One week in....

[Waggatron]

So, I’ve had her (are we still allowed to say that?) a week now and covered 200 miles. My thoughts so far.

What I love.....

Just about everything to be honest. It is such a step up in quality and technology from the previous generation as to make a like for like comparison pretty meaningless.

1) Auto...still getting used to it but can’t see me ever going back to a manual. There are times when it changes gear mid corner which upsets the cars dynamic slightly, but am just adjusting my driving style accordingly. I find myself driving far more sedately with this one as the auto box wafts you along. Grunt from the D4 is excellent and mates very well with the auto. Average mpg is rising and currently at 30mpg.

2) Still liking the HUD. Is really useful when displaying sat nav directions as they appear right in front of you.

3) I know the user interface has come in for some stick but I’m finding it very intuitive. The speech recognition is also light years ahead of the previous one. I can change 90% of what I normally need to change with a simple command.

4) Thanks to forum members I’ve now got an almost perfect hit rate with the rear boot hands free opening system. It’s actually more useful than you’d think.

5) Comfort and space is as good as ever. Seats are fantastic.

6) Filled the boot yesterday with 3 bags of compost, bag of ready mix cement, a spade, 8 potted plants, 4 path edging stones and a wire bbq brush (all packed with the utmost care). Swallowed the lot without complaint. Even got the spade in width wise.

7) Volvo app. Never had anything like this before and it’s great. Looking forward to preheating car in winter whilst I have my bran flakes.

8) Stereo....always a good point of debate on this forum. I’m finding the standard system more than adequate for my needs. Not sure how much better it would need to sound for me to part with all those extra £’s to upspec the system.

9) The engineer in me loves the design of the windscreen wash system. It’s like having a lawn sprinkler built into the wipers. And it only deploys liquid on the downward wipe (or was it the upward?). Either way...very clever.

Some minor annoyances......

1) Road noise from the tyres is more intrusive than my old one.

2) I’m finding the steering a lot lighter in feel. I feel less connected with the road surface than previously. Will have a play around with the dynamic mode to see if that changes anything.

3) Denim Blue.....don’t get me wrong....I love my colour choice....but it’s going to be harder to keep sparkly clean than my crystal white one. Just a symptom of any darker colour showing the dirt.

4) I have very minor scratch on passenger side rear door handle. I must have missed it at handover. Barely noticeable, but still annoying. I tell myself there’s way more important things in life to worry about....and at least I’ve got the first one “out the way”.....

5) The Momentum spec has simple black rubber surrounds on the windows. My previous had chrome strips along the bottom edges and so I assumed this one would at least have been comparable. Visually makes a difference.....especially with a darker paint. Can’t spec them separately ..so would have had to step up to Rdesign or Inscription.

And two questions.....

1) I don’t seem to have a warning triangle. I thought it was EU law that every new vehicle is supplied with one? Is that correct?

2) On the Momentum spec, are the front sill tread plates Matt silver with white lettering? I’m trying to work out if there’s still a protective covering over them?

[Whiterdesign]

There should be a warning triangle in the boot lid. open the boot and there should be a removable panel below the rear window. If theres no triangle in there , complain to dealer.

[gaby]

See page 605 for the triangle:
https://az685612.vo.msecnd.net/pdfs/...GB_TP25607.pdf
Our XC90 Momentum has some chrome surrounds and accents.
I would prefere black. If possible, I would replace them.
Can you feel the scratch when you go over it with a fingernail?
If not, you will probably be able to buff it out.

[Paul Wildsmith]

re:
"I’ve had her (are we still allowed to say that?)"

I believe you're allowed to identify as whatever gender you prefer, so all right I should think.

on the scratch - go back to the dealer asap - they might fit a new handle. I had a minuscule scratch on the inside auto brake switch which was replaced - though obviously exterior scratches may be more difficult to assess.

Mind you, my car picks up more (albeit very slight) scratches after dealer visits ...

[simonjedrake]

Originally Posted by Waggatron

Some minor annoyances......
1) Road noise from the tyres is more intrusive than my old one.

Could you please let me know what wheel size & tyre type/manufacturer you have.
Thanks

[Waggatron]

Originally Posted by simonjedrake

Could you please let me know what wheel size & tyre type/manufacturer you have.
Thanks

Standard 18" Alloys for Momentum Pro.
It's come on Continental ContiEcoContact5's. Size - 235/60/R18 V XL

[Waggatron]

Originally Posted by Paul Wildsmith

re:
"I’ve had her (are we still allowed to say that?)"

I believe you're allowed to identify as whatever gender you prefer, so all right I should think.

on the scratch - go back to the dealer asap - they might fit a new handle. I had a minuscule scratch on the inside auto brake switch which was replaced - though obviously exterior scratches may be more difficult to assess.

Mind you, my car picks up more (albeit very slight) scratches after dealer visits ...

OK...the car can remain a "she" then rather than an "it"!

I did think about door handle replacement....but I can imagine that has a strong potential to produce rattles etc as they would need to strip the inside of the door down. It's really very minor....no-one I've shown it to has noticed it until I pointed it out. I'm sure it's the first of many blemishes...no matter how careful you drive there is no accounting for the physics of flying objects (stones, cars or indeed shopping trolleys).

[Waggatron]

Originally Posted by Whiterdesign

There should be a warning triangle in the boot lid. open the boot and there should be a removable panel below the rear window. If theres no triangle in there , complain to dealer.

Thanks (and to Gaby).

I don't think I've made it to page 10 of the manual....let alone page 605.

But anyway, now found it in it's little hidey hole :0)

So much easier to access than under the boot floor (like the last one)...another carefully thought out design.

[Chief inspector]

Thanks, I thought Volvo has omitted the triangle, but seems its here on the V90 as well, will check if its there.

[NewV90Owner]

This is disappointing - a 60% profile so one would expect that to soak up the bumps/ rough roads.

If Volvo could fix the noise problem in the SPA cars they would have a real winner across the board.

If anyone in a 19 model car thinks it is better than before it would be nice to know.