I've said this a few times before, I think the 2005-2007 V70 is one of the best buys around. They are the end of the line for the P2 V70s and use a lot of well-proven parts and technology including the awesome 5cyl mill first introduced in the 850. As best as can be expected all the manufacturing and materials hiccups are ironed out and parts are widely available as this was one of Volvo's best selling models ever.

The 2007 esp is not really all that old yet and really actually very modern in terms of safety options and mid-luxury appointments. Power also. Volvo's aren't usually the greatest in terms of fuel economy but they are big capable and semi-luxurious cars too.

moving to the 2008+ gets you in to the newer (current) model which is actually based on the S80/XC90 platform (rather than the smaller S60 platform). These cars are MUCH more expensive even in the used market. You're partly paying for the appearance because it's newer and doesn't still look like it could be a 2001 (as the 2007 does) but you're also paying for the higher expected resale based on the higher original purchase price.

I really dislike where Volvo's taken the V70/XC70 line since 2007 and personally suspect it's the reason why they've now decided they can't sell wagons in NA. It's not that NAcans don't want wagons, it's that they're building the wrong one!

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1998 V70 AWD->FWD->AWD Turbo 215k+