Wagon Stoke

[MontuckyFried]

Light, pleasant and airy is how it was usually described by passengers in its ample light sand colored leather seats.

Totally. Mine is the same color as Ted's above. Same color interior as you guys too. Combined with the light trim and brown dash, it's still super aesthetically pleasing. Very zen compared to modern cars, particuarly ze German offerings. And yeah. Highway star is right. Mine might not be sporty at all (ESPECIALLY with the non-turbo 3.2), but it makes up for it with its highway and snow manners. About to hit 220K, and yet the interior still looks amazing and that old SI6 is still running smooth as silk.

[Ted Striker]

Seashell Metallic

"Is you car silver or gold?"

"Yes"

[Aldo]

$500?! Even better! That price makes it the best color of all. I think when that car was new, that faded plastic cladding was more of a navy blue and actually looked pretty good with the silver. I wonder if it can be at least partially restored with some sort of treatment.

Ha!
You know it’s funny I’ve been thinking a lot about the color of that stuff and what could be done to change it, then reality snaps me out of it and I remember I don’t give a shit what it looks like! I think lol….Could remove it all and paint black, or perhaps zebra striped with the oddest color combo ever? Maybe I’ll lose a few cans of Wurth silicone on it? Who knows.

found myself driving a 13 xc70 with 100k on it yesterday for a spell - flogged it a bit. Cool cars , predictable, comfy - values getting reasonable - Thought about this thread and was ruminating. ( until I had something in real world pop my bubble again )

Used to drive 200q avants for quite a while / first thing I’d do was an automatic bilstein/eibach swap with all the suspension rubber I could find. God damn nothing was more rewarding that a fully sorted and properly aligned ( looking at you gravity ) 91 200q20v avant with some heat under hood…..

But this 13 xc was pleasing, those seats! had decent power, predictable albeit a tad soft ; maybe more so with the mileage- and I’d had convos with customer about redoing the suspension with fresh oem volvo parts front to back. Knowing I was going to have car he asked me again to drive and think about the suspension- was it worth doing the work, would the considerable cost be worth a noticeable improvement? I’d just done another similar xc70 with a few broken springs and after all was said and done - it didn’t really impress me and I made that clear to him I was sort of torn…. Anyway

Volvos are different than Audis - always have been , it’s a Conestoga vs a bobsled- not the same. Never will be, sure you can get an R , modify your car how you want and get great results- but it’s still gonna be different.

Maybe I’m in a conestoga phase? Just need something comfy to carry me and my gear around? All of those lowered Audis were great but dammit I live in an area where the roads may be in the worst shape in country? They worked for young me - but I don’t mind the mild mannered ugly* turbo brick I’ve found myself in at current. My aching back certainly appreciates it. I’ll be back in a bobsled soon.

* thanks simple !

End blog

Rambling thoughts of a skier who can’t sleep and knows it’s -25 outside, gonna be a late start!

[gravitylover]

Yeah boy, properly aligned has this XC60 R Design Polestar tuned thing handling like a dream. I need an empty road to go wring it out because it's a lot more car than I thought it could be.

[baron]

Living in Jackson hole this is my wagon of choice

1st time checkin out this thread/was hoping to see more of this in this. babybear +1 !

[lowsparkco]

Ha!
All of those lowered Audis were great but dammit I live in an area where the roads may be in the worst shape in country? They worked for young me - but I don’t mind the mild mannered ugly* turbo brick I’ve found myself in at current. My aching back certainly appreciates it. I’ll be back in a bobsled soon.

* thanks simple !

End blog

Rambling thoughts of a skier who can’t sleep and knows it’s -25 outside, gonna be a late start!

I like the options in my B9 wagon. I set up the “Individual” custom program with the responsive throttle but the soft suspension. When I feel like really getting on it I use their dynamic sport everything mode and then around town I soften it up. I will say every lady in my life i.e. my wife and my mom both think it sits too low

[liv2ski]

I have loved my 2006 V70R over the years and it is still my daily driver with 217k miles on it, but for long trips, I really love to drive my 2016 Cayenne S. It is actually more comfortable on my back then the much praised Volvo seats and is so silky smooth to drive. Great passing acceleration. Only bummer is, I doubt it will be as cheap for me to drive as the Volvo.

[BmillsSkier]

I’ve got a 23 a4 allroad as a loaner this weekend and holy shit is it making think seriously about trading my b8.5 allroad in and upgrading.

I love my car to no end but man it’s every bit a 10 year old car next to this new one.

[plugboots]

I’ve got a 23 a4 allroad as a loaner this weekend and holy shit is it making think seriously about trading my b8.5 allroad in and upgrading.

I love my car to no end but man it’s every bit a 10 year old car next to this new one.

Yeah, I mean, the new tech and ^hp are always tempting when I demo.

[heckacali]

And the absence of subtly and imperceptibly wearing out suspension parts....

[plugboots]

I’m really hard on cars and I kinda treat them like 5 year life span tools.

[MontuckyFried]

I’ve got a 23 a4 allroad as a loaner this weekend and holy shit is it making think seriously about trading my b8.5 allroad in and upgrading.

Tell us more! Saw one recently and they're actually pretty good looking. Price for a new one is surprisingly... not terrible!

[liv2ski]

I thought they look kind of squatty compared to say a 2013. I like the older body style better.

