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Volvo V50 (04 on) - Review

Review by Dan Harrison on 05 March 2008

Last Updated: 16 April 2012

Volvo is one of the great estate makers - it's been doing it for decades. Volvos have always been practical, but those launched in more recent years - such as the Volvo V50 - have been increasingly stylish too. The V50 is essentially the estate version of the S40 saloon and is a good value alternative to the likes of the BMW 3 Series Touring with good levels of standard equipment, an elegant interior and strong build quality. There are also low-emissions DRIVe versions available that offer low running costs thanks to cheaper road tax and impressive fuel economy while the R-Design models get a sporty look inside and out. Volvo would like to consider the V50 a premium product and it’s fair to say that the interior is a classy affair with solid, aesthetically pleasing switchgear. Ergonomically, it’s unrivalled: seat comfort is among the best and the controls that sit in the ‘floating’ central console, are easy to understand. One might consider the V50 something of an unnecessary luxury when you consider the premium badge, but entry level models have a surprisingly low list price to go with a generous kit list. The DRIVe models might well be attractive to those looking to cut down their monthly costs but you’ll pay around £500 more on the list price if you go for the base ES model. The engine range isn’t confusingly exhaustive with a 143bhp 2.0-litre petrol, a 113bhp 1.6-litre diesel and a 149bhp 2.0-litre diesel. The 2.0-litre diesel can be specified with a six-speed automatic transmission, while the rest of the engine line-up comes with a six-speed manual. The ES only comes with the 1.6-litre diesel and 2.0-litre petrol however. If practicality is your priority then the Volvo is a strong choice: there’s plenty of leg- and headroom and the sizeable 417-litre boot extends to 1,307 litres with the rear seats down. The trim line-up of ES, SE, SE Lux and R-Design is pretty straightforward as you will see in our equipment section but we would recommend the DRIVe version in the SE Lux trim because it offers a generous level of equipment at a comparatively affordable price. For the full Volvo V50 review read on…

4 out of 5

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ES

2.0 ES 5d

1.6 ES 5d

1.6 DRIVe (109bhp) ES 5d

1.6 D2 (115bhp) ES 5d

1.6D DRIVe (115bhp) ES 5d

2.0 D3 (150bhp) ES 5d

2.0 D3 (150bhp) ES 5d Geartronic

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S

1.6 S 5d

1.6 S 5d (07)

1.8 S (06/07-09/09) 5d

1.8 S 5d (07)

1.8 S 5d

2.0 S 5d (07)

2.0 S 5d

2.4i S 5d (07)

2.4i S 5d Geartronic (07)

2.4i S 5d

2.4i S 5d Geartronic

1.6D S 5d

1.6D S 5d (07)

1.6D DRIVe S 5d

1.6D DRIVe S (Start/Stop) 5d

2.0D S 5d (07)

2.0D S 5d

2.0D S 5d (Euro 4)

2.0D S (06/07-05/10) 5d

2.0D S 5d Powershift

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Sport

1.8 Sport (06/07-08/07) 5d

1.8 Sport 5d (07)

1.8 Sport 5d

2.0 Sport 5d (07)

2.0 Sport (06/07-08/07) 5d

2.0 Sport (06/06-01/07) 5d

2.4i Sport 5d (07)

2.4i Sport 5d Geartronic (07)

2.4i Sport 5d

2.4i Sport 5d Geartronic

T5 Sport 5d

T5 Sport 5d Geartronic

T5 Sport 5d (07)

T5 Sport 5d Geartronic (07)

2.5 T5 Sport 5d

2.5 T5 Sport 5d Geartronic

2.5 T5 AWD Sport 5d

2.5 T5 AWD Sport 5d Geartronic

2.0D Sport 5d (07)

2.0D Sport 5d (09/04)

2.0D Sport 5d (10/04)

2.0D Sport 5d

D5 Sport 5d Geartronic (07)

