Volvo V70 T5

V70 T5 SE 2000 (X) owned from new. Still goes like hell at 15 years old. Driven sensibly real 35 mpg (I only use for long runs). Significantly better than the 850 GLT automatic that I had before it and very much better than the 360 GLT before that.

Only failures at 15 years are the headlamp wiper (disconnected) and the alarm sounder (fuse pulled).

Different (to the Bentley / Merc / BMW / Ferrari / Range Rover choices of my Bowdon WA14 neighbors, think real house wives of Cheshire "Lauren"), very comfortable, cheap to run / own and very very fast if required.

Still not as comfortable or fast as my previous SAAB 9000 2.3t. Miss that one.

Having owned my T5 for 4 years, it has now covered 273k, 120k in my ownership. I cannot ask for a more reliable, low cost ownership car.It goes like a train, and with LPG is not too heavy on the fuel costs. Makes an excellent tow car.

Bad points - x police must use a "sports" chassis, which on anything less than a billiard table smooth road, results in crashing around.

It's big and heavy, certainly no sports car round windy roads

It's not that fast off the mark, but once on the move flies, so town centres are not it's natural hunting ground.

Worst point is round town, the steering lock makes parallel parking a pain

The insurance and road tax are high - although this is offset by it's low purchase cost and low maintenance costs.

Now, this is the 4th Volvo I have owned.

1st Volvo was a 850 t5... wow,,, was like a boat and flew like a plane! milage when I sold it around 220,000 miles.

2nd Volvo was a 2001 Volvo V70 D5 , very nice, but very heavy front end. Economical but not that great. Got around 39mpg . Had issues with the speedo display, kept going wrong and this is a factor with V70s from the years 2000 to 2003. Milage when is sold it 220,000 miles.

3rd Volvo was a V70 T5 se ex Police armed response vehicle...... wow .... flew... fantastic on over takes , great but a newer one came up so it had to go, sold it for the same price I bought it for !! Milage was 189,000.

Ok the 4th and this one will have to stay for at least 6 years !! Condition of buying it from she who must be obeyed!

Volvo v70 T5 SE, ex police traffic car, nice dark blue metallic , in fact all my Volvos have been blue!!. Current milage 130,899 miles. Ok this has the 6 speed manual box ( all my volvos manual box ) Xenon headlamps, pulls like a train, really fast . Bought the car for £1725 , absolute bargain , was serviced by he Police every 6,000 miles, thats alot more than a private one.

People always ex police cars, I can say you would never know, no holes , beautiful condition, drives fantastic, love seeing the Porsche drivers behind with their sunglasses and blonde bit next to them come up my back side in a 30 zone only to see them disappear behind when I hit the national speed limit !!

If you want a car that looks like you should be wearing a hat and smoke a pipe fine, but it truly is the best car Ive ever owned , its a wolf in Dawn French suit !! Fun to drive , but when you get inside it !! You'll never forget it!

On impulse, when changing our old Volvo estate, we bought our V70T5 with low mileage(40,000,ex-demonstrator and one lady owner and very reasonable price. I feel it is a fabulous car which has everything, but my wife is less impressed - she does not like its poor turning circle and low height (she bangs her head on tail gate).I find hard suspension irritating and, at times, alarming and it will exacerbate any rattles from stowed items.As an 80 year old, I am not usually allowed to exercise fully its performance but, once or twice (unaccompanied), I have pressed the loud pedal and pulled it into and out of corners at speed; also, I have used "Sports" setting to give clever dick, trying to jump me,the air from a standing start. "WOW"! Wish I was 50 years younger and could drive V70T5 as it should be. Very good for relaxed driving,though, in town and country and a stable caravan towcar.Super for long distance travel with or without 'van. MPG? - don't know and what the hell but I feel it uses less petrol than my previous 850. Differential electric seat adjustments are a boon, as are heated seats.Dashboard illumination arrangement not good - needs headlights turning on in shaded daylight to see speedo reading.

Having lost my Volvo V70 SE in an accident recently, it is only now that I can totally appreciate what an amazing car it was. I have always thought of it as the most comfortable, well equipped, practical car that I have ever owned. As well as being a good workhorse, it was also great fun to drive. I took great pleasure in pulling up at traffic lights (with kids and shopping in the back-not exactly sporty!) and pulling away from most cars when the lights went green. Unfortunately my beloved car was written off after a high speed crash. The car was extensively damaged. The other car was un-recognisable. My children walked away unharmed, unaware that a crash had taken place. That says it all.

Had a 850 T5, Volva V70 classic T5 auto and now a Volvo V70 T5 (Phase II). 850 put biggest smile on face in its day it was grteat! This latest V70 is a more mature version and more relaxing and comfortable. Value for money as a second hand purchase is great. Had BMW's, Audi A6 (V6), discovery but keep coming back to the V70. Great all round family car. In T5 form Dad has fun, kids are safe and wife and in-laws think you are a sensible family man....little do they know...

A great cross between a family car and an off-road transport. There's plenty of comfortable space in the cabin, one thing I appreciate in the V70. The amount of cabin space allows for some sort of a movable pad really, comfort and all. The V70 T5's average power output of about 300bhp and the all-drive steering setup ensure that the car will not sissy out on the trail.

Speaking of negotiating the trail, there is something about the V70 look that makes it seem out of place on the off-road. It looks more of a city car. It looks polished and "civilized," if you know what I mean. Maybe some muscle outside will make the V70 look tougher, and some improvement on its ground clearance too. I worked on the suspension setting of my V70, with not a little help from a Volvo parts dealer online. Nothing much we could do about the clearance without fouling up the form of the V70. Guess I'll just have to smart over this defect by convincing myself that, hey, I spend more time in the city streets than I do on a cross-country trip.

Had someone offered me an RV, even the most decent one there is, I'd stick it out with my V70. Its T5 engine's 300bhp output, plus of course the safety features that Volvo is known for, outweighs the appeal of the bulky RV.

Big car - Very economical 40-47mpg on motorway even with aircon on all the time.

You wont believe the Volvo V70 T5 is a diesel unless you get out of it

On the motorway its a moving leather armchair!

Hard to beat - had it since new and i'd love to keep it till its 10 years old

Tempted by a particularly good deal with the Volvo V70 T5 Executive Car, I opted for the T5 version of the V70 and have had the vehicle for approx 8 months now. The performance is tremendous coupled with the usual V70 qualities of space, comfort and safety. I don't drive it particularly hard but the acceleration when required is superb and makes the car even safer by reducing overtaking time and allowing you to accelerate out of trouble on occasions. Given my relatively gentle right foot, I manage to get close to 30 mpg overall although this drops to mid 20's on short urban runs or under frequent hard acceleration.

I find the handling fine for such a large car and it is a very relaxed drive (std automatic gearbox). Seat comfort cannot be faulted and the dashboard layout is good once you get used to it (if a little plastic for my taste).

Load capacity is vast and with 2 student children the car is frequently used to carry all wordly goods between home and college or a complete set of band equipment including amplifiers and a full drum kit!

I have been waiting for many years to get a Volvo V70 T5 and the other month i did, im only 22, call me old before my time, but i really like it. Even before i was used to the speed i had an ECU upgrade. It basically took the car from Of 240 bhp to 310@5200, and torque of around 400. As you can imagine it is much quicker and it keeps me on the edge driving all of the time, i have to really concentrate especially when in a fast mood as the mixture of torque and bhp make me work sometimes. Id recommend this car to anyone whose old before their time :> !