the luxury to wait a few months for a car and I will not be able to schedule an overseas visit to do an OSD.
Any info would be appreciated.
Like you, I am in the process of getting an XC70. Volvomax, being a dealer, obviously knows best as he lives this market on a daily basis. But I will share my experiences, FWIW...
You asked about the booster seats, and from an earlier post I believe you have one small child. The $300 booster seats, in my opinion, are a totally brilliant option that are worth every penny. We have three small children, all still in some form of carrier or booster seat. (Oldest is almost 6 and is almost ready to "graduate" out of the booster seat, but it is still close.) That option on the XC70 was a major influencer to me as I love the idea that I can put 2 of my 3 on the built-in seats and then tuck them away when they are not needed and I need to take clients, etc. There is NO reason to not get these out of the gate - plus I am sure they can't be added later like the 3rd row seats.
As for the heavily-optioned version you describe, my experience here in central Ohio is that dealers ONLY stock one flavor of XC70: Premium, booster seats, Touring Package. Basically comes out to about $38,835 to $39,500, depending on paint color. Both local dealers said the same thing: They ONLY get that combination in unless it is a special order (~8 weeks). I wanted the upgraded stereo added and he said the liklihood of finding one was going to be "next to impossible."
Overall the XC seems to be a good vehicle and from a resale POV much better than the normal wagons, as has been stated elsewhere.
Good luck! Keith
The car you want will be Very hard to find.
Nav can be dealer installed, although the cost increases. DSTC can't.
Dealers shy away from expensive XC70's because of the XC90
If I have to go to Sweden to get the car, I will probably not buy a Volvo.
So, does anybody know of another vehicle that isn't an SUV or a Minivan that offers the same kinds of features (especially the third row and booster seats)?
Anyways. I guess if I can get most of what I want in a pre-owned car, it would still be a good option. I just need to check on the whole navigation thing.
Because I am leery of the expected life on Blizzaks (I only got a two seasons--15K-- out of them on a Jeep) and want to try something else, I'm thinking that if the TireRack stamped steel wheels plus wheel covers are about $56 each (incidentally, this is cheap compared to local junk yards!) plus some significant shipping ($80 or so?), why not look locally for some used or take-off 17" alloy wheels from a T5 and run the tires I really want to run? If I run the same size tire (215x55) with the 17" taller wheel, won't I have more ground clearance, be more winter capable, look a little different, etc? Or, can I run even larger tires (e. g., 235x55's)?
Questions:
1)Will the 17" T5 wheels mess up the AWD? (The local dealer parts guy thought so; I think not).
2) Can I use another 17" alloy from a different car that will still fit (I guess the offset is "43") the XC and be more readily available and cheaper?
3) What does the board think is the best winter tire?
a)CR says Dunlop Winter Sports,
b) some of the Volvoistas, especially the Canadians, say Hakkapaleta's,
c)people on other boards talk about Michelin Artic Alpines (I think that France should be immediately approached to donate 100 complete, mounted and balanced sets of these, shipped freight prepaid by Federal Express to the US Special Forces for use on their Hummers in the Afgan mountains before another container load is handled in a US port) and
d) most of the Volvo dealers push tire/wheel packages from Gislaved (sp?)yet I've never seen a report on them. I think that Volvo sells these because of their historical relationship with the company, not out of any superiority issues (i. e., that they are really better for the Volvo customer). I have the impression that the stack of Gislaved's all mounted and balanced by the dealer's front door is probaby the highest profit margin transaction in the whole store.
Whaddya think?
There is alot of work involved in installing a Nav system, but any Volvo dealer can handle it without any problems.
Since I live in Arizona I really can't help you w/ snowtires, sorry
I like the Michelin Arctic Alpins. Great on dry roads and they've never left me stuck in Boston to Cape Cod to Maine winter driving on my Ody. I've put about 15K on them over 3 winters (appx 11/15 - 4/15) and expect them to last another 3.
I think I'll try the Artic Alpines. Is your ODY AWD or FWD? Cape Cod to Maine or Block Island to Bangor in February is the acid (artic?) test. Can you get Artic Alpines at Sears? Thanks for not pointing out that they probably don't come in the load capacity for a Hummer.
My Odyssey is FWD. I bought the Alpins from Tirerack on steel rims for around $600. I got quotes from Direct Tire, Hogan Tire, and BJ's. They were all more than the Tirerack even with the shipping. Direct Tire was over $1200 for the set and I didn't like their Tiffany's attitude!! In essence: "yeah we can get those lousy Michelins if you want to be cheap but we highly suggest our $1600 winter tire package."
I didn't try Sears or NTB - worth a shot.
Good Luck.
I was thinking about DSTC, since the V70 is not an AWD vehicle, to give some added safety in bad weather conditions.
Does anyone out there actually have the DSTC that can give some input?
I have read the entire town hall discussions over the past couple of days...
I feel that most of the disappoinments of the car is related to high expectations of a car with this price tag new....
I am a newbie... What should I expect to get out of owning this Volvo?
