I am looking at 2002 V70s and V40s. A fully loaded V40 costs about $30k, while an entry-level V70 2.4T costs almost $35k. The safety equipment is about the same, but the V70, of course, weighs about 800 lbs. more, which is a plus for safety. The car will be used by my wife around town and will also be the family car for trips. We usually keep cars for about eight years, and because we have two cars, we put about 7,000 miles on each car per year here in southcentral Pennsylvania. I would be interested in hearing opinions/experiences about the V70 vs. V40. Thanks very much.

I think it's an unfair comparison as the V70 is a higher end car. The V40 is more comparable to a Suburu or VW wagon.

Unless money is very important, the V70 2.4T with minimal options (about $38,000) is the way to go. The T5 would cost over $40K and unless you plan on taking it over 90mph, you won't notice a difference.

The V70 is also all new for 2001, while the V40 will probably change in a year or two.

I almost bought a V40 for us instead of the V70 T5 that we ended up with. But two items ruled out teh V40 (I was still warm to it but my wife helped me overcome my attachment to that car); lack of space (long-term) since we have a 14-month old baby (and perhaps another one in a year or so) plus a 110-lbs. dog which would be too..tight for us. We like to travel a lot so it woud not work. Lastly, we love manual transmissions and the V40 is not available. So, if you have kids, forget the V40...you will regret it dearly. On the positive side, the V40 will cost LESS to maintain (despite you read here from some people), it will be more economical in gas and it is quite a bit sportier. But the V70 is a REAL wagon, with all the versatility that this entails. Why not take a look at a 2001 V70 non-turbo? Currently, there is a rebate of about $2000 good until 12/31/01. The car has pretty good pick-up and it is more economical than the V70 2.4T. Or go for a 2002 V70 2.4T with the 2.9% financing available for up to 48 months...

Good luck!

Yannis

You will save that extra $5k on maintenance and repairs.

Go for a V70, I'd say. The dutch Volvo's (S-V40) are known for not being quite up to standard.

If it must be a Volvo, the V70. I've driven both, for 30k in a small wagon, I'd get a 325iT instead of a V40. The V40, the 325iT, the Audi A4 and the IS300 wagon don't offer a lot of cargo room. If you need space, also look at the RX300, which is better or the Acura MDX which is A LOT better. My only reservation about those is that I can't stand to drive an automatic. .... also, look at the invoice prices, not the sticker. The invoice should more accurately reflect Volvo market prices.

I've also looked at the SAAB 9-5 wagon, in it's Viggen incarnation it's nice, but overpriced I think. So is the BMW 525, plus it's a slug with the 2.5.

So I'd pick the V70, but it's a default choice. If you come across another mid-size mid-price wagon with a manual transmission that has a decent amount of power, please let me know about it!

-Groundhog

Unless he gets a BMW in the Xi model, he should rule it out (same is for the LExus IS300), since where he lives when it snows he will not be able to get too far; those cars are SLEDS.

Yannis

Unless he gets 4 snow tires. They even sell BMWs in Sweden I think. Volvos were RWD until about 1993. The 4 snows trick is the same setup I use on my FWD Volvo.....

-Groundhog

In Sweden, by law, people have to switch to STUDDED winter tires from early November until late March. If you were in downtown Gothenburg, right now, and you were blindfolded and you just sat in a corner all you would hear is the typical "tump, thum, thump" of the studs on pavement and the bells from the electric trams. With studded tires, a RWD will make it fairly OK in snow/ice. But even that is not guaranteed.

Sure, they sell BMWs in Sweden but they are not a prevalent brand. Even the older RWD Volvos are disappearing...

Yannis

If you happen to be from Sweden, Yannis, I will not argue about your knowledge of swedish tire regulations. But I am very convinced that the swedish regulations does not demand STUDDED winter tires. I think the swedish regulations demand the same as the norwegian ones, wich say that you have to use WINTER-tires. Studded or not. We have a big market also for non studded winter tires. When that is said: most of these non-studded tires are nothing like "all season" or "all year". The rubber is very soft and have less than good performance on dry roads. Personally I enjoy Nokian Hakkapelita Q, wich are non-studded, but perform as good as any studded tire except from on wet or slick ice. They are very silent on the road but have less cornering abilities on bare roads. (Studded tires are by the way ruined quickly on bare roads if you enjoy cornering too much).

I am from Greece but I am (or was) familiar with their tire requirements. I was in Sweden, last time, about 2.5 years ago and at that time it was a requirement to have studded tires. After some research, I found out that last year they changed the requirement to winter tires although they recommend the new studded tires out there, called "low-noise studs". In Gothenburg, the asphalt is a different mix than here; they use SMA (Stone MAtric Asphalt) which lasts 30-40% longer than ordinary asphalt. The new law also pushed the date of winter tires required from November 1 to December 1 until March 31, each year.

Yannis

I'm sorry Yannis but you are wrong here.

Sweden just gaot their wintertyre-law like 2 years ago, and the law says you have to use WINTER tyres in winter (these tyres MAY also be used in summer). You may use STUDDED tires during the winter months, but you can't do that in summer.

I know, I live in Finland(we have a similar law here), which is a hell of a lot closer to Sweden than Greece.

Didn't you just repeat what i wrote? I wrote that winter tires are recommended and there are certain months that you can use them ACCORDING TO THE SWEDISH CONSULATE which is a whole hell of a lot more knowledegable about this than either you or me.

Yannis

... and with that I mean that before this law came to order 2 years ago the requirements were very loose and there has DEFINITELY NEVER been a law in Sweden saying you have to use STUDDED tires.

... and with that I mean that before this law came to order 2 years ago the requirements were very loose and there has DEFINITELY NEVER been a law saying you have to use STUDDED tires.