[lowsparkco]

Tell us more! Saw one recently and they're actually pretty good looking. Price for a new one is surprisingly... not terrible!

I paid way too close to MSRP for a leased vehicle with 15k miles on it because you simply couldn’t get a new one. It doesn’t help that Audi does a shit job tracking the inventory nationally through their website.

It was hard to do, but I dropped my mom off at the Subaru dealership the same week and she paid almost the same money for an Outback.

They’re billing the new eTron allroad (due early 2024) as having a 495 mile range. I bet it’s going to be upwards of $70k though.

[BmillsSkier]

Yeah, I mean, the new tech and ^hp are always tempting when I demo.

And the absence of subtly and imperceptibly wearing out suspension parts....

I’m really hard on cars and I kinda treat them like 5 year life span tools.

Tell us more! Saw one recently and they're actually pretty good looking. Price for a new one is surprisingly... not terrible!

I thought they look kind of squatty compared to say a 2013. I like the older body style better.

The B9 is a very handsome wagon, and compared to my B8.5 its design is just that much more angular which works well. To L2S' point, I think side by side I still prefer my body style as I think it looks a bit more athletic - wider looking track and I like my grille. That said, the trim and interior is considerably more sophisticated throughout. The lighting is so much better inside with LEDs throughout and the dash feels much more open with the infotainment screen moved up. The console is much wider as well. I love that on the B9 the tonneau cover in the cargo area goes up and down with the liftgate, a feature I could use as I keep mine closed all the time. The power in the B9 felt great, and not that dissimilar from mine (I've got an APR Stage 1 however) but the deployment just feels a bit different. The B8.5 was the last to use the 60/40 rear bias full-time quattro which I love.

As far as aging cars, I tend to take really good care of mine so inside and out (despite front bumper/hood chips from the mass amounts of road trip miles I've put on mine) so it still looks great. No imperceptive suspension issues either (knocks on wood) so I'm curious what you've bumped into heckacall.

No cracks in the leather and I've got 2 dogs and a young boy that challenge my Type-A desire to keep it as spotless as the last time I detailed it.

Ideally an RS4Avant would fit my bill but since we can't have nice things I'm looking at another a4 allroad or the a6 allroad as the replacement for mine. Availability of both seems to be creeping up but I'm also of the mindset that (a) I love my car, and (b) paid cars are the best cars. The appeal is strong though, very sharp little wagon...

[liv2ski]

2004 v70r bought new, sold when ready for it's SECOND electronic strut and motor mount replacement after 50k miles....among many other smaller insults to reliability.

Not a lot of personal data points as I usually own Toyota group vehicles, but the pretty thing had bought the Volvo before we got together...and now she will not even thing about a euro car.

Huh I guess with a Toyota mindset a $350 strut will blow your mind, but if you liked the caR, you can remove the accelerator from the old strut, zip tie it in place to fool the suspension system and install some Bilsteins. BTW, never buy the first model year of a caR which the 2004 was. AS a reference point my last annual service on my caR was $675 with over 200k miles on it and the caR runs great. O ya, Toyota has nothing I want, so I will happily pay for the Eurocar premium, but we are all different and that is what makes the world go around.

[MontuckyFried]

Strut replacement was over $4k

WOAH! That's nuts!

(at the dealer)...

Ohhhh.... Well THAT'S where she went wrong you see. Of course the dealer's gonna screw everyone over, along with all the other items that probably sent her over the edge. Man. I wish I could've snagged that sweet R off you guys. Hopefully it went to a good home at least.

[jm2e]

Also also.
Before you assume I am poor and stuck with only lowly Toyotas, remember, Lexus is in the "Toyota group",
I wrote it that way for a reason.

If Lexus had a wagon or small SUV with >300hp equivalent I’d be paying attention. Which is why I’m watching the rx 450H or whatever it’s called.


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[Mazderati]

RAV4 Prime or NX450h+. 302hp. AWD. Plug-in hybrid. MPG 40ish.

[liv2ski]

Strut replacement was over $4k (at the dealer)

It's true, a sucker is born every minute. I hope that is working out for you.

[Buster Highmen]

The steering pump and the awd went out on our 2006 V70R.
There's nothing that can replace it for its size, traction, 6 speed manual and zip, so I just dropped $4k into fixing those at an independent shop.

It's my 19 year old daughters car and she loves it.

[liv2ski]

Haven't had to do a steering pump yet, but when my Angle Gear failed that repair was about $2,800 at the dealer, many moons ago. These cars can have expensive stuff go wrong, but for what the car is and offers, I will endure it for now. If I had that caR at 19, I would of been so stoked. You're a good dad Buster.

[4matic]

Picking up the e500 tomorrow. $2600. Seems like a bargain for all I had done. The list is long:

Weld the exhaust and cat

Transmission mounts and hangars

Shift gear linkage

Two upper tie rods

Alignment

Fluid change: oil, t-case, diff, coolant

Expansion tank and hoses

Fuel sender and pressure sensor.

Repair battery posts.

[Core Shot]

When a new car costs $500 plus a month, it’s easier to rationalize repair bills as monthly payments when it’s an old car you haven’t made payments on in years.

[Aldo]

Bingo. Just gotta know when to leave the dance floor.


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