Volvo XC70 For Sale

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Get the Adobe Flash PlayerThere’s more to life than a Volvo. There’s wondering what’s around the bend. There’s seeing things that no one will believe. There’s a place you’ve never been to. There’s a path that you’re fearless to take. That’s why you drive one. Exterior Interior 360º Experience Change Colors and Rims Starting at Contact Us|Copyright|Legal Disclaimer|Privacy Policy|Site Map|Country Selector|International Dealer LocatorSend Share Email Please complete the highlighted fields Your name* Your friend’s name* Your email address* Your friend’s email address* Message Send Sending message Send again || Skip to content Sign In / Register My inbox Why Register? About Us Contact Us Help Home Manufacturers News Spy Shots Reviews Blogs Gallery Magazine Forum Shop Cars for Sale News Feed | CAR reviewsLong term testsSubscribe to CAR magazine Volvo models, news & reviews Related articles Audi Allroad 3.0 TDI long-term test review BMW 335i M Sport Convertible long-term test review Honda Civic Type-R long-term test review Land Rover Defender 110XS long-term test review Mini Cooper S long-term test goodbye Nissan Qashqai 2.0 dCi Acenta long-term test review Volkswagen Golf GT Sport TSI long-term test review CAR Reviews Click Thumbnails to Enlarge Volvo XC70 D5 SE Lux long-term test review By the CAR road test team Long Term Tests 06 May 2008 11:00 Final report - 6 May 2008. Let’s get the (very few) bad bits out the way first. With an 28mpg average, fuel economy was mediocre and no more. And the digital compass in the rearview mirror was too bright at night. Apart from these two problems, my long term Volvo XC70 verged on the genius. There. I’ve said it.I never thought I would ever find myself extolling the virtues of as a vast diesel estate, but young children have the strange effect of making me shift my stance. Normally a full one hundred and eighty degrees. You see, I never really got Volvo, nor the unwavering devotion Volvo owners lavished on their cars. But now, after living with the one for six months, the thought of living without it makes me realise why Volvo’s fans are so devout. The XC70 met and exceeded our family transport needs with such a high degree of innate intelligence that it felt tailored specifically for the Whitworth family. It handled every trip – grocery shopping, weekend away, municipal tip run or motorway blast – with such utter competence that you know many Volvo engineers and designers spent many thousands of hours dealing with real-world situations so that the XC70 could tackle everything over the 5781 miles we covered in it. Every passenger was impressed with the cabin – not just with its coherent palette of colours and tasteful combination of materials, but with its intuitive and appealing layout. I never found myself searching for a particular control – everything from climate control to the superb sat-nav worked and just the way you expected it to.Although 185bhp and 295lb ft of torque are hardly weak-kneed figures, with 1890kg of Volvo to lug around the 2.4-litre common rail unit had to be worked hard a lot of the time. Which may go some way to explaining our modest economy. That said, the inline five-cylinder turbo diesel revved keenly and delivered decent in-gear grunt, accompanied by an infectious serrated soundtrack. Its all-paw traction and firmly damped ride meant that the Volvo could be punted pretty quickly cross-country – certainly far brisker than most of the surprised people I overtook thought possible.This Volvo will be missed very much indeed. It moved me and my family and all the kit necessary to transport small people more than six foot in safety and in style. If I had the money I’d go and buy one. Today. Logbook Total Mileage Since Last Report Overall MPG Since Last report Fuel Costs Other Costs Highs Lows 5781 miles 189 miles 28 mpg 29.4 mpg £1979.80 £450 to repair scuffed bumper Pretty much everything So-so economy, not much else Previous reports 6 May 2006 Final report 14 April 2008 A Swedish adventure 19 March 2008 The rainy day Volvo 24 February 2008 A trip to Ikea 11 February 2008 Brilliant Bluetooth 15 January 2008 First report A Swedish adventure - 14 April 2008 Volvo flew me to Kiruna a few weeks ago to show off the slow-ploughing abilities of my XC70 long termer. I had never heard of Kiruna, a vast and untouched wilderness of Swedish Lapland well north of the Artic Circle, but by the time I left, I felt I’d covered pretty much every mile of it in the Volvo. Volvo has been coming to this area since the 1960s, using Kiruna’s weather extremes – in the nightless summer temperatures reach 30°C, and in the dayless winters, they plummet to 40°C below – to test the climatic durability of its cars. During winter testing, Volvo’s current prototypes cover some 120,000miles in five months. That’s the same as driving around the equator – five times. I arrived early afternoon