XC90 wading depth

[Jayo70]

We want to upgrade our family car to a 4x4 and my vehicle of choice is a used (maybe 2020) XC90.

However, the wading depth of only 450mm concerns me, as it’s much less than a RR, RR Sport, or even a Velar or F-Pace.

I don’t really want a JLR car because I have reliability concerns, but inadequate wading depth is a worry.

I don’t intend to seek out water or go off-roading, but our village gets flooded in parts almost monthly these days, so this is the main reason for changing from our 5 series.

Am I worrying unnecessarily on this?

[Ulrikas PA]

Only you know your road - we don't.

The VW Touareg is 500mm + another 80mm if you raise the air suspension. Good value at 3-4 years old. Get a 2 year VW approved warranty to cover said air suspension as All makes do fail eventually.

Skoda Kodiaq Scout is very good value - not sure of the wading depth, but ground clearance is decent on the (raised) Scout model.

[Pidgeonpost]

I was surprised to see that an XC90 can supposedly cope with 450mm of water. I'd have my doubts about wading through that much water, not just because of the risk of drowning the engine, but because of the force of running water, especially if wading at an angle to the flow.
This prompted me to Google it, and the Volvo website was the first hit. It quotes 300mm for the XC90.

https://www.volvocars.com/lb/support...a80151497030bc

[Jayo70]

Oh wow, that’s really interesting that you think 450mm is deep….I thought the opposite.
I know the advice about driving through water is to test it beforehand, but in the real world this isn’t going to happen. I haven’t got waders and a measuring stick in the cabin.
I marked 850mm on a wall (RR Sport wading depth) and could see that I was never going to need that, but 450 seems a bit borderline for some of the flooding we get.
Thanks for the reply, JLR it is then.

[Pidgeonpost]

Don't take my word on this, I'm only bouncing you to what Volvo themselves are saying. Lots of online advice suggests a max of 100mm depth, but this is primarily aimed at saloon cars I guess. I've certainly driven through stuff that was over 300mm deep in a Series Land Rover, but technique and on-the-spot assessment comes into it. I think I'd still favour Volvo meself, but good luck with your search.

[Tannaton]

Originally Posted by Pidgeonpost

I was surprised to see that an XC90 can supposedly cope with 450mm of water. I'd have my doubts about wading through that much water, not just because of the risk of drowning the engine, but because of the force of running water, especially if wading at an angle to the flow.
This prompted me to Google it, and the Volvo website was the first hit. It quotes 300mm for the XC90.

https://www.volvocars.com/lb/support...a80151497030bc

The link above is for the V90 Cross Country, the rated depth of the XC90 is 450mm but that is "....at no more than walking speed" - i.e. without the bow wave coming through the grille and over the bonnet.

https://www.volvocars.com/lb/support...20water&page=0

[unseen]

Land / Range Rovers have lots of clever stuff like high mounted air intakes which helps with the wading depth (as standard they must have one of the highest wading depths I would have thought). Good cars when they are a) working and b) not being nicked off your drive

[Tannaton]

Originally Posted by unseen

Good cars when they are a) working and b) not being nicked off your drive

Indeed :-)

[TeamG]

I’d be really wary about wading at 450mm in a domestic car. Still water is fine and most off-roading courses have much deeper still water that you’ll no doubt be familiar with from youtube videos and the like, but anything with flow can easily push a domestic car off-course and into trouble.

In a former life, I was a driver with the British Army and have personal experience of this going very wrong very quickly. And that’s with proper training, vehicles and recovery support. It’s amazing how powerful flowing water is on a vehicle that weighs 20 tonnes, let alone a 2.5 tonne SUV.

[Ulrikas PA]

Originally Posted by Jayo70

Thanks for the reply, JLR it is then.

Didn't like my suggestions then ?

The very last product on earth I would buy for the next 6-12 months is a JLR.

If you are that brave, I wouldn't worry about a bit of water