My wife and I recently went through the same process. We compared a V70 with the light pressure turbo, 197 hp I think, to the E320. The power from the Volvo felt very hollow by comparison. The brakes felt grabby, not at all progressive. And the car just lacked the heft and solidity that the E320 had. The Volvo was smaller with interior space as well as cargo space. There are some well-documented electronics issues with the throttle control in certain years, but Volvo does have a very generous extended warranty in place for the affected cars. My indy mechanic's opinion also factored into it. His experience with Volvos is that they are more expensive to repair, and he's actually put his money where his mouth is because he also bought his wife a 2000 E320 Wagon. While the comparable Volvo was about $2K less than the E320, we felt it was money well spent and went with the Benz.

Make sure you have the Harmonic Balancer checked. If there are signs of failure, get it replaced. The US has a recall in place on this, but Canada doesn't. It cost me $200 parts/labour for some piece of mind. $4K potential damage if it fails.

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Jonathan

2011 Mazda2
2000 E320 4Matic Wagon
1994 C280 (retired)