in falling darkness with the temperature hovering at 15°C below zero. Unsurprisingly, the XC70 took the inhospitable weather conditions in its easy-going stride. It simply glided across icy roads that were too slippery to stand on without falling over, its all-paw Instant Traction drivetrain constantly shifting torque to the axle with the most grip. Comfortable and safe in its warm and intelligently configured cabin, I might just have well been trundling back home after a trip to my local supermarket back home in Chichester, rather than spearing north on Sweden’s E10 into the Artic Circle. Day two of the trip was spent off-piste, of course. On a frozen lake the size of Surrey, I pushed the Volvo through a technically complex track that included off-camber corners, high-speed straights and tight hairpin bends. With its DSTC Dynamic Stability and Traction Control activated, the XC70 made safe and steady progress, the Orwellian electronic system cutting engine torque and applying the brakes on individual wheels to effectively kill off under and oversteer. With the system switched off, the big estate could be coaxed into all sorts of extravagant four-wheel drifts for hours on end. Great fun on a frozen lake with just soft snow walls to collect you when you run out of opposite lock. But at 80mph on a treacherously slippery highway at 20°C below in the middle of blizzard, DSTC is the difference between arriving home safely and your family receiving a late night visit from the police. I also tackled an off-road course, although with everything white, it was difficult to tell where the road ended and four foot of snow started. It may not have the dedicated go-anywhere hardware of a Land Rover, but the XC70’s raised ride height, four-wheel-drive, hill descent control and grunty turbo diesel engine allowed it to trundle effortlessly through some seemingly impassable chunks of snow and ice. Given I live in the southeast of England, the lengths Volvo’s cold-weather and off-road engineers went to ensure my XC70 could tackle the odd muddy lane, a bit of patchy snow or a flooded roundabout was pretty damned impressive. If anything it’s deepened my respect for this hugely competent estate even more. If that’s possible. By Ben Whitworth Back to top vvvvvvvvvvvvvvv The rainy day Volvo - 19 March 2008 The night before the Geneva motor show I had dinner with Jonathan Disley, the British designer who styled the XC70’s cabin. 'The ‘rainy night at the airport’ was one of the key design themes behind the Volvo’s cabin layout,' explained Disley. 'In other words, if you’d never driven the Volvo and got into it in a badly lit carpark after a long flight, in a foul mood in the middle of a downpour, you’d intuitively find things where you’d expect to find them. Simple principle but one that’s very difficult to achieve.' I know you’re probably getting weary of my constant adulation of the XC70’s ergonomics, but having sat in over a hundred different cars at the motor show the next day and put myself in the place of Disley’s hapless traveller, only one came close matching the Volvo’s intelligently configured cabin – and that was the new XC60’s stunning interior, another bit of Disley’s handiwork. Having covered just short of 5600miles in the XC70, there are a few minor things I would change, though. The digital readout in the centre of the main dials looks a little Casio calculator circa 1980, I’d kill the utterly useless illuminated compass readout in the rearview mirror and make more of the gap behind the floating centre console – it’s a useful stowaway spot, but it’s never quite as big as you’d wish it to be. By Ben Whitworth Back to top A trip to Ikea - 24 February 2008 Last week I found myself at Ikea, eating a plate of meatballs before loading my Volvo with two dozens boxes of flat-packed furniture. With the rear seats folded down – a simply click-and-push process - the loadbay is both cavernous and regularly shaped with a perfectly flat loadbay. Which means stacking endless boxes of Kräppi bookcases, Wöbli consoles and Alrëdibrohken lampshades was an absolute doddle, taking the edge off what was a long and tiring day. Oh, and one other little nugget of information that completely confirms my advanced Volvo anorak status – the XC70’s communication pack has been calibrated for minimal driver distraction. Which means it uses throttle and steering sensors to work out if you’re negotiating a roundabout or trying to park, and holds any incoming calls until you can fully concentrate on speaking to someone. Looks like the Swedish indoctrination has really kicked in. But I draw the line at Abba. By Ben Whitworth Back to top Brilliant Bluetooth - 11 February 2008 I didn’t know this, but Bluetooth technology was named after King Harald Bluetooth, the tenth century king of Norway and Denmark. He united the ferocious tribes of both countries – hence the name for the wireless protocol that links electronic hardware like