Any Volvo V50 Owners or Experience Here?

[mr_gyptian]

My trusty Audi A4 Avant manual (which also gets a lot of hearnaysaying) is at 137k. I've got a lot of driving queued up for the winter and thought that maybe the V50 might be a decent option to blowing another $40k on an Audi.

All I want is an AWD station wagon w/manual that:
0) gets better than 22 mpg
1) Can really carry the family and their gear.
2) Less than $36k.

The candidates are:
0) Various subie flavors
1) Volvo V50 T5
2) VW Passat 4motion
3) Used.

what else is there?

Not considerable:
Any SUV
BMW 325Ix SW - too small

any crossovers?

the new Mazda turbo vehicles are pretty nasty.

[Jumper Bones]

Any comments about the V70 are irrelevant here. Different cars, and supposedly the reliability problems have been addressed. That's like asking about new-build Jettas and getting an answer about your old Scirocco back in the 80s or something - apples and oranges.

That said, while I like the V50 and would gladly consider buying one, I wouldn't own ANY european car off of warranty - too much $$$ to fix when ANYTHING goes wrong.
And I like European cars.

would you consider it on lease?

[Ridgehippy]

Buster, I picked up a V50 last December after looking around for a something that would get me decent mileage on the long ass ride up the Owens Valley while still allowing me to drive past the chain-up areas when CalTrans put up the restrictions.

So far (bout 14K miles)....car is doing what I wanted. About 18mpg around town, right at 30mpg for the Mammoth drive. Even got 28 with a box on top one trip. Comfortable (driver and passengers) for hours on end. Power is ok, I'm not really looking to get thrown back into my seat off the line; cruises at 75 with no effort or strain. I like the steering, not all mushy but not so tight that you're fighting it on a long drive. Even with the storms and snow we had in the Sierra this year I never had to chain up; drove past more than a few tire-spinning SUV's on the hill up to our place. Easy to find parking compared to my truck.

Not without problems. Generally stupid electrical so far. Replaced some ignition parts related to the goofy-ass keys you get with the car...short in the alarm system that caused the alarm to never shut off, and a whiny fan motor in the ventilation system. Seems like they downloaded some new software everytime I've taken it in so far as well. Bought it through carsdirect but the local dealer has been great for service so far. Not sure I want to know how much this crap costs after warranty is over. Have heard rumor of Volvo radiators going out mid-life, haven't tracked that one to ground yet to see how worried I should be.

I like the car a bunch. Its hauled 4 folks with gear no problem using a small box on top, it gets me through the snow and ice, it handles sporty enough for me, and the mileage is ok for an awd. With the rear seats down its big enough to sleep in and can carry a pair of 188's inside.

If you are seriously looking, I'd make sure you have a dealer or trusted Volvo shop near home and along the path to your skiing if its very far away. Could be a pain to get stranded far from a Volvo computer.

Let me know if you have any specific questions bout the car. I'll tell you what I know. ....... later, Ridgehippy

[jibij]

We bought an S40 (V50 is the wagon version of the S40) new in 2000 and my wife drove it for about 5 years. Hands down, the worst car we ever owned. In Volvo's defense it was the first year of the S40. Over the years it appears that they got most of the bugs worked out.

We had an endless stream of little and big problems. Our biggest issues seemed to be computer problems and brakes that wouldn't last more than a year. After a couple years it started to idle like a diesel truck. Volvo just told us "they all do that". It just seemed to be one thing after another. We finally traded it in when Volvo service wanted another $1700 for repairs after we'd just spent $800 a month earlier. They'll never get another nickle from me.

I bought an '05 Outback 2.5XT last March and so far it's been awesome. The car is a rocket, handles beautifully, and is pretty comfortable. I looked at the Mercedes C240 4Matic wagon while I was shopping. That car wins the comfort category hands down. They're tough to find, but if you find one, it's worth a look.

edit: to add that when I got sick of all the crap that Volvo service was putting us through, I took the car to my trusty corner mechanic and he couldn't do anything to the car without buying something new for his computer. He did that and said he could now do a tune-up. This guy was the best mechanic I ever dealt with. When he finished a "tune-up" on the S40, the car ran worse than ever. He did everything he could think of and couldn't make the car run well. He was pretty pissed about it and spent a lot of time on the car, for which he charged me nothing. We had to take it back to Volvo service so they could restore it's performance from mega-crappy back to crappy.

