My wife and I have been happy owners of a 96 850 wagon. Unfortunately the deer that we ran into last week ended our love relationship with the car. The car has been totalled and we need to replace as soon as possible. The debate is between a v70 and and XC70. We are familiar with the apparent differences as far as all wheel and front. And the right and height differences. But what we really want to know is the reliability differences, maintenance issues and or legacy issues with these two models. And what years to target or to avoid.

We've been looking at 01 and 02 V70's and XCs. I've started to see mention of drive-by-wire changes etc. Any and all help would be greatly appreciated. This forum has been a huge help in the past. Thanks to all those who participate.

jkvolvo2

Hey there,
The engine on the V70 has an aluminum block that is sleeved, as opposed to the cast iron block on the 850. I drove a 245 for about 13 years till it died a slow death, an '80 244 sedan before that. Being a volvo freak, bought a '98 V70 (non-turbo,) loved the car. My mechanic is a non-turbo advocate. Sold it 2 years later for '01 V70 T5, manual trans LOVE the car. (it was as IPD project car with all the bells and whistles.) guess if you live in an area where the 4x comes in handy, I'd go for it, no experience with the XC90.
Good luck, Cheers,
-Anie

Go for a '98 or '02 and newer V70. Avoid '99-01 models (Magneti Marelli throttle module). I personally don't care for the extra complexity of the XC models nor the extra weight and worse fuel milage.

Suggest to opt for the '02. The "drive-by-wire" throttle module was updated in '02 models (from Marelli to Bosch), and is from all I've heard more reliable.

I'm sure there are additional advantages or dis-advantages to one year over the other as well, but this is at least one area that was improved.

BB
--
1998 V 70 BASE