AWD Transmission: D5 or 3.2? What a problem to have

Thanks for your response - would you have gone for the petrol if you still had to pay UK petrol prices?
Drove the diesel and v disappointed with the power.
Drove Merc ML320 DIESEL which blew me away with staggering performance.
So still undecided - definately wont be buying volvo diesel so if I dont buy petrol model I will turn to a different manufacturer.

[TexasDave]

No, if I was still in the UK it is not the sort of car I would have at all. I always admired them as a great family car in the UK but it was out of my reach price wise. When we came to the States it became an option - my 3.2 cost about £22k new over here. With fuel at about 25-30p a litre, running costs are negligible.

Can I ask (without wanting to sound patronising) - are you used to driving diesel engined vehicles? Was it a manual that you drove? Its just that it is fairly well recognised that one's driving technique needs to be adapted when switching from petrol to diesel. If you drive a diesel like you drive a petrol then it will feel slower. Standing starts will feel slow, I am sure, but I would be surprised if the diesel did not feel a little quicker than the 3.2 when it gets rolling. It takes a while to learn to surf the torque wave lower down the rev range, changing up earlier etc. and not dropping into a lower gear to overtake etc. Maybe you know all this or are used to diesels - I haven't driven a D5 but I know that in smaller Volvo's it is considered to be a fairly strong unit. The Merc diesel you drove is a great engine by all accounts, so it is well worthy of consideration.