Mrs Andeh and I have given up, we need a second car.

We already have a smallish runaround in the form of and old Fabia, but we could do with something a bit more spacious for lugging our assorted climbing/biking/camping crap, so a smaller estate seems to be the way to go…..and where better to ask about such a car than here?

Currently we’re heavily looking at 09ish Volvo V50s, but not set on it. Had a look at Passats and Octavias last weekend and they seem massive, maybe too big? What else should we consider? Thoughts on living with the V50? Our cars tend to do a lot of miles from trying to escape Lincolnshire every weekend, so cost of maintenance is something that we should probably bear in mind.

SO, thoughts?

Focus ?

v50 shouldnt be too expensive to maintain, its basically a much more comfortable, more solid feeling focus. They arent massive though, surely a passat or an octy wouldnt be impactically large?

Easy to pack stuff in, comfy for long trips. Not involving to drive, has all the same issues as other modern diesels, but bulbs easy to change. Liked the look, but a pain to home mechanic. Didn’t like it enough to repair and keep. Got something older and cheaper down the bangernomics route.

I managed to get an 08 BMW 325i SE Touring for £5k. A few scratches here and there but otherwise perfect. It seems there are plenty of cars the size you’re talking about.

Rachel

I’ve got a Fabia estate. Amazing how much you can get in it, cx bike goes in without removing wheel, mtb with front wheel off. As you’ve already got a Fabia you know how economical they are.

we were looking for a similar thing for the wife to do some commuting/ baby transporting in. narrowed it down to v50 and golf estate.

got a mint 2011 2.0 mk 6 sportline golf estate for £8K. look s nice, loads of room with a boot thats pretty much the same size as the passat and goes well but still 55mpg+

the 1.6 is a good buy as its £20 tax. the mk 5 and 6 are basically the same except the dash/ front end

lots of 1.6 mk 5/6 for reasonable money

I’m not arsed about the vw issues at the moment.

the ford focus 1.6 estate we have at work is also a good estate but not as nice to drive long journeys as the golf. the 2010 ish models are a lot nicer than the 2015 models IME.

fabia estate?

Fabia or Ibiza estate too small?

We just picked up Ibiza ST petrol for £6.5k at 3yrs/38k. Small car, gert big boot, lot less to go wrong than a more modern diesel – we opted for the older (slower 🙁 ) petrol. It is also from main stealer, so we got two services, an mot and a two year warranty thrown in, plus two new tyres and all new discs and pads….

Had looked at the Focus, they’re based on the same chassis, right? They’re up on the list, just need to see one in the flesh.

The issue with the longer/bigger cars is that we live up an alley between 2 houses which requires a precise 30m reverse. It feels pretty tight with the Fabia, I think it might be an issue with anything much more oil tankeresque.

I had considered BMWs, but put off by the possibility of horrendously expensive maintenance if it throws a wobbly.

V50 chassis is based on the focus, but they are worlds apart. I have driven and owned both. Mind the 2.0d DPF life , as due at 75k miles and the 1.6 diesel (psa) tendency to eat turbos through lack of servicing. I miss our 2ltr diesel. Was a lovely car, but bought an XC60 for more space. Only time we have bought 2 cars in a row from the same manufacturer on the like of the V50. I was thinking of getting a 1.8 petrol V50 for biking and dog walking duties .

Is there anything else to watch out for on v50s? Possibly going to have a look at a few tomorrow.

Not really. Service history, obviously. Wheels are clean as can buckle. Everything electrical works as more complex than the focus. They are pretty sturdy cars, even by closing doors, you’ll get a re-assuring thud.

I had a V50. Loved it. Had a few issues with the EGRV but apart from that it was great.

Slight word of warning though. It was a company car and after I left it was obviously passed onto someone else. They ran it for about 6 months and the engine blew up. Less than 3 years old. Lease company wrote it off.

Wife has a V50 2.0l diesel R design. 09 plate.
If I didn’t have dogs, children and bikes to cart around at the same time I’d have hers in a flash.
Not massive for an estate but still practical to live with.
Posh Ford Focus in all honesty but I like it a lot.
Nothing massive on the repair front other that a new clutch when the thrust bearing died at 80k miles, on 90k now.
Don’t get one of the Eco cars, had one as loan car during a service and it was awful, Gutless.

Flatfish, do you mean the DrivE ones? What was wrong with it?

If you can find a d5 engined v50 then go for it, better engine than the 1.6 or 2.0 hands down.

The one to get is the 2.5 T5, 220bhp of petrol fed smoothness.

I agree with Gary. I have had my V50 T5 for nearly 3 years now, apart from tyres it has been pretty faultless.
It is not the most economical car out there but when you turn off spin control and floor it the sound from the 5 pot engine is lovely.
Mine has done over 132k now and the interior is showing no signs of wear and there are no squeaks or rattles.
Not the best rear leg room in its class but swallows bikes and kit with ease and i will not be changing it any time soon.

Had a 10 plate V50 estate from new for 3 years. A diesel 1.6 SE DrivE. Covered 60 thousand miles. The only issue I ever had with it was a weird clunking sound when I pulled away which turned out to be something to do with the parking brake.
I thought the 1.6 Diesel was perfectly fine, pulled well especially on the motorway but I suppose it depends what you are used to or want from a car.
Excellent build quality, would have had another but it was replaced by the V60 which seemed to have much less space in the back because of the high boot floor and sloping roof line.

