General: 70: Daft Newbie Questions

[Pieeater]

Hi All

Am looking to buy a V70 Estate

Can anyone recommend the best model/engine I should go for?

Also when looking at the cars, what should I be looking for on the service records?

Any help would be greatly appreciated

[capt jack]

Hi and welcome.

No such thing as a bad engine in a V70 - it depends what you want!

The standard and most widely-found motor is the 2.5 10v 140bhp non-turbo engine. Good mpg, well-engineered, straightforward.

The 2.5 20v 170bhp is very similar, a little more powerful, a little thirstier, a little more complex.

Some V70s are badged 2.5, some badged 2.4 but in fact the engine will be the 2435cc 10v or 20v. Volvo changed the badging in around 1999/2000 but the engines stayed the same.

There are also 2.0 litre versions of the above engines, which some would argue feel a bit under-powered.

Then you get into the turbo-charged engines, and finally there is the 2.5 diesel engine, which is actually from Audi.

Earlier cars (96-99) with 10v engines had the Fenix engine management system, which is non OBD2, which means that fault code readers are not much use with these engines. The good news is that for these cars, you can make your own flash code reader for around £5. These 10v cars will all have throttle cables.

Other cars used a Bosch system with an electronic throttle - the so-called ETM. Have a search through these pages if you want to know more. These cars are OBD2 compliant.

As for service history, the big one is the cam-belt. the interval is 80k miles or 8 years. Oil changes should be annual or 10k miles.

More than worrying too much about the niceties of 10v or 20v, OBD2 or not, I'd suggest making your choice on the overall condition and history of the car. If it's done a modest mileage, has a good long MoT, been well-cared for, serviced regularly and drives well then whichever engine it has there's every reason to expect it to run well for you in the future.

Personal recommendation would be the 2.5 10v 140bhp non-turbo engine. Strong, simple, reliable, easy to service DIY, good economy, and capable of monster mileages (we have two cars like this, one at 160,000 and one at 291,000 miles). An auto gearbox suits this engine extremely well indeed.

As for model, you'll find various badges - XT, XLT, SE, CD etc, but Volvo offered all sorts of 'packs' at the time, which means that similar cars can be specced quite differently. For me, the best spec would include leather seats with the so-called 'winter pack'. This gives you heated seats, headlamp washers and heated mirrors. If you've small children some cars had built in child seats which are quite useful.

If you search back on here you'll find lots of guidance and opinion.

Good luck in finding your new car!

Cheers

Jack

[billyboggins]

Great advice from Capt Jack as usual, as you can tell from this forum the members are second to none with advice and help...probably the best car forum on the net..good luck with your search and when you find a possible car don't be scared to put it on here for opinions BEFORE you shell out your hard earned cash

[MikeS100]

I've got a 1999 V70 with the 2.5 tdi engine and it's great, I highly recommend it. It's only 140bhp but it's 330nm of torque, same as the T5, but the power comes in a lot lower down which makes it much more driveable in my opinion. The T5 is great and the power is there if you rev it, but for normal driving like popping to the shops or driving to work I actually prefer the tdi. Mine's got the auto box and it is so smooth to drive, even on 150,000 miles. Not to mention the high 40's mpg

I don't think you'll be disappointed which ever model you go for though, but test a few and try the different engines to see which you prefer.

[monkeh]

Cambelts arent an issue if you are mechanically minded, Provided the tensioners are ok, £45 and 4 hours if you took your time. A friend and I did it in under 3 hours.
I have the 2.5 20v 170bhp, Yes its thirsty, but I have LPG, does soften the blow a bit, I am averaging 20mpg on petrol.