Volvo V50 (2004 - 2012) 1.6 DRIVe (109bhp) ES 5d Owner Review

Lovely car to drive as a plodder and can put in a turn of speed if required for overtaking but watch that rev counter as it revs readily and easily passes the red zone which is only 4k ish. I blew a turbo overtaking a tractor in 3rd and didnt change quick enough grrrrrr

Car lovely to drive and no rust whatsoever on bodyshell even underneath which was amazing for a 10 year old car. feels solid but aint no V70 D5. Cloth seats were great. Uncomfortable on long runs and car is quite low due to its eco credentials. Tyre pressure need to be high too at 38psi but they wear well if you get decent brand like Michelin (40K) etc

BIG fat downside are the dodgy electrics. Every single part is a fault waiting to happen. usually due to poor quality components/metals used. Over 3 years had 1001 random engine management lights and errors. Most cured by cleaning fuses and relays in ECM, fuse board etc over time. Throttle pedal is notorious for sending out random fault codes which have nothing to do with pedal. There was a volvo fix for this which changed the loom wires at pedal. My final solution was taking fuse 36 out under the bonnet having disconnected battery overnight (often helps) cleaned it up and tried to start it knowing it wouldnt crank. A couple of times then put battery on and fuse back and never a problem at all for the next year till I finally sold it. Few turbo issues which is easy enough at front of car. One ebay china special lasted about 3mths (never buy a chinese turbo) I then bought a French turbo cartridge and all was good. - Lovely car when it was good but never, ever again. This car is also a peugeot/ford.citroen etc so if you need parts..... oh and tax only £20 a year so thats a saving of £300 which was often needed.