I was thinking.....
 

I'm perfectly happy with my XC70, apart from the fact its auto:confused_smile: Never had one before, and its lovely, but i don't like auto, heyho.

Anyway I was thinking of how folks say the P2 was better than the P3, as it was all Volvo. Now what about the XC90 (don't like the SUV thing btw). That was built on the P2 I believe, but the last of the first series run, say 2014 XC90, was this a better car than a 2014 XC70. Reason being it had the P2 underpinnings, but presumably the latest D5 and 6 speed box.....best of both worlds?

You'll find that for every person that reckons the P2 V70 was better than the P3 you'll find another that says the opposite. The technical aspects are unarguable and everything else is subjective so such arguments are silly.

I own a P3 V70 and P2 XC90, and have owned until recently a later 200 XC90 with the Euro 5 engine. You can't really compare. Even with the XC70 the type and intended market are so far removed from one another you still can't really compare and certainly can't say one is "better" - they're different tools for differnt jobs from different eras.

The moment you need to shift 7 people the earliest, most worn out XC90 163 is suddenly better than the sharpest, lowest mileage XC70.

The moment you want a nice bit of mid range grunt to make an effortless motorway overtake then you'll want the last of the 215 XC70's over any D5 P2 XC90 (we'll pretend the V8 doesn't exist for a moment).

I personally find the P3 comfort and ride just sublime, but then the XC90 cabin is a bit more spacious and leaves a bit more wiggle and shuffle room on a long journey and that brings a comfort bonus of its own.

The 90 better for moving a large load due to its slightly greater capacity, the 70 better for my gundog because he can jump into the boot unaided.

My wife is blind in one eye, she prefers the 90 over anything lower, and the XC70 does have a lower stance and sesting position. But then try and park in a tight spot and the slightly shorter XC70 P3 with its slightly better steering lock just pips it.

For every benefit one brings, the other has a benefit of it's own somewhere else.

Just decide your needs and the order of priority, and choose the one that is closest to satisfying the list. Everyones list will differ from each others, so it's impossible to say which is "better", and there is little evidemce to suggest the P3 is any less well built, finished or durable than the P2.

Splendid answer, but i was thinking more of the technical aspect, by 2014 both cars were just about as good as they would get, same engines ? auto box? different platform, but I suppose as they are a different shape,weight, height, it would be difficult to say.

I think such comparisons are always subject to personal opinion and with that, come tales of woe and tales of despair about any age / engine / spec etc. For example you'll get those who wax lyrical about how the 163bhp D5 was just wonderful and bombproof and the like... and then there will be those who tell you the core plug fell out, the turbo packed in, it has many many boost control issues. That applies to any car / engine / box really.

It's all subjective too. By 2014 the XC90 was a pretty old design and still had the arguably flawed P2 AWD which isn't reknowned for being that robust. However the later boxes were much better than the first attempts at Geartronics, and again some will say they've never had an issue... others have had endless issues. Same applies to the engines and the P2 running gear. I'm not entirely sure you can compare a 2014 XC70 to a 2014 XC70. Well, you can I guess but they are quite different machines so comparing them and decided where one excels or fails, is all subjective and is usually down to preference.

I've had several P2 V70's, all D5's aside for a V70R and some were end of life snotters and others were a little less sheddy. The V70R was very much pampered. All were over 150k, some nearing 200k and I had a mix of the 163bhp, the 185bhp and both manuals and autos. I've has a P3 XC70 for the past year and I simply can't agree that the P2 is the better machine, real Volvo or not as I had more niggles with the P2 cars then I have on the P3 and as far as wearing the miles, the irony is the P3 car is better - the P2 stuff has baggy bolsters, creaking interior trims and generally felt a bit old and loose whereas the P3 isn't any of the above. Yes, some of the materials aren't as good but it's seems to be wearing its miles better and thus far, as been pretty flawless.

But again, it's all subjective and my previous P3 XC70... it was crap!

Thanks, it was just idle thoughts really, normally by the end on the run, most of the niggles are sorted. So the P2 XC 90 has different awd to P3 XC70, even though both built the same year? I am learning all the time about these cars, and then I find I don’t really know anything.:speechless-smiley-5. Cheers

I understand the boot will be more spacious due to the extra height for loading.

However, the XC70 is longer than an XC90. Its not as wide, but we’re talking millimetres. Are the seats narrower in an XC90 to give it the extra space? Are the rear seats more upright? I notice the V70 for example has sloped rear seats.

I’m intrigued to know how the cabin is more spacious in an XC90 when the vehicle itself isn’t as long as an XC70 & extra width is minimal. Head room will be better in an XC90, but what about leg room?

If you parked the two of them together, the big difference is the height & boot. However, the XC70 is still longer & near enough as wide from a dimensions perspective. I know the XC90 is a heavy lump though.

Just to add to this that my 2012 XC90 is the 200BHP version and never feels low on power. It is fairly powerful and quick to hustle along.

I've owned a P2 XC70, a P3 XC70 and a Mk1 XC90.

Even the best P2 XC70 are getting quite old now and whilst I would say the build quality was better than the later P3 car, the difference is minor and most people say the P3 cars are larger and more roomy, especially in the rear.

The Mk 1 XC90 is a very fine and safe car, but the area that lets it down more and more now is the tech - limited bluetooth, old sat nav and no DAB radio. But if you can live with that I think a late model car is a safe purchase.

The XC90 and XC70 of approximately the same year share the same engines and gearboxes up to 2012MY when the XC90 got a single turbo 200 engine and the, in 2011MY the XC70 got a twin turbo version. Differences are quite minor.

Back to tech - a 2014 XC70 with DAB and Sensus is an significant step on from a 2014 XC90, but the 90 is still a fine car.

I'd go as far as saying the P2 V70 is actually pretty poor in this respect. I bought my first one a few years back, mainly as a cheap second car and my wife had come from a Mk4 Astra to a V50 along with a new baby.

Putting the seat in the back of the V70 revealed that it was no better than either of the above and the passenger seat ended up being quite far forward and upright to allow reasonable gaps between the back of the seat and the top of the rear facing child seat.

The P3 in comparison is much better in that sense, both my wife and I are reasonably tall though not freakishly so and using the same car seat (for No.2 child now) and there's more space, ie the passenger seat can remain in its usual position without fouling on the car seat behind.

The reality is, it's probably a matter of milimeters between the P2 and P3 but the latter is roomier. I did once go out and measure the distance from the face of the rear seat back, forwards to the back of the passenger seat in the Astra and the P2 V70 and it was nigh on identical, despite me being told by many experts that the V70 was a drastically bigger car. It's actually not.

No, the P3 V70 isn’t drastically bigger than the P2. The P3 is bigger though & I assume this is how they made the rear leg room better.

V70 P2 dimensions

Length - 4710mm
Width - 1804mm (excluding mirrors)
Height - 1465mm

V70 P3 dimensions

Length - 4838mm
Width - 1861mm (excluding mirrors)
Height - 1547mm

So, the P3 V70 is 123mm longer than a P2, 57mm wider & 82mm higher.