A bargain at just £600, this Volvo saw to it that I could move a lot of things around before returning to Thailand. Then I sold it for £500, after saving well over £500 in exorbitant ‘post-lockdown fever’ van rental costs for moving things to either my storage unit or the auction house, the latter which netted me a further £350. So, I was essentially £950 up in total, minus time and effort … just from owning this car for about 2 months. Proven then, if you have things to move, an old Volvo can even transform it into a more a profitable venture! Then there were the 2 friends I helped move a couple of pieces of furniture, and taking another father and son for a day out – which meant I got free beer and a pub lunch as icing. Not bad!
An Antique Dealer’s Handy Steed
A very useful wagon for an antiques and collectables trader. Perhaps it uses a little more fuel than a modern car, but you won’t have to suffer any depreciation. Even if something catastrophically failed, you could break it down for second hand parts and make even more of a return. Unless you think it worth saving as a future classic. So for sure I would recommend these to anyone looking for a cheap, short term or longer runabout. Will it become a classic? I think it just might also, more of which in a moment.
What I never expected, was just how much I would enjoy driving it. Smooth, powerful, characterful, dependable, and incredibly comfortable.
The World Needs More Surf Wagons
Estates or ‘Wagons’ or Shooting Brakes as they are sometimes referred to, were the lifestyle cars of surfers, campers, hikers, antiques dealers and more before SUV’s took over the entire market. Sadly this means there aren’t as many estate cars being made any more, due to the popularity of those “Chelsea Tractors” (as many used to refer to SUVs since the early 2000s). Nowadays, almost every car manufacture launches an SUV – even Lamborghini launched one recently, and soon Ferrari’s will arrive. There is something about an estate car however, they have a certain ‘kudos’ and alternative lifestyle vibe which makes them popular with collectors and enthusiasts. Also surfers, let’s not forget this thing is after all the ultimate surf wagon – a less cheesy one than a VW camper. It’s great to have a nice luxury car which drives well, PLUS can haul a huge load or take you on an epic camping/surfing adventure. They’re simply cooler, different, and less boring, than me-too saloon cars. Yet they don’t make the garish statement like an SUV (Why, oh why, am I hating on SUVs so much today? Well, more love-hate or love-to-hate, more on this some other time…).
Will it become an appreciating classic?
At over 20 years old technically a ‘classic car’ already, even though the design still appears fresh. This generation of Volvo estates, when they had been given the 5-cylinder Ford (World Rally Champ winning) engine and much better handling than previous generations – I’d like to bet that if kept a few more years it will go up in value thanks to how rare manual petrol powered wagons will be in the future. Sales of new petrol cars will be banned soon, and petrol-heads will be seeking a fix no matter what for decades to come. Although sales will be banned of new petrol and diesel cars all over the UK, US and EU before long – petrol itself is going to still be around for decades more, and even synthetic (renewable!) fuels are just around the corner as a direct replacement (Porsche are investing heavily into this tech). Electric isn’t the only option, more of which another day.
Most of the BMWs and Audis will have gone to insane prices, which will leave this Volvo to sit in a gap below them yet still be one day worth a lot more than the £600 I paid for it. I’m willing to bet. If only I’d the storage facilities I think I might have kept it as a great, practical, and interesting future classic. Well, it’ll be cool to look back on this post in a few years and see if I was correct! Prediction = Most certainly it’ll be worth more than £600 by 2032. Perhaps a few thousand by then, £3000 – £6000 in today’s money.
This is a celebration of the most estate of all estate cars – A Volvo estate car. Derived from the earlier 850, which was itself derived from the 740/760 line, the V70 was probably ‘peak Volvo estate’ before they also started making SUVs. From my experience, you have no idea how much you will love this car until you own and drive one. Nowadays you still see them around, however they are beginning to dwindle in numbers. Low values and government grants to scrap/go electric combined with ridiculously cheap car finance often means there is little incentive for people to keep them going. This alone will drive the rarity up for a lot of older model cars. I did what I could and managed to sell this one on to an enthusiast who promised to take good care of it for some time to come.
