USED Volvo V70 Estate (00 - 07)

If life is one endless motorway drag, then the Volvo’s superb interior can help take the sting out of it. The front seats are first rate and the dashboard is clearly laid out and easy to understand.

Tall passengers may struggle a bit for legroom in the back, but a growing family will have no problem, and there’s plenty of space for all their clobber. The loadbay is huge, too, but take care not to bang your head on the tailgate when you're loading, as it doesn’t open high enough.

As well as all this space, there’s plenty of safety kit and equipment levels are reasonably generous. Whats more, most engines are turbocharged, give strong performance and, in the case of the five-cylinder units, sound good.

The V70 is a pretty good drive, too. While the ride can occasionally be firm, for the most part the V70 is comfortable and easy to live with. For a big estate, it handles well, too, even if it does roll more than an Audi or a BMW.

The ultimate all-season Volvo estate is the four-wheel-drive XC70, which rides slightly higher and has more plastic cladding on the body. Performance fans can choose from a 260bhp T5 or a 300bhp R, but the V70’s chassis doesn’t have the sophistication to do all that performance justice.

On the other hand, there’s plenty of choice for those of us who swim in the mainstream. However, with the entry-level 140bhp 2.4 petrol under the bonnet, it can feel like rowing against the tide.

The 170bhp 2.4 does a better job, but the best engine is the 185bhp 2.5 D5 turbodiesel, although the 163bhp 2.4D is fine too.

If you can stretch to it, go for a car in SE trim, which will give you leather and a CD multichanger. However, the basic S-badged cars get air-con, a CD player and six airbags.

You’ll have to dig a little deeper into your pockets if you wish to secure our recommended version, the D5. The bargains are petrol-engined V70s, which hold on to their value less well and are more affordable than their BMW, Audi or Mercedes-Benz counterparts.

Provided you do a high enough mileage to justify the diesel’s higher asking price, the excellent 40mpg fuel economy will pay off. The entry-level 140bhp 2.4-litre petrol engine promises no more than 31.3mpg, which is only a little better than the 29.7mpg of the T5. The worst offender is the thirsty 2.5T R, with its claimed 26.4mpg.

You may also need to bargain for a set of tyres quite regularly. Performance models and the D5 can get through a set of fronts fairly quickly.

Insurance is reasonable, though, with most models falling into group 13, although the faster petrols are in group 16, and the R a very expensive group 18.

Inside, the V70 tends to hang on to its solid build quality long after it has left the factory, so you don’t need to worry too much about interior trim working loose.

A visit to the Vehicle and Operator Safety Agency website – www.vosa.gov.uk - reveals several recalls. The list is too long to reproduce here, but includes the risk of the detachable tow bar working loose and the electric cooling fan overheating. As ever, check the necessary work has been done before you buy any car.

The V70, like the S80, can also suffer from front suspension problems. Exhaust heat shields have been known to work themselves loose, and diesel engines can have problems with the fuel injection system. If the engine is reluctant to start, or produces lots of black smoke when it does start, look elsewhere.