Faults:

Luggage cover rewind failed. Replaced under warranty.

At 9000 miles the engine started hunting badly. Diagnosed under warranty as blocked air filter. New filter fixed the problem.

General Comments:

Simply the best car I have ever driven.

For all practical purposes the performance of the 2.5T is almost the same as the T5; but without the loud turbo whine. I test drove the T5 for a week; but decided that driving 40000 miles a year I wanted a quieter environment.

The performance was as much as the front wheel drive could deliver. I had to be careful not to floor the accelerator on anything but the best gripping surfaces.

The load space and driver and passenger comfort was superb.

Few cars can accelerate with a kick in the back from 100mph. This one can. At 70 it's like riding on rails.

Faults:

ABS control module needed replaced.

Leak from roof rail mounts into the rear.

Drivers electric window switch packed up - twice.

General Comments:

A very comfortable car on long journeys.

Very slow for a 2.5, left behind by all sorts of mundane smaller cars.

Too many expensive electrical faults to say it's a reliable car.

I should have bought the T5...

Faults:

Faulty ABS ECU (intermittent ABS light on dash) cost £450.00 & not covered by sellers warranty.

General Comments:

I traded in my Rover 620ti (it had a big engine fault) on my way back from a 3,000 mile jaunt to the South of France. The Volvo dealer did not notice the fault, so it was a case of which car to choose from his lot. The only criteria were that it had to be newer than the Rover (the wife wanted that one) and that it had cruise control (my choice).

There were very few of the cars fitted with cruise so it came down to a shortlist & my daughter chose the one she liked the colour of...a family choice at last.

The car drives very well, is quiet and fairly economical given that its a 2.5 & a heavy estate body. Its certainly more of a cruiser than a bruiser with lethargic acceleration (at least, compared to the Rover). We found the journey home (550 miles) to be a breeze.

The only fly in the happy volvo owner ointment was the failure of the ABS ECU. This occured after 7 days of ownership and was expensive to sort. The dealer's warranty did not cover it and since I'd sold him the Rover with a wrecked engine & warped brakes he was not feeling very accomodating. Trolling the internet sees several other owners with ABS problems.

I am still trying to get used to the sedate cruise & must admit to missing the excitement of the Rover on full boost charging past traffic with abandon, but hey, with all the police clampdowns, maybe its for the best....perhaps I should have gone for the T5 turbo....