Faults:

Turbo failed at 78,000.

PCV system failure at 78,000 (related to turbo failure).

Driver's seat power module works intermittently.

One coil pack failure.

Front struts replaced before 48,000 miles by the previous owner.

Headlights heavily oxidized after 4 years.

A/C system smells moldy.

Ignition immobilizer antenna ring is faulty, resulting in non-starting during hot weather.

Remote key sometimes only opens the back doors.

Self-dimming rear view mirror leaked and is hard to see into.

General Comments:

Bought this car at about 4 years old with 48,000 miles on it. My wife liked the styling and the performance; I was skeptical, but it had a good rating so I agreed. The car was in very good condition and we purchased it from a dealership.

The first 4 years were relatively trouble-free. Enjoyed the powerful engine and responsive handling, as well as the comfortable seats. Back seat is cramped, but fine for people under 5'8". Trunk is cavernous for the car's size.

First regrets were with the general quality of the interior. Kind of just a step above American car interiors. Paint on door handles and console is easily scratched and the plastic is easily nicked. Have had economy Toyotas that were more durable in this department.

First summer, found the A/C system smelled moldy. Did lots of research, and apparently that's just how it is. Short of tearing the dash off to get to the condenser to clean it, you just have to live with it. Tried all sorts of remedies, but nothing ever worked. A/C has always been icy cold though.

Turning radius -- oh dear. Read about it before we bought it, but never really knew how bad it was. Every u-turn is a 3-point turn, guaranteed. It's kind of frustrating after a while.

Then there's the key fob remote. Sometimes it opens only the back doors. Have to cycle through 2-3 times to get the front door to open. Oh, and that key is only available through a dealer and costs about $500 to get a copy of.

And that brings me to a bigger gripe -- many parts on the car require software updates to repair. Want to swap out a broken power seat module or self-dimming rear view mirror with a spare part? Sorry, that takes a software upgrade that only is available at the dealer. It's hard to spend so much on a car and then be under an intellectual property monopoly. Our driver power seat stopped working properly one day, and it turned out it was a software issue. Had to pay $100 to have a technician re-load the software onto it. It's like owning a Windows computer and having to go to Microsoft to get MS Word reinstalled when it starts acting up -- and having to pay for it.

Headlights were BADLY oxidized before we bought it. Had them polished but it's not perfect. 4 years old and the headlights look like they've been in a junkyard for 30 years? No one can explain to me why these incredibly expensive headlights age so quickly.

But, as I said, the car was reliable and got us around. Then, one day, greyish-white smoke starts coming from the tailpipe and gets worse and worse. Take it in and are told by our trusted independent Volvo mechanic that the turbo has blown seals and was leaking oil into the exhaust. Additionally, the PCV system is prematurely clogged up. This is at 78,000 miles. We're shocked -- how could this happen? The mechanic is shocked too -- he replaces turbos so rarely that he can't believe it. We performed oil changes on-time. He surmises that either the previous owner REALLY abused the car by delaying oil changes and using inferior oil, or that the turbo simply is one of the 1 in 10,000 that has a manufacturer defect. The previous scenario is the more likely.

I won't tell you what it cost to replace the turbo and PCV system, but it was a big number. Now we've got it back and it runs great, but needs about $1,200 in work in the next 6 months. We're done with it, going to sell it and get something that is cheaper to maintain and more practical, and something that I don't have to have the dealer do a software reprogram so I can use the door locks or driver's seat. Sadly, the value is about half what we paid 4 years ago and what we get out of it will just barely be a down payment on a new car.

I don't hate the car, and if you want a sporty, inexpensive (used) sedan, take a look at them. But pay a Volvo expert to put it on a lift and do a diagnostic on it. Know that repairs are expensive, and that much of the time you're at the mercy of what Volvo charges.

Faults:

About 70k the air doser became faulty; it's basically a butterfly valve, the stop inside it was broke, so car was in limp mode. Did a DIY fix on it, but getting a computer to read the faults to find this was the problem; it was difficult, only the Volvo computer really is any use.

Rear shock burst at about 75k miles; made the car very, very skittish.

Rear brakes squealed, stripped and found the brake shoes on the left rear were binding on due to the handbrake arm being seized; needed new shoes.

Reluctor ring on CV joint broken at 90k.

Dual mass flywheel and clutch started juddering badly when taking up drive at about 80k. Replaced it at 90k miles, as I needed time to save for the repair; it was 900 quid for the parts, and it's a big job, really only for a professional mechanic, as you need a ramp etc.

General Comments:

I bought the car to tow a trailer. As my previous car was a petrol, I thought a diesel would be much better, but since then I have changed my mind; the price of the clutch and flywheel repair has put me off the car a bit.

It isn't as solid and robust as the older Volvos, it's sometimes quite hard to start, had the faults checked, none show up, possibly an injector fault, but they are a couple of hundred each, and I don't fancy changing them if that's not the problem LOL.

On the upside, the car is very, very comfortable, the engine has plenty of power, it's refined, the aircon has never been re-gassed and works perfect, and it has heated seats, which are very nice. There is little noise inside, it handles fairly well but it's not sporty, and it's fairly economical for a big car. I have got up to 55 MPG out of it, but that's not very realistic; on average I get somewhere between 40-47.

Parts for Volvos are quite expensive, even the aftermarket stuff, and it's not that easy to get in some cases, for example the engine oil is well over fifty quid.

Not a great deal of rear leg room really, I have been in smaller cars with more rear leg room, and to be honest the boot isn't fantastic, but part of that is because it's a saloon.

It doesn't seem to hold its value as well as for example a Toyota or VW, even though Volvo is reputed to be a reliable solid vehicle.

In summary, it's nice to drive, pretty pleasing to live with, but be prepared to pay plenty when it needs work.