Rivals
BMW and Audi estates take all the status quo and popularity, being perceived as better ‘drivers cars’, more sporty, however, all these folks pouring their pocket money into those high maintenance German rides are missing a trick. The Volvo V70 was VERY highly rated in the day, and actually often defeated those Germanic marques in head to head reviews. Yet they can be picked up for less than half the money today and are still great to drive. That 5 cylinder Ford engine which powered the Focus RS to world championship victory is a total peach, even massively overdue a cambelt change, it didn’t even care. Try that on a BMW engine, it WILL self destruct unless you do everything the service book says, on time, each time. Not so a Volvo, they are over-engineered for dependability. Boring you say? Nope, your BMW repair bills are boring and having your pocket money sunk into them, will lead to more boredom. In the Volvo, you’ll never be bored, you have money to spare, and can go anywhere. That equates to huge fun for all the family!
This example was a non-turbo, 2.4 and around 140bhp, and never felt slow. It would leap to the legal motorway limit when joining the highway, often surprising much newer cars. When that 5 cylinder spins up, it also makes an awesome low burbling sound. (An after market exhaust would be a cool treat for one of these). For such a big car, it never felt heavy or cumbersome. The big flat rear glass stops almost exactly at the extremities of the rear end, making parking a cinch. No need for parking sensors when you can see with your own eyes! In fact all round visibility was excellent, with that large glasshouse on all sides. A near perfect driving position and controls which are light and user friendly, and a positive manual gear shift made it all the more so. The steering could have a little more feel, however it was good enough to give the feedback you need. Should I have kept it, I think modifications could have turned into something different and way cooler than the BMW and Audi brigade. Regardless, it was fun enough to drive. A BMW maybe more entertaining, with its dynamics and rear wheel drive, however that joy can be diminished rapidly by maintenance and failures. The Volvo however, is one of the most dependable, indestructible, reliable cars you can find. They are well known for being capable of reaching huge mileages without missing a beat. Even when servicing hasn’t been fastidious mine still proved itself to be perfectly reliable. Even though the cambelt was way overdue, it didn’t care, “It’s a Volvo” as they say. Plus it would still do 31 miles to a single gallon of fuel, not bad for such a big car with a big petrol motor.
At night, the interior lighting made it a very relaxing place to sit and go for a cruise. Did I mention the sound system? It sounded really good, clear, controlled, with plenty of bass and volume and low distortion.
What else was good about the V70
A lot has been written about Swedish design, mainly interior and architecture however around this time, Volvo began to embrace and bring these elements into their vehicles. This is especially apparent on the interior, with some of the best seating and ergonomics of any 20 year old car, and even many newer ones. This thing was luxurious, near silent at motorway legal limits, then still pulling strong yet super stable and hushed at over 100mph down a test course facility straight. (Honest, I never broke the speed limit on the public roads, officer). Hit the brakes and it pulls up to a halt with remarkable aplomb. Brakes can also account for a lot more pace than power alone. One day when I witnessed a huge Volvo HGV lorry stopping, it clicked – Volvo know how to make vehicles stop. Really really well. Check out the below to see what I mean.
Conclusion
The ultimate daily, less boring than you think. Owning this car meant I finally turned the clock on my opinions of these cars. The BMW or Audi rivals, are too common, too unreliable, too expensive, too flashy, and too overdone in the enthusiast world. The Volvo is plenty interesting, practical, and quirky, and totally dependable and safe even though it’s such an old car. It drives better and is still safer 20 years on than some brand new cars. How newer Volvo models fare is another question, I’d like to try some of them out. However by appearances they seem to be going from strength to strength under Chinese investment/ownership that retains Swedish design and engineering. Whenever I see an old Volvo now, I have to stop and look. Oftentimes, they’ll be older than this one yet still be completely roadworthy and solid all around. Volvo cars are right up there in the longevity stakes, taken care of by superb over-engineering. It’s one to add to a classic collection, yet use everyday until the end of time!
Originally posted on my blog at https://newtonclassics.co.uk/ .... apologies need to troubleshoot EXXP plugin for automatic cross posting.
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