D5 Sport (06/06-01/07) 5d Geartronic

D5 Sport 5d Geartronic

1.8F Sport 5d

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SE Sport

1.8 SE Sport 5d (07)

1.8 SE Sport 5d

2.0 SE Sport 5d (07)

2.0 SE Sport (06/07-08/07) 5d

2.0 SE Sport 5d

2.4i SE Sport 5d (07)

2.4i SE Sport 5d Geartronic (07)

2.4i SE Sport 5d

2.4i SE Sport 5d Geartronic

T5 SE Sport 5d

T5 SE Sport 5d Geartronic

T5 SE Sport 5d (07)

T5 SE Sport 5d Geartronic (07)

2.5 T5 SE Sport 5d

2.5 T5 SE Sport 5d Geartronic

2.5 T5 AWD SE Sport 5d

2.5 T5 AWD SE Sport 5d Geartronic

2.0D SE Sport 5d (07)

2.0D SE Sport 5d (09/04)

2.0D SE Sport 5d (10/04)

2.0D SE Sport 5d

D5 SE Sport 5d Geartronic (07)

D5 SE Sport 5d Geartronic

D5 SE Sport (06/07-08/07) 5d Geartronic

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SE

1.6 SE 5d (07)

1.8 SE (06/07-09/09) 5d

1.8 SE 5d (07)

1.8 SE 5d

2.0 SE (06/07-) 5d

2.0 SE 5d (07)

2.0 SE 5d

2.4i SE 5d (07)

2.4i SE 5d Geartronic (07)

2.4i SE (06/07-05/08) 5d

2.4i SE 5d Geartronic

2.4i SE 5d

2.4i SE(04/04-01/07) 5d Geartronic

T5 SE 5d (07)

T5 SE 5d Geartronic (07)

2.5 T5 SE 5d

2.5 T5 SE 5d Geartronic

2.5 T5 AWD SE 5d

2.5 T5 AWD SE 5d Geartronic

1.6D SE 5d (07)

1.6D SE 5d

1.6D DRIVe SE 5d

1.6D DRIVe SE (Start/Stop) 5d

1.6 DRIVe (109bhp) SE 5d

1.6 D2 (115bhp) SE 5d

1.6D DRIVe (115bhp) SE 5d

2.0 D3 (150bhp) SE 5d

2.0 D3 (150bhp) SE 5d Geartronic

2.0 D4 (177bhp) SE 5d

2.0 D4 (177bhp) SE 5d Geartronic

2.0D SE 5d (07)

2.0D SE 5d

2.0D SE 5d (Euro 4)

2.0D SE (06/07-05/10) 5d

2.0D SE 5d Powershift

D5 SE 5d Geartronic (07)