mobile phones and computers. A killer bit of pub ammunition, true, but to be honest, I’ve only just clicked on to the brilliance of Bluetooth after driving my XC70. It’s communications pack means it automatically scans the cabin interior for Bluetooth-activated mobile phones. So the moment I climb aboard, it synchronises my phone with its own software, allowing me to access my phone directory through the on-board computer, and routing calls through the car’s stereo. Which means I don't have to fanny about with handsfree kits or look like an utter moron with one of those earpieces. It even fades the volume of the stereo when I have an incoming call, to save the caller being deafened by Paul Oakenfold. The satnav is also a lesson in user-friendliness. For a start, the screen is perfectly position – popping out of the dash top means it takes just a downward flicker of the eye to take in the map and current instructions. Then there are the steering wheel controls. With just two buttons and a stubby joystick, you can operate the entire the system, from selecting a location (via postcode, handily) to finding a myriad of facilities en route or around the destination. It’s easy and takes two minutes to learn – and means both hands stay on the wheel. And, arguably the most important point, there’s a simple one-step process to shut down the satnav – a joy after some rival systems which seem to take great delight in burying the shut-the-hell-up-you-bossy-bitch button in the depths of their system’s menu. Even the XC70’s Personal Car Communicator keyless system is faultless. I normally hate these set-ups – what’s wrong with a fob with a key that you twist to start the car? If it’s worked for most of the last century, why change it? But after five months of use, Volvo’s Keyless Drive system makes perfect practical sense. For a start, you don't need to press a button to unlock the car – just walk up to the locked car with fob in your pocket, touch the door handle and everything instantly unlocks. Useful when laden with children and shopping. Pop the fob into its dash-mounted slot, watch it whirr into place, and I’m ready to go with a simple push of the starter button. But the fob’s ace trick is its ability to let me know remotely if you’ve locked the car or not. Ideal if you’re as absent minded as I am. Simply press the I for information button on the fob, and from up to 100 metres away, it will quiz the car’s locking and alarm system and let me know the result by illuminating a green light by the locked symbol or orange by the unlocked logo. Similarly, the courtesy lights can also be activated from up to 100metres away – perfect for unlit carparks. These are perfect examples of the many features that make living with the Volvo such a smooth and painless experience. Everything works with an intuitive and intelligent functionality – a sure sign that a lot of people have worked very hard to get things just right, so I don't have to give it a second thought. By Ben Whitworth Back to top Volvo XC70 D5 SE Lux first report - 15 January 2008 It’s rare that a long-term car seems purpose-built for its keeper, but my Volvo XC70 is doing a damn good job of ticking every box. It’s safe of course, chunkily stylish in jacked-up off-road XC trim, surprisingly brisk with a decent surge of turbo-enhanced diesel power, supremely comfortable and so versatile that you just know a prerequisite for the members of its design team must have included siring at least two small children. The Volvo’s arrival on my driveway marks quite a personal turn around. Until I had children, the Swedish marque never really registered on my motoring radar. Sure, I’d driven all its new models and enjoyed watching its newfound design language develop and mature. But I always found them a touch too smug and worthy. Then my daughters Amelia and Jemima arrived and suddenly I’m considering remortgaging and buying an XC70. I’ll need to be most pleasant to the men with the money. My Volvo XC70 D5 Se Lux weighs in at £33,635. To this I’ve added a hefty £6460 worth of extras including six-speed Geartronic automatic transmission (£1350), RTI satellite navigation (£1850), sunroof (a swallow-hard £850) metallic paint (an equally dear £575), active bi-Xenon headlamps (an unusually cheap £250) and a very handy Bluetooth system (£250) for running mobile telephones through the excellent stereo system. Which adds up to £40,095. I’m really taken by the XC70’s looks. It’s off-road addenda – cladding, front and rear scuff plates and raised ride height - imbues the estate’s silhouette with a muscular presence not found in the slightly anonymous V70 estate. It’s not threatening like a kitted-up X5 but it certainly gets dawdlers out the fast lane when it looms in their mirrors. And that black low-level plastic protection shrinks the Volvo’s lines, making it look far more compact than it is. Because at just under five metres long and 1884kg, the XC70 is a big and