What safety & luxury features have been added, year by year?

[850forum]

Looking for a wagon to replace my 1995 850 Turbo Wagon.
I understand the V60 Cross Country and the V90 Cross Country models are wagons.

I see that at least as early as 2015 have Navigation and Emergency Comm.
Don't think I want something older than that.
Has there been a year(s) when the model was "refreshed" with new features?
What year did things like radar cruise control, 360 camera, rear cross-traffic & front collision braking, come in?

If necessary I'll have to find for sale ads that will pop up a complete list of features & options, then fix the formatting, to enter into a spread sheet. Never can tell if the car being sold actually has ALL the options. Lotsa work...

Found these so far to get an idea of price vs age :
2021 Volvo V60 T5 Cross Country 52k miles for $32,500 which would be my top price range & want to keep for 20 years. KBB says trade value is $26.5k
2015 Volvo XC70 T5 Premier Wagon 87k miles for $17,000, which is about double the Kelley BlueBook price.
1998 Volvo V70 GLT Wagon 218k miles, call for price; but KBB says about $500 so maybe they want double.

Posting this in both the V60 2015+ and the 2017+ V90 fora.

[matthew1]

Wow you have a big range there... 1990s P80 all the way up to current SPA.

Of course that ranges from lots of work to none or almost none required to keep it running. Unless you look for a long time for a unicorn (maintenance/repairs) P80.

Perhaps my pages below will give you an idea of the SPA cars (2017+ for wagons).

https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/volvo ... s-country/
https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/v90/

Disclosure: I've never owned an SPA car with the 2.0 4-cyl.

That said, I'm surprised and happy that these engines are decent, if not excellent. When 2016 came around and we all read that a 2.0 was going to not only be turbocharged, but also (in some higher trims) supercharged as well, I was a skeptic. Not going to lie, I was not on board.

(And in some cases they're turbocharged, supercharged, and have an electric motor. Yes, you read that right. T8 models.)

But they've been remarkably durable. I never read about 2.0 engine problems. I monitor several SPA Volvo FB groups.

Note 1: the V90 is very rare in the US: viewtopic.php?t=79322 I'd buy one just for exclusivity.
Note 2: after model year 2020, Volvo began de-contenting cars because of Covid-related parts acquisition problems.

[850forum]

Thanks, there are so many things I want to compare.
LOL the 1998 happened to be next to a newer one, same dealership.

The 2015 might meet my safety feature needs, but can you update the infotainment system? Thru (IIRC) 2018, some car makes used the now defunct G3 cell phone frequency band, and unless the maker has done something, you cannot update the navigation etc. And a car that's already 10 years old will have maintenance costs I could put into a newer one.

Looking for articles that compare V60 to V90.

When was the last "refresh" of the V60 and V90 ?
I want a gasoline car, not the "mild hybrid" battery T8.
Do they both have the same safety features - the "bending headlights" is nifty.

A couple years ago I bought 2019 off-lease Toyota Avalon Limited for my wife. It has the Advanced Safety Package with 360 deg camera. I have gotten accustomed to the automatic pacing cruise control, auto braking & acceleration, the heated steering wheel, the cooling fan in the seat back.

OTOH my "second" car is for driving to town & hauling lumber from Home Depot. So I don't need that stuff, except for true safety - like more air bags etc. I want length for a few 2x4s, and I don't like pickups, and my wife can't step up into or down out of the tall SUVs.

OTOOH, in a couple years all the new cars will have the camera that watches your eyeballs & bitches at you when you look away from the road. And other nanny-state stuff that you won't be able to disable. So my timeframe for getting a ~4 year old used car is short.

Good to know that the dinky 2.0 engine is capable. I need to accelerate onto the freeway when the right lane is going 70mph or more. Sometimes you have to stop on the ramp, waiting for a gap.

I'm getting the sense that a 2020 V60, plus or minus a year, will have an ask of about $32k. But the V90 will be $38k which is getting expensive after taxes & dealer "fees."

Wonder how much prices might drop if I wait 6 months. Does rolling over into another model year make a significant difference?

For both models, the T5 is FWD and the T6 AWD plus supercharged. Is AWD significantly safer in rain, slush, snow ? Costlier to service ? Not going offroad. Don't want low profile tires, they ride harshly.

One of them is taller, but is that just from tire sidewall height, or does one have more vertical space from cargo floor to roof? Prefer more space. the V90 has more cubic feet.

[850forum]

Do they run on regular octane gas?