D5 SE 5d Geartronic

D5 SE 5d

D5 SE (06/07-12/09) 5d Geartronic

1.8F SE 5d

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SE Lux

2.0 SE Lux 5d

2.4i SE Lux 5d

2.4i SE Lux 5d Geartronic

T5 SE Lux 5d

T5 SE Lux 5d Geartronic

1.6D DRIVe SE Lux 5d

1.6D DRIVe SE Lux (Start/Stop) 5d

1.6 DRIVe (109bhp) SE Lux 5d

1.6 D2 (115bhp) SE Lux 5d

1.6D DRIVe (115bhp) SE Lux 5d

2.0 D3 (150bhp) SE Lux 5d

2.0 D3 (150bhp) SE Lux 5d Geartronic

2.0 D4 (177bhp) SE Lux 5d

2.0 D4 (177bhp) SE Lux 5d Geartronic

2.0D SE Lux 5d

2.0D SE Lux 5d Powershift

D5 SE Lux 5d

D5 SE Lux 5d Geartronic

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R DESIGN Sport

1.8 R DESIGN Sport 5d

2.0 R DESIGN Sport 5d

T5 R DESIGN Sport 5d

T5 R DESIGN Sport 5d Geartronic

2.0D R DESIGN Sport 5d

2.0D R DESIGN Sport 5d Powershift

D5 R DESIGN Sport 5d

D5 R DESIGN Sport 5d Geartronic

1.8F R DESIGN Sport 5d

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R DESIGN

1.8 R DESIGN 5d

2.0 R DESIGN 5d

T5 R DESIGN 5d

T5 R DESIGN 5d Geartronic

1.6D DRIVe R DESIGN 5d

1.6 D2 (115bhp) R DESIGN 5d

2.0 D3 (150bhp) R DESIGN 5d

2.0 D3 (150bhp) R DESIGN 5d Geartronic

2.0 D4 (177bhp) R DESIGN 5d

2.0 D4 (177bhp) R DESIGN 5d Geartronic

2.0D R DESIGN 5d

2.0D R DESIGN 5d Powershift

D5 R DESIGN 5d

D5 R DESIGN 5d Geartronic

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R DESIGN SE

2.0 R DESIGN SE 5d

T5 R DESIGN SE 5d

T5 R DESIGN SE 5d Geartronic

2.0D R DESIGN SE 5d

2.0D R DESIGN SE 5d Powershift

D5 R DESIGN SE 5d

D5 R DESIGN SE 5d Geartronic

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R DESIGN SE Sport

2.0 R DESIGN SE Sport 5d

T5 R DESIGN SE Sport 5d

T5 R DESIGN SE Sport 5d Geartronic

2.0D R DESIGN SE Sport 5d

2.0D R DESIGN SE Sport 5d Powershift

D5 R DESIGN SE Sport 5d

D5 R DESIGN SE Sport 5d Geartronic

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R DESIGN Premium

2.0 R DESIGN Premium 5d

T5 R DESIGN Premium 5d

T5 R DESIGN Premium 5d Geartronic

2.0 D4 (177bhp) R DESIGN Premium 5d

2.0 D4 (177bhp) R DESIGN Premium 5d Geartronic

2.0D R DESIGN Premium 5d

2.0D R DESIGN Premium 5d Powershift

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R DESIGN SE Premium

2.0 R DESIGN SE Premium 5d

T5 R DESIGN SE Premium 5d

T5 R DESIGN SE Premium 5d Geartronic

2.0D R DESIGN SE Premium 5d

2.0D R DESIGN SE Premium 5d Powershift

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SE Premium

2.0 SE Premium 5d

2.0 D4 (177bhp) SE Premium 5d

2.0 D4 (177bhp) SE Premium 5d Geartronic

2.0D SE Premium 5d

2.0D SE Premium 5d Powershift

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SE Lux Premium

2.0 SE Lux Premium 5d

2.0 D4 (177bhp) SE Lux Premium 5d

2.0 D4 (177bhp) SE Lux Premium 5d Geartronic

2.0D SE Lux Premium 5d

2.0D SE Lux Premium 5d Powershift

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R DESIGN Edition

2.0 R DESIGN Edition 5d

T5 R DESIGN Edition 5d Geartronic

D2 (115bhp) R DESIGN Edition 5d

D3 (150bhp) R DESIGN Edition 5d

D3 (150bhp) R DESIGN Edition 5d Geartronic

D4 (177bhp) R DESIGN Edition 5d

D4 (177bhp) R DESIGN Edition 5d Geartronic

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SE Edition

2.0 SE Edition 5d

DRIVe (115bhp) SE Edition 5d

D3 (150bhp) SE Edition 5d

D3 (150bhp) SE Edition 5d Geartronic

D4 (177bhp) SE Edition 5d

D4 (177bhp) SE Edition 5d Geartronic

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SE Lux Edition

2.0 SE Lux Edition 5d

DRIVe (115bhp) SE Lux Edition 5d

D3 (150bhp) SE Lux Edition 5d

D3 (150bhp) SE Lux Edition 5d Geartronic

D4 (177bhp) SE Lux Edition 5d

D4 (177bhp) SE Lux Edition 5d Geartronic

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