Thanks Johnny, we essentially just need it to drive about it. Not particularly bothered about performance, as long as it’s not dangerously underpowered.

Gary and Astormatt, as much as I’d love a T5, it wouldn’t really be economical for the amount of miles we put on it. It’ll be the diesels I’m looking at.

Small diesel? Fabia, Civic, Focus, in that order (unless the Focus comes in 2.0 tdci flavour).

There are plenty to choose from in that size and plenty that will be cheaper to run than a Volvo.

I wanted a ‘sportwagon’ and test drove the Audi, Honda, Jag, BMW, Alfa, Saab and Volvo. I had a V50 diesel turbo for 8 years. Fantastic car, great torque and performance but 38 around the doors and up to 59.9mpg on a long run. Best cabin comfort, lovely 6 spd manual box, not the biggest loadspace but drop the back seats and you can get a decent load in there and the roof bars mean it’s very easy to load up top as well.

57-plate 1.6d pre-“driveE” V50 here. I bought it five years ago with 80k on the clock. It’s now at 160k and still going strong. Only problem I’ve had was the DPF filter failed shortly after buying it. Keep them serviced and they’ll just keep going. Comfortable, solid and dependable. Pretty much sums up a Volvo!

I had a 60 plate V50 DriveE model and found it to be rather slow and not as economical as Volvo suggest.

My current 318d Touring is quicker and more economical and bigger inside too.

Ive a 58 reg drive, been pretyy good, had a couple of issues related to fuel intake and dpf, both seem to be related to non volvo sevices i got on the cheap. Found a local volvo specialist now, better. I had a focus before which i never really liked, love my volvo even with its faults, rear legroom for example and i seem to get through a lot of bulbs although they are easy to replace. Put 80k on mine. Like

Have had my ’58’R design 2.0d for 2 months, luxury after a v40 1.6 petrol.shop around theres loads about.

i seem to get through a lot of bulbs although they are easy to replace.

I used to, but fitted a longer life main beam lamp a few months ago and it seems to have done the trick. Apparently taxi drivers swear by them, though they probably never need to replace indicator bulbs in any case 🙂

I whittled my choices for a mid sized estate down to V50 or Exeo and finally went for the Exeo. Not too big or small and a bit more car for you money than with the Volvo. (may have some slightly dodgy software in being VAG)

I ran a v50 for 3 years 2.0d se model fully loaded .. Lovely drive very well put together and great cruiser and looked good .. However maybe I was unlucky(never let me down) but lots of minor niggles/wear and tear items and pricey 🙁

Air con packed up(condenser)
Flexipipe on exhaust(£1000) just for part(cat) included
Electronic boot switch failed
Shock top mount
Spring
Seized caliper
Fuel pump
Discs /pads

Again mostly wear and tear but mileage wasn’t huge 70’000 i traded it in after it developed another £1000 worth of maintenance 🙁

I’ve a V50 T5 and its a proper wolf in sheep clothing. Took me ages to find a manual car and with the right spec. Makes most hot hatches look very silly and keeps pace with some bigger stuff as well.
Room wise not the best, but i can fit a few bikes in and the kids so does it all for me. cabin space is more than ample but could do with bigger door pockets if i had to be picky. Had been looking to change recently but decided to stick as there isn’t anything as quick and reliable out there that floats my boat.

Check the carpets for water, normally means a detached hose in the drainage from the sunroof. other than that regular servicing and if you get a quick one, upgrade the brakes 😀

Old Merc’s never die

The V50 is based on the old Focus. I wouldn’t be spending too much on something Ford replaced nearly 5 years ago.

I have a Volvo V60 and love it (but it’s not practical so don’t consider it!). Volvos are fantastic IF you get a Volvo 5-pot engine with it! More reliable, powerful, fun and efficient than the Ford 2.0d and the Peugeot 1.6d. My D5 even sounds good and now embarrassingly quick yet gives me 50mpg without a problem. If you buy one with a Ford diesel, maybe you should have just bought the Ford?

My wife had a 2.0 V50 sportwagon for 5 years. Had a few issues one of which was the electrics went tits up and Volvo never got to the bottom of it, so eventually chopped it in for a new XC60.

I wasn’t very impressed with the build quality to be honest and would say spend a bit more on an A4 avant if you can.

Just thought I’d update.

Went to look at a V70 today on the off chance that it could be a goer, ended up buying it! The boot seemed much more functional (the wheel arches on the V50 are massive), doesn’t feel too gigantic to drive either.

I figured, it’s a “proper Volvo” compared to the V50 and, you know, in for a penny, in for a pound.

How do people get on with them?

Show us the new wardrobe shifter then. Id quite like one or the xc70 when i next need to change car.

Collecting it next week as the bloke is going to change the cam belt and give it a service/MOT. Here’s a boring pic, I’ll get some bicycle specific ones up once we get it.

That’s a very nice car. What engine ? Always keep a few quid handy for front wishbones , as that’s one issue the 70’s love getting through. Other than that, enjoy !

While a lot of the Volvo experts are here, what is the general consensus on the S40 and S60? Looking at a couple, one is a 2010 2.0D S40 with 78K, and the other is a 2012 S60 Drive with 32K. Much to look out for(other than the stuff already mentioned in this thread for the similar engines)? There’s a £3K difference between them so just weighing them up & off to drive both today.