Used Volvo XC70 review and buying guide (2000 to 2016): which one to buy and what to check

Which used Volvo XC70 should you buy?

The five-cylinder diesel XC70 is the lesser risk, but only with paperwork proving the timing belt, its tensioner and the idler pulleys were renewed on schedule. That belt drive is a serious known fault: the tensioners and pulleys can give up before the belt's due, often between 46,000 and 65,000 miles, and a thrown belt can wreck the engine. Recent receipts for that job are what make one worth buying; without them, don't.

From 2014 the XC70 got Volvo's 2.0 four-cylinder diesel, and it isn't an easy way out. Its EGR system clogs with soot and the EGR cooler's a weak point, bringing a warning light, a burning smell or limp mode. In 2019 Volvo recalled cars with this engine built from 2014, the XC70 among them, because the plastic inlet manifold could melt and catch fire, so a later car needs proof that work's been done.

There's next to nothing in the record on the petrol XC70s, so don't assume one's safer just because it isn't a diesel. With the diesels, the choice comes down to paperwork: belt-drive receipts on a D5, recall proof and a clean drive with no warning lights on a 2.0. That belt-drive fault reaches back to 2001, so an early Mk1 diesel needs the same receipts as a later one.

Which XC70 engines and gearboxes are the safe choices?

Every XC70 diesel carries a serious known fault, so it's about which risk you can check on paper. The five-cylinder D5, plus the 2.0 and 2.4 D3 and D4 versions of it sold until about 2014, has a timing belt Volvo scheduled for 96,000 miles or 8 years. Make sure the tensioner and idler pulleys were changed with it, since they can fail first and take the engine with them.

Don't forget the auxiliary belt. Volvo issued a bulletin in 2011 to replace its tensioner, and if that belt comes off a battery or power steering warning lights up. On the twin-turbo D5, the electronic oil level sensor can fail and throw up a false service message, and the low-speed turbo can get noisy, so listen for it at a gentle pull away.

The later four-cylinder 2.0 diesel isn't the safer bet it looks: EGR clogging and a weak cooler are a known fault on it, and it's the engine the 2019 melting inlet manifold recall covered. Both engine families can also gain oil when fuel gets past the pistons during filter regeneration. A 2010 Volvo bulletin for the D5 reprogrammed the engine software to burn less fuel in those cycles and had the excess oil drained off.

Gearbox evidence is thin and rests on single owners. One 2012 Geartronic automatic whined and jerked in the lower gears, which eased once mismatched tyres were replaced, and one 2014 car needed a new automatic gearbox under warranty. The four-wheel-drive system's what really needs looking after: its Haldex clutch wants regular fluid and filter changes, more so on a car that's towed.

What should you check when viewing a used XC70?

Pull the dipstick before anything else: a level over the max mark, or oil smelling of diesel, means fuel's been reaching the sump during filter burns, and it needs fresh oil, not a top-up. Listen from cold for a squeal or chirp from the belts, and watch for a battery or power steering warning. On a 2.0 diesel from 2014, an engine light, burning smell or limp mode points at the EGR.

Check all four tyres are the same make with closely matched tread, because a mismatch strains the four-wheel drive; one owner's 2012 car whined less once an odd tyre was swapped. Do some slow, tight turns. If the back end crabs round as if it's locked, the Haldex clutch needs servicing, as it did on one high-mileage 2009 car. Look for oil leaks at the rear differential too, since one 2009 car's failed after a seal let it run dry.

Steering that goes heavy now and then is worth questioning: one 2010 car kept doing it after a new pump, reservoir and steering module, with the rack suspected. Flash the headlamps and see whether anything else plays up, as a control module under the front passenger floor has caused several faults at once when that's used. Make sure both rear light clusters work, because replacing one means taking the rear bumper off.

Ask for receipts for the timing belt with its tensioner and idler pulleys, the auxiliary belt tensioner, and Haldex fluid and filter changes. On a 2.0 diesel built from 2014, get proof the 2019 recall was done. Volvo also recalled the XC70 in 2009 over wipers that could fail to work properly, so check that's on the car's record.

Paste the advert into the free check and it runs these against the listing, the MOT history and the DVLA record before you travel.

Is a used Volvo XC70 Mk2 (2007 to 2016) a good buy?

A Mk2 XC70 is worth having as a five-cylinder diesel with its belt-drive work proven, while the 2.0 diesel from 2014 is the one to treat with the most caution. On early Mk2 cars, built from 2007 to 2010, Volvo recalled the auxiliary belt tensioner in the UK because a failed tensioner or belt could get tangled in the timing belt, so check that's been done.

It's a strong tow car: a D5, manual or automatic, will restart a big caravan on a steep slope. Towing takes its toll on the four-wheel drive, though. One owner's caravan-towing car had its Haldex unit play up at 48,000 miles, first with a bad electrical connection and then high pressure from a filter that wasn't clean, so on a car with a tow bar those fluid changes matter even more.

Don't expect the warranty years to be trouble free either. One January 2014 car needed a new alternator as well as its automatic gearbox before it reached 34,000 miles, both fixed under warranty. If you find a rare T6 petrol from 2008 to 2010, ask whether its engine software update was done, since Volvo recalled those worldwide over a module that didn't always work as it should.

What does a used Volvo XC70 cost to run?