heavy family estate. And it feels like it from behind its latte-coloured leather steering wheel. There’s plenty of low-speed roll, dip and dive when cornering, accelerating and braking. But push harder over an undulating and winding road and the XC70 surprises with tidy body control and plentiful grip from its all-paw layout, which means it can cover ground far quicker and easier than its Waitrose car park image suggests. Knowing that whenever my most prized possessions venture onto the roads they are protected by one of the safest and most protective cars on the market lets me breathe a little easier. The XC70 comes fitted with an endless list of three-lettered safety acronyms as standard – as well the knowledge that that Volvo’s safety team use info gathered from real-life road traffic accidents rather then computer simulations. As the miles have accumulated – the odometer currently reads 4632miles – so the 2.4-litre turbo diesel has freed up. Between 2000rpm and up to its 4000rpm power peak, where 185bhp arrives accompanied by an enjoyably serrated engine note, there’s now a stronger and longer slug of acceleration. It’s also noticeably more responsive, the five-pot engine reacting to the smallest throttle input, helped by the six-cog Geartronic autobox that’s always keen to drop at least two gears. But I can't help thinking that a bigger capacity engine would mean the engine wouldn’t have to be worked so hard so often, benefiting both economy and refinement. A few long trips to Oxford and Dorchester have highlighted just how accomplished a fast and relaxed cruiser the Volvo is. With plenty of torque – 295lb ft at 2000rpm – there’s plenty of muscle to cruise at an easy 85mph with enough to flatten inclines and pass slower traffic. Economy has steadily improved, climbing from 28.5 mpg to 29.8 mpg – some way short of the 34mpg official combined figure, but palatable for a briskly driven big estate. Every time I get into the Volvo’s beautifully crafted cabin I appreciate its premium feel more and more. It’s soothing combination of chocolate, tan and coffee leather, wood and plastics work beautifully together, creating a wonderfully laidback and plush ambience. It’s also incredibly well laid out – the design and location of every controls reeks of ergonomic excellence. Without fail every passenger has commented on how cool and calm the cabin looks and feels – and how incredibly comfortable the seats are. Those active bi-Xenon headlamps are a top-class safety feature during the long winter days, turning in syncopation with the steering to illuminate dark corners. Full marks for the stunning sound system, the satnav that can be fully operated without taking my hands off the wheel and the heated seats that soon have you toasty on even the frostiest of mornings. Dislikes to date are, as you’d expect, few and far between, but the counter-intuitive electric handbrake tops the list (you pull the dash-mounted lever to release the brake, and push to engage it) followed by the very annoying bright and completely unnecessary compass display in the rear-view mirror. Like I said, the XC70 marks a major change in my attitude to Volvo. I now fully understand why its cars inspire such devotion among its drivers because I find myself extolling the XC70’s virtues to anyone who will listen with an almost evangelic fervour. Oh dear... By Ben Whitworth Back to top 1 Rate this article... 1 2 3 4 5 Average rating: 4 (103 votes) Discuss this Add your comment Sign in You must be signed in to submit a comment. Volvo XC70 D5 SE Lux long-term test review Subject Your comment Please enter a comment Please enter a comment By submitting your comment, you agree to adhere to the CAR Magazine website Terms and Conditions Cancel Subscribe to comments You must be logged in to subscribe to a topic Login or register now ema02 says RE: Volvo XC70 D5 SE Lux long-term test review It's totally inspiring what a metal work-based industry could blend different materials to come up with a masterpiece. I just love how Volvo does that. I wonder if they hired massachusetts carpentry to the woodworks. 26 March 2010 07:08 benwhitworth says RE: Volvo XC70 D5 SE Lux Point taken Sossages - but yes, I'd go for the Volvo every time. Agreed I'd look for a late model with low mileage to take the sting out of the depreciation, but it would be the Volvo without doubt.... 09 May 2008 10:13 Batty says RE: Volvo XC70 D5 SE Lux sossages - Yes. 08 May 2008 06:52 sossages says RE: Volvo XC70 D5 SE Lux Ben - at £40K for a deisel estate it should be bloody good! I have owned a number of different brands over the years and am genuinely perplexed at the price differential between different brands. Is this Volvo you would buy if you could really worth 50% more than my Subaru Outback 3.0 Rn or about the same as my Lexus RX SEL, both of which came "fully kitted" and so didn't need basic extras at extortionate prices? As another comparison is it worth double the price of a Mondeo Estate as a family holdall in the UK? If you had it would you honestly really put your life savings into a new Volvo diesel estate or would you wait 12 months and get it half price instead of the new Mondeo? 