2004 XC90 Harsh Ride and Sagging back
 

Hi!
My 2004 2.5T lately been driving with nose up, especially when carrying people in third row.
Also - Riding over manholes and roads with minimal bumps (place where bridge connects to road) car is extremely loud and harsh. I don't think that's a proper Volvo ride quality. The S60 I also have rides very smoothly with almost no interior rattle or sound over these type of road imperfections.

So - what should I do?
From what I see outside of car - Spring isn't broken and shocks aren't leaking. (I have the basic shock not Nivomat) Should I replace them both?
I think that shocks are a must in this case, but does springs age too and cause car to sag?
Car has 300k km and I recently bought it from auction, so I don't know when was the last time shocks were changed and what quality/brand the previous owner chose.

Does anyone have any other suggestions where to look at except Springs/Shocks?
And what brand shocks should I choose for ultimate ride comfort? I would take comfortable wafting on road over performance feeling.

Springs are what holds the car up - and set the ride height. Unless the car was built with nivomats - lighter springs are used on the nivomat cars.

Springs usually do not sag, or at least they don't sag evenly on both sides. Are the original shocks still on the car? (Volvo brand)

If they have been replaced, someone may have replaced the nivomats with something cheaper.

Indeed, after looking at suspension code my car was supposed to be equipped with Nivomats, but since previous owner probably was cheapskate, the car now has the standard shock absorbers.
Could it be the reason car is sagging? Standard shocks with softer Nivomat Springs?

If So - will changing Springs to harder ones and putting new Sachs Shocks will soften the ride?

Yes the springs for Nivomat cars are softer and the ride height will be reduced.

I can't answer the 2nd question - I've not tried that or been asked to do that.