2011 VOLVO V50 reviews

Volvo V50 SE Lux Stop Start 2011

First a challenge: To all with more than 1 star for this car, please quote your mpg! I got this car in April 2011 for its economy; at 25,000 miles/year it should be a big saving. How wrong!!! My previous BMW 320D Tourer 170 bhp was fun to drive but only 51 mpg average over the 60k miles I had it, (similar with Passat before that). So the V50 115bhp with 8k on the clock is averaging 52mpg and to get this I am driving like there is an egg shell between my foot and the pedal, with the air-con off most of the time. The car is currently with Volvo (5 days and counting) to solve: 1) Poor fuel consumption 2) Severe "clunk" in the gearbox when changing gear 3) "Reduced engine performance" alarm; this has happened on two occasions so far. In addition it’s already had the dual mass flywheel changed to try and sort out the gearbox clunk. Also, the steering wheel radio and cruise control switches get hot. I totally agree with other posts concerning Volvo claims, which are bordering on lies for the claimed mpg, which were the only reason I went for this car. My advice to anyone is if you are a Volvo nut then OK, but go in with open eyes (and a clunking gearbox), otherwise the BMW or Passat offer more honest claims on achieveable mpg figures and are more fun to drive.