I own a 2002 V70 N/A with the 5 speed auto and I have found the power to be more than sufficient. It will do 0-60 MPH in 9 seconds, which suits me just fine. as for fuel economy, I average 25-26 MPG in 50/50 city highway driving, "stop and go traffic" and I average 28-31.7 MPG highway in the summer months with the a/c on, loaded with 2 adults 2 greyhounds and luggage! so I am very delighted with the fuel economy.

if you have any other questions please post them and I'd be happy to respond.
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You will never leave where you are until you decide where you would rather be.

Somehow the terms "driving" and "automatic" don't go together in my mind. I have an 01 V70 na. The car feels quite fast compared to the 245 that I had before, but can't touch some of the high powered vehicles on the road. Power is adequate or better, cruising at speed is comfortable, fuel economy is fantastic for such a heavy and stable feeling car. Goes good in snow, climbs hills and everything. Still puzzled by the "automatic" thing. Is this like a point-and-go thing like a video game or something? Can't be at all like driving, which is a mindful hands-on activity...

I have a 1999 V70 base also, we can drive to the coast and back (180 miles) and
putz thru Portland for a week before filling. average 25 mpg, as for performance quite adequate for sure. We used to have a chevy lumina (inherited)
that had a Olds 3.4L Dual OHC (about 220HP) that could pass anything except a gas station. After spending over 3K to keep this machine going (keep in mind,
under 50K!!!) We traded it in for the V70. A Volvo 70mo/100k extended warranty
sealed the deal.
Best of luck, we also have 2 122s cars about 500K total on both, now these puppies are solid.
cheers