What kind of owner experience should I expect? I am realistic to know that a car is
firstly an expense not otherwise. Cost of ownership is not just gas, oil and tires...
Thoughtful ownership involves maintenance. Heck any car is a carefully engineered mass of moving parts. And moving parts are subject to the laws of physics.. things can break down eventually.
That being said... oh and also most repairs aren't done at home.. The computers in the vechicles today make that difficult plus the other specialized tools as well.
What can I expect in owning a T5 2001 with 29,000 miles and that is certified????
Are there potential lemon warnings? Are there "chacteristics" specific to this year and make/model??
pitfalls?
Advantages: well safety if first most, performance ties that -- all at a cost. sure lower MPG, it is a heavy car right??
Any thoughts/comments are welcome.
Thanks!
v.pham
At 20,000 miles following problems started.
1. On accelerating moderately from a stop automatic gear upshifting takes place normally. When fifth gear is selected it stays in the unlocked mode. The revs slowly drop from 2000+ RPM to 1500 RPM over a period of 1 – 2 seconds. Then, the car shudders for a couple of seconds. I assume this is due to successively locking and unlocking the torque converter. Finally, it unlocks and the revs increase once again to 2000+ RPM while remaining in fifth gear. The car is now going faster and when lock-up finally takes place again the revs. remain above1500 RPM. (I know which gear the car is in by momentarily selecting manual before and after the conditions I describe):
2. Occasionally, under very light throttle in top gear it seems that the road is very rough and the car shudders. When manual transmission is selected the road once more “becomes smooth.” I believe the shuddering is due to a rapid hunting in the transmission.
3. Occasionally, when coasting from fifth gear to a stop a shuddering takes place at about 10 MPH. I do not know what gear is selected at that time.
After endless dealer discussions and a new transmission the problems continue to worsen.
This is absolutely unacceptable for this class of vehicle.
Am I the only person with these problems? Can anybody suggest a solution?
Oh, and did I mention: The door locking system is unstable. Sometimes the driver’s door unlocks/locks itself. Apparently the dealer has never seen such a thing before.
Is this true? Is it really that the case if you want to have a CD Changer? I am disappointed that pretty much every XC70 only comes in with the standard stereo and to get the upgrade you have to order from the factory. (I don't have the luxury of waiting - I have to get a car this week.)
Does anyone have any insight into the options for adding a CD changer to the factory changer? I want to keep things as stock as possible.
Thanks a lot, Keith
After Volvo on-call came out and took care of that, I took it to the dealership. They weren't shocked (acted like they had seen this more than once), and replaced the locking mechanisms on both the front doors. I haven't had the problem since.
Hopefully you can get the dealer to change your locks with too much hassle.
Volvomax, I have not tried to remove the center arm rest in the back. Good idea. I'll let everyone know how that turns out. It is really an issue now because the inlaws are visiting from the states.
As for could the armrest cause harm to an infant? Absolutely. The child seat base is only about 2 1/2 inches high, and the seat sits down into it, adding only another inch or so. The arm rest could come down in combination with the seat flapping up since it is only mounted in the rear to the seat belt. It's possible.
955- Door locks- We had the same issue with our '01 T5. The dealer replaced the drivers lock and both key fobs. All is well now.
No real transmission problems. I am not a geartronic lover but that is what we have. My wife and I do wish the car was a manual very often.
Have to agree with 956 about the CD changer. I have both a single and a changer in my truck and we normally only just the single. The V70 has a single player and that is fine. Don't miss a changer. To each their own.
Has anyone had their hood or other body panels repaired or replaced due to hail damage on their Volvo? I am waiting on the insurance company to send an adjuster. Wish us luck.
Major service intervals are every 30k.
The upcoming 30k service will have been done under the cert. program if the car has 29,000 miles on it.
Tires are high performance so they wear out every 25-30,000 miles.
Oil changes every 7500 miles, or sooner if you feel the need.
There are no "lemom" warnings.
The headlight wiring upgrade should have been done.
MPG is a function of your foot. Drive responsibly and the car should get @ 20 mpg city and @ 28 mpg highway.
Good Luck!
CD Changer
Yes you have to wire for the changer, which involves gutting a good portion of the interior. Also, new panels have to be installed in the cargo area because the changer sticks up out of the floor. Adding an aftermarket changer is virtually impossible given the software needs of the Volvo system.
A 4cd stereo could be installed in the dash, although I don't know if its really any cheaper.
I can say I've seen many of these wagons on the roads, lending me to believe they are popular for a reason. I have heard good and bad things about the competing Audi A4 Avant. Comparisons or advantages between those cars, besides the obvious size difference, would be appreciated.
Any other wagon suggestions are appreciated as well.
Go with the single in-dash unit and put your road collection in a small box. Take the money you would have spent and buy some winter tires and wheels. (Incidentally, with the big push given to tire/wheel packages, there are a number of good deals in the "shopper" type publications for used sets. Disregard the claimed mileage (Blizzaks don't wear well) and evaluate the deal as though the seller was offerring simply a set of wheels.)