[Jumper Bones]

the previous model S40 wasn't really a true Volvo, it was Mitsubishi-built.

The current model, while based on the Euro-Focus (a completely different and much nicer car than the one sold in the US), is still built in Sweden, and was fully developed by Volvo.

[jibij]

If accurate, that explains a lot /\ /\ /\

[Buster Highmen]

No crossovers, thanks.

Hmmm, though on the v50, thanks folks for the input.

Any other suggestions?

[iceman]

Maybe an AWD Passat? (not sure if standards are available)

edit: I see you've already thought of the Passat. Well, what about it?

[Buster Highmen]

Maybe an AWD Passat? (not sure if standards are available)

edit: I see you've already thought of the Passat. Well, what about it?

Automatic only. I, unlike some members of our rocking exteenage combo, would rather not stoop to an automatic.

[Buster Highmen]

And the Audi boneheads aren't importing the A6 w/manual. bastyds.

[peterm]

went through a similar dilemma. Already have a V70 AWD with the same engine (usefully chipped to 250hp and 400nm torque), but needed a smaller car as well. After a lot of faffing around I pencilled in a duel between a v50 awd t5 (anticipating chipping the engine) and a Golf V R32. I drove the R32 first.

Didnt bother test driving the V50. Took delivery of the R32 with DSG paddle shift 2 weeks ago.

[StormDay]

We went with Subie Forrester to go w/ the XC70. The size difference is definitely noticeable parking around town. Plus, the trunk has more tie-down points and storage compartments. We decided to stay with AWD, in case my XC70 takes another 2 week vacation at the dealership.

In the first 18 months, I had two warranty items that each kept the car in the shop for over a week. Since, than it has been 18 months without anymore issues.

[mr_gyptian]

And the Audi boneheads aren't importing the A6 w/manual. bastyds.

there is some insidious conspiracy brought on by rental car companies to rid us of manual transmissions.

Personally I prefer the Volvo auto's to their manual brethren. However, turbo's and standard tranny's just go together.

[SLCFreshies]

Your only picks for 4wd wagons with a manual in the U.S. are the Audi A4, BMW 325xi/530xi, Subaru Impreza/Legacy, Volvo V50--and that's it...

If you could stomach an auto (I couldn't), there's the Jaguar X-type (a re-engineered Ford Mondeo) which you could probably get for DIRT cheap.

As has been stated before, the VW Passat is auto only. And VW isn't a pillar of reliability either...

There's the Dodge Magnum AWD--again auto only--but it will drain your wallet dry from gas after a week. Available in a HEMI too!

I know you ruled out the BMW 325xi because it's too small, but were you looking at the new 2006 one? The rear cargo volume with the seats up is only 3 cubic feet smaller than the V50 (24.8 vs. 27.4 with seats up, 60.1 vs. 63 with seats down). And with driving, there's NO comparison--the BMW drives far better than the Volvo. Plus, Volvos are horribly, horribly unreliable. My parents were ardent Volvo drivers until a few years ago--little things were CONSTANTLY on the fritz.

If you can spend more $$$, you could move up to a BMW 530xi. Drives great and has tons of room, but is clearly outside your price range. Maybe you could find one used.

I'd personally pick the BMW and a Subaru ahead of the Volvo. I think the Audi and the Volvo are a wash.

[scoober]

I don't have a whole lot of experience with the V50. I've test driven one and that's about it. They are a little small on the inside for my taste and the floating pillar dash panel is kind of wierd. The size thing might not be that bad though, 2 adults and 2 kids, no problem, but I would not want to regularly sit in the back seat as an adult.

I do have a ton of experience with Volvos, particularly the current and last generation platforms. Between our household and LANs family we are currently running 5 Volvos. Other than known widespread issues (ETM failure, ABS module failure, '98 v70xc AWD transmission replacement) we have had very little problems with the cars. 3/5 are above 100k miles, one of them almost turning 170k. The aforementioned ETM, ABS, and AWD tranny problems are not an issue on the newer generation cars and shouldn't be an issue on a new V50.