06 May 2008 19:12 benwhitworth says RE: Volvo XC70 D5 SE Lux They banked up the inside of the corners with compacted snow... 06 May 2008 12:10 Show all comments Become a CAR contributor Upload stories, photos or videos direct to the site, or email newsdesk@carmagazine.co.uk. Alternatively, call 01733 468 485 (+ 44 1733 468 485) Most popularHighest Rated + - Top rated CAR's great drives: Ferrari F512M to the Sahara. 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FHM | Zoo | Empire | MCN | Parker's | Today's Golfer || || Carbuyer Advanced search Brought to you by the publishers of: Auto Express Evo Magazine Expert Reviews Home Makes & Models Car Finder Tips & Advice Car Reviews Videos News Home > Archive > Volvo XC70 DRIVe review Volvo XC70 DRIVe review We recommend Ten best 4x4s and SUVs Ten best small cars and superminis UK's safest new cars Ten best estate cars Ten brilliant new family cars Ten cars for less than £150 per month Best cars for under £300 per month Ten best people carriers and MPVs Tips & Advice How to buy a car Ultimate new car finance guide Setting a budget 23 essential test drive tips Price negotiation tricks Save on insurance Know the showroom Your new car rights Choosing the right car for you New car buying scams Advertisement The Volvo XC70 DRIVe takes a fake offroader and makes it worse offroad. The eco savings are worth it though. "The DRIVe makes more sense than the standard XC70" What is it? The standard Volvo XC70 is a bit of a niche choice. It’s essentially a jacked-up four-wheel-drive estate car which looks like an off-roader, but with very little of the off-road ability or ground clearance most SUVs feature. But the DRIVe takes this a step further by ditching the all-wheel-drive altogether in pursuit of better fuel economy and lower emissions. What’s it like on the outside? The Volvo XC70 DRIVe is the socially acceptable face of off-roading. It has just enough black plastic cladding scattered around its exterior to differentiate it from the standard Volvo estate, and just enough extra ground clearance to not get stuck on a rutted track. I can’t help but feel that it’s designed more for American than European tastes, so I’d rather opt for the good-looking XC60 instead. It's not bad though. What’s it like on the inside? Interiors have long been a Volvo strong point. They feature understated design, but are super-comfortable, practical places to be. The XC70’s insides are no exception, with great seats, a nice, neat and functional centre console and a typically Volvo, oversized steering wheel. What’s it like to drive? The XC70 DRIVe comes with Volvo’s characterful 2.4-litre D5 engine, which has been detuned from 205hp to 175hp. To be honest, the fact that this unit now drives the front wheels only doesn’t make much difference in everyday driving, although the DRIVe does take a whole 1.2 seconds longer to get from 0-62mph than the four-wheel-drive version. However, the payoff at the pumps is considerable. The DRIVe manages 47.1mpg, as apposed to the 40.4mpg that the standard car gets, and emits 159g/km of carbon dioxide, down from 186g/km. And while the jacked-up ride height might mean that the big Volvo rolls a bit more in the bends, the pay-off is a compliant and very passenger-friendly ride. Verdict The standard Volvo XC70 is a bit odd, because it pretends to be an off-roader, but isn’t one. By ditching the heavy, and relatively redundant four-wheel-drive, the DRIVe actually makes more sense, because you get all of the rugged looks, but without having to pay more at the pumps. It’s cheaper to buy than its more powerful sibling too. Car Specs - Volvo XC70 DRIVe SE Engine: 2.4-litre D5, 175hp 0-62mph: 9.6 seconds Top speed: 130mph Economy/emissions: 47.1mpg/159g/km CO2 Price/On sale £27,995/Now We rate: Decent eco performance for an SUV Nice interior We slate: No off-road ability XC60's better looking Rating : By Bryce Richards Find a new car review All models reviewed in plain English, with detailed specifications of every new car on sale in the UK Advertisement Featured new cars Hyundai ix20 mini MPV £11,845 - £15,420 4.2 /5 read review watch video BMW 3 Series saloon £22,690 - £53,075 4.6 /5 read review watch video Audi A1 hatchback £13,420 - £18,665 4.4 /5 read review watch video Renault Megane hatchback £13,995 - £23,525 4.3 /5 read review watch video Nissan QASHQAI hatchback £15,695 - £26,195 4.4 /5 read review watch video Vauxhall Astra Sports Tourer £16,950 - £24,835 4.2 /5 read review MINI hatchback £11,810 - £22,320 4.7 /5 read review watch video About CarBuyer CarBuyer provides car reviews, comparisons, car buying guides and more - helping you decide which car to buy. 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