If I'm willing to skip automatic air and a power driver's seat, a base model with automatic and a 2.5T are same/same. All the good stuff about a Volvo for $2300 less. Anybody out there sorry about buying the non-turbo version?
For the record, I live in a small city with a tiny Volvo dealer who never has more than 15 Volvos on the lot and 2 or 3 loaded up turbo wagons. I've had no opportunity to drive a base V70. I tend to think the buying public has lost it's collective mind over horsepower. The 168hp engine ought to push a 3300lb vehicle perfectly well. It hasn't been long since a 5500lb Chevy Suburban had a 200hp engine. Any thoughts?
In a perfect world I would have loved to get the XC70 with more hp and AWD, but I did a couple of test-drives and the 168 hp is more than adequate for my needs. It had more pickup getting on the highways than my 1.8T Passat wagon that it is replacing. As some previous posts mentioned, 98% of the time you will never need AWD. Up until 10 years ago, everyone was driving heavy, RWD sedans and AWD was not available (other than 4WD for heavy jeeps)
I am taking delivery on November 1st (why have a brand new car in my driveway for Halloween, to be a target for eggs and other mischief?) so I will be able to report back on my satisfaction in a few weeks.
Hopefully my new car will not be plagued with some of the problems mentioned in earlier posts (auto door lock problem, transmission shifting, etc).
I am considering these 2 wagons and can not decide.
thank you
My two biggest issues are the 'drive-by-wire' acceleration and the brakes.
Drive-by-wire. This means that instead of a direct linkage from the gas pedal to the engine, a computer senses the pressure on the gas pedal and decides what gear the transmission should be in. This causes a nice little pause (I have been told this is NOT a turbo-lag issue), that is very annoying when you are stopped a a stop sign or trying to accelerate onto a highway. For 1-2 seconds you feel like you are in a dead stop, with zero acceleration! If you are considering a standard-shift Passat, this will not be a factor. I have been told that Audi, Mercedes, Volvo (and other European makers) all have similar issues with the 'drive-by-wire' technology, although I cannot see that to be the case. I cannot see Mercedes drivers tolerating such a poorly designed acceleration issue!
Brakes. When pulling out of my driveway in reverse in the morning, the brakes would not work. This is not a good thing! After several trips to VW (they thought I was crazy since they could not replicate the problem in their shop), they brought in the white lab-coat guys. Suddenly, people seemed to know about this problem and there apparently are many VW drivers who have the same problem, and a TSB/recall is in the works. They probably would have tried to cover it up, like they unsuccessfully did with the ignition coil recall, but too many people were complaining! There apparently is a problem with the master cylinder seals losing brake fluid pressure, and this happens when the car has not been used for an extended period of time (i.e. overnight). I was told to let the car idle for a couple of minutes before driving away, that I should not be in such a rush to throw the car into reverse when starting the engine. That is an unacceptable answer, and to this date they have not yet come up with any parts to fix the situation. My wife is afraid to drive it, every time she gets in the car she does not trust the brakes!
VW also was very underhanded trying to cover up such a major recall as the ignition coils. If our local Fox news channel had not exposed the issue, they probably would never have admitted the widespread defective ignition coil problem!
I can't tell you how the Volvo experience will compare, since I have never owned a Volvo prior to the one I am getting next week. But I must say that I will never get another VW, and since they are related, I would never take a chance with an Audi product either!
965 .. I wish you luck .... the drive by wire and lags and shudders and unexpected aspects of this drive train are most annoying to me ... I live in Phoenix so never see snow but I have spent many years in snow and if I was in snow country I would be dreading the upcoming season .. There appears to be almost no way to ease off a standing start (except the "winter" transmission setting) ..
I have been to dealer several times and am going back .. I get the exact things you describe ... the lag as the system decides what its going to do , especially when pulling out then nailing it to accellerate in traffic .. scares the bejeebers out of you , sometimes its almost a 2 second delay while it makes up its mind to go ..
I am going to work on the dealer again , because I have now driven it almost 4000 miles and am beginning to think it could be as simple as a bad /intermittent throttle sensor ... as a "scratchy or noisy " potentiometer ..
Good Luck ... apparently they are not all as bad as the one I got ... Hank
I have no idea if the new Lexus is drive-by-wire but the owners' complaints are similar to yours........shuddering at specific speeds, slow to downshift, scary feeling when they stomp on the pedal and nothing happens for a second or two, and generally confused about what the driver wants.
Are you saying the Volvo turbo models are drive-by-wire and the base models are not?
The highest end audio surround sound systems for Volvo have DynAudio speakers which are beyond anything I've heard in a car (including Logic7 and Mark Levinson - of course these two and Volvo's system are all Harman derived systems.)
I highly suggest you gather your favorite dynamic CD and arrange a test at your local dealership.
Good luck.
-rollie
rdollie@att.net
Is this drive-by-wire concept in virtually all luxury cars? Does any one company actually have it perfected?
As for perfection, hard to say.
The systems that are out now are much better than what was available 2-3 yrs ago.
People will just have to get used to the feel of the drive by wire system, and its different feel.