Do V70's have more or less problems than 850's

Post by **cmblackburn** » 25 Feb 2015, 08:05

Personally, I'm a much bigger fan of the interior and exterior of the x70's. The 850 feels cheap in comparison with all the plastic and the door panels. Stock x70 lights are crap, however, I upgraded my 98 S70's to the jewel style lights off of an '03-'04 C70

mespalin · Post by **mespalin** » 26 Feb 2015, 09:21

My wife drives a 96 850 non-turbo; I have a 98 V70 T5, and the turbo is way more fun to drive! Well over 200k on both cars, and have had no issues with the turbo (yet). Agree with all the comments on interior, if I had to choose, V70 any day, assuming maintenance history and condition were equal.

AKJeeper · Post by **AKJeeper** » 02 May 2017, 18:07

I like the "look" of the 850 dash, as it looks like a natural progression from the 700/900-series Volvos that made me fall in love w/ the brand to begin with.

Unfortunately, both 850 and x70 cars still suffer from the crappy disintegrating plastics that all older Volvos seem to suffer from.

The ride on the x70 vehicles definitely seems to be an improvement (somehow) over the 850s. I didn't think much changed w/ the suspensions?

As a matter of preference - I prefer the window switches in the center console (same location as my previous Mercedes, Land Rover, and somewhat similar to my '04 MINI Cooper S). With that said, I rarely ever see a x70 with intact door panels...the vinyl tends to shrink and create a large bubble in the corners. To me, this looks uglier than the squarish and somewhat dated look of the 850 panels. Occasionally you come across a x70 that had the door panels replaced while it was still under warranty, it seems these replacement panels hold up better than the originals. These haven't been available from the dealer in many years (10+ maybe?).

I personally like the coil-on-plug ignition system, and I do like the throttle tip-in and responsiveness of the ETM-equipped turbo cars. Unfortunately, the ETM thing is a well-known (and somewhat expensive) issue/fix, and I hate the location on the turbo cars.

So if all things were equal - I think I'd go with the x70 car, but pre-ETM.

Faust · Post by **Faust** » 06 Dec 2018, 08:18

I have several times been advised to avoid the '98-'99 models for (very expensive) fuel injection issues.

Post by **erikv11** » 06 Dec 2018, 09:16

98 has zero fuel injection issues, nothing at all there. 99 has electronic throttle body (ETM) issues as stated, no issues at all with fuel injection.

Post by **j-dawg** » 06 Dec 2018, 12:07

j-dawg wrote: ↑24 Feb 2015, 10:36 I'm torn on whether the turbo is a good thing to have, on balance. The insurance and gas costs are marginally higher if at all, and they're worth it for the turbo noises alone. I don't get into boost often, but it's fun times when I do.

What a difference a few years makes. Now I'm deep in boost all the time and there's no question the turbo is worth it. I probably wouldn't buy an NA car at all.

One thing I haven't changed my mind on is that the ETM issues are totally overblown. A one-time permanent fix has been available for years. Fix it. Done forever, and you get distributorless ignition, a no-return fuel system, and VVT for your trouble. There are plenty of other $500 failures waiting in the wings with these cars. No reason a one-time swap should dissuade you.

Post by **abscate** » 06 Dec 2018, 18:45

Prince loved the 99 so much he wrote a song about them.

I love mine. Just about to reach the moon.

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 07 Dec 2018, 09:52

I've had a representative sample of each flavor and the answer that question reminds me of the answer I got from a tour guide that was facilitating our trek through customs in Rome for Seabourn Cruise Lines. When I asked her what she though of the new PM Berlusconi and her answer was, "Its not better, its not worse, its just different". You have to read that with an Italian accent.

That more or less sums up the differences between the 850s and the early 70 series.

...Lee

dobrosailor · Post by **dobrosailor** » 09 Dec 2018, 06:50

1998 was the best year IMHO, rock solid automatic - pre 5 speed trans, no ETM - avoid Turbos, they burn valves randomly - all of a sudden mine burnt 3 out of nowhere...

Turbos are a total PITA to work on. That said, they're pretty reliable but the vacuum line thing is a total rube goldberg... If I ever get another it will be a 98 non turbo...

Post by **erikv11** » 09 Dec 2018, 08:19

98 best year yes!

Turbos burn more valves no! Sample size of 1 means nothing, read the forums there is no correlation (I have suffered burnt valves on 2 NA p80 cars, not on any turbo cars - again just a sample size of 2 so means nothing).

Turbos harder to work on agreed!

Turbos 4,000,217,222x more fun to drive.

Do V70's have more or less problems than 850's

Re: Do V70's have more or less problems than 850's