Towing with XC70

Thinking of buying a Volvo XC70 to tow a 1400kg caravan. Has anyone any
comments on suitability?
Thanks
Barry

 

poser - buy a normal, civilised car and just hire a posing wagon when you
need to pull a van. cheaper too than buying a xc70.

 

Judging by the number of Volvo V70's towing caravans in the UK (though why
anyone would want to is beyond me!) I'm under the impression that they make
very good tow vehicles. Since the XC70 is a V70 on stilts with 4wd I can't
see it being any worse than a normal V70 and perhaps a bit better across
muddy fields. The only trade off vs an ordinary V70 will be worse handling
and higher fuel consumption and possibly higher depreciation.

Your choice!

 

Absolutely no problem. Here the XC70 is rated for 1800 at 12° and 2000kg at
8°.

If you tow "only sometimes", have a look at the normal V70 AWD, a little bit
cheaper (but, please check....). Or even the normal V70 is sufficient.


Jürgen

 

The XC70 can tow the same as a V70, at least by rating (in Canada)... And
the XC70 holds its value better here too!

You don't see any Volvo's towing around here (well... our 960, but that's
about it), but they're probably the only station wagon left around that
still have a 3300lbs tow rating (meaning for 1400kg you're still in the
clear) - There are no tow ratings on our Passat wagons, Mercedes C/E class
wagons, nor the BMWs, Audi's, don't even think the Taurus wagon (POS Ford
wagon that a lot of people used to use as a tow car before SUVs became
popular) or the new Magnum wagon (think Chrysler 300C wagon- so V8 and rear
wheel drive wagon in top level trim, V6 in lower trims) have any real towing
capacity either... Leaves you out of luck unless you want an SUV here, or a
minivan. I'd rather tow with our Volvo then a minivan any day... Those
things tend to be underpowered and overworked on their own anyways.

The XC70 is rated the same as our 960 wagon, 3300lbs... But the XC70 has a
much more flexible and stronger torque output - why not tow with it?

 

Thanks for the helpful comments. I have now arranged to borrow a
demonstrator with a tow ball for a day so I should be able to give it a good
tow test.
Barry