I'm in a similar position at the moment too. My XC70 is due for MOT in a week's time and I thought last time round it was on borrowed time then. All being well it's things like ball joints and an odd bush but there's a chance it'll add up enough to say enough. It does pretty much everything I want/need it to do, good on fuel for what it is, and just about fixable on the drive.
The question is what to relace it with? Whislt 4wd/Awd isn't crucial, it's desirable, but a bit of ground clearance is more important.
My shortlist isn't far off what's already been said (CRV, Duster, Yeti, Octavia Scout, Rav 4 etc and maybe, just maybe a Freelander2) but every one those at the lower price points seem to suffer from rust/rot more than the Volvo of the similar cost.
The unicorn find would be a pre 2005 XC70 D5 manual I suppose, but they are few and far between.
Other than rust, most of the above seem to regularly be seem with over 200,000 miles on, even an odd diesel Duster, but the Duster seems to be the odd one out in that it's a bit more basic and with a smaller engine.
Does anyone on here have any experience of owning an older, higher milage Duster (either 2 or 4wd)?