Is this normal for a Volvo D5?

[capt jack]

I'm relatively new to Volvo diesel ownership, my previous dozen or so Volvos have all been petrol, the most recent being a 1997 6-cylinder 3-litre S90 auto.

I now have a (rather more frugal) 2012 V70 D5 auto, and my question is about the level of engine noise and vibration that's "normal".

My car starts and drives very well, and is impressively smooth and quiet, but not quite as smooth and quiet as my old S90, which had an inaudible tickover, and was effortlessly smooth at all speeds.

The V70 is good, but at idle there's a slight vibration through the steering wheel, especially from cold, around town the engine is quite gruff, and on some (but not all) road surfaces at 60mph there's a very slight "buzzing" sensation felt mostly through the accelerator pedal. I've had new tyres fitted, the wheels balanced and the steering and suspension checked, with no issues reported. The front discs and pads are all new, and the rears have been stripped and cleaned, with brake grease added in all the right places, included the slider pins.

Looking at the top engine torque rod I can see some cracking in the rubber bush, and I can, quite easily with gentle finger pressure only, move the rod from side to side a few millimetres in either direction. The rubber bush is however intact - and not broken away at all. There's no untoward clonking, and the gearbox upshifts without so much as the slightest hesitation.

The other thing I notice is that when braking I can feel the gearbox downshifting. There'll be a just-perceptible change in the car's momentum during braking, which coincides exactly with the rev counter rising with each downward change. Braking from say 50 mph to a stop it'll happen 4 times. Braking with the gear selector set in the manual mode and the selected gear is displayed I can (just) feel each downshift as the display changes.

Before I start pulling things apart and possibly go chasing shadows, does this all sound normal for a D5 automatic?

I keep telling myself that it's never going to be quite a smooth as my old S90 because the V70 is front wheel drive, with a much heavier engine, two additional gear ratios and of course a diesel engine. No matter how sophisticated the car might be, all those things work against the ultimate smoothness of a big old lazy six-pot petrol engine driving the rear wheels.

Of course the big plus the V70 has is its impressive 47mpg average, which actually topped 50mpg during our holiday in Cornwall last month! That and the fact that as an estate it's a supremely practical car.

So, after the super-smoothness of the S90, are my expectations just plain wrong for the V70?

The car has done 137,000 miles and has a full history, with the cam and aux belts changed at the last service, ten thousand miles ago.

I'd be very interested to hear any views and comments.

Thanks

Jack