Thoughts of an XC90 Virgin

[Lycanthrope]

I wrote this to a couple of colleagues who are thinking to buy XC90's. I then thought it might be interesting to post here for others thinking the same.

Some thoughts on my new Volvo while it's fresh in my mind:

It's really a very nice car to drive. It's tremendously comfortable, the engine power is really OK for the car and the automatic gearbox is very responsive - reviews say the engine is noisy, but I don't find that's the case. When you cruise at 120kmph the road and wind noise are almost silent (the front side-windows are double-glazed). The brakes are very good too - smooth and powerful, but not too sharp.

We drove 3000kms from Belgium to England, Scotland then back to Brussels and it was a really pleasant experience. I expected the car to be a bit slow and heavy on twisty roads, but it really handled very well indeed and had plenty of speed when I wanted to overtake.

We used the 7 seats too (well 6 of them). Had we been in the Espace this wouldn't have been an option as the seats would have been left at home!

Where it loses out on Espace/Galaxy/Sharan is clearly in luggage space. We intend to buy a roof box to resolve this (we had one already with Espace), but there was not time before the trip to sort it out. As a result the car was totally stuffed full… That being said, even with 7 seats in use there's a reasonable space for shopping.

I looked at the XC60 in the dealer garage and I decided I preferred the XC90. The XC60 does have 2 child booster seats built-in though, so if you have two kids it would be very good, three kids and it's not really an option.

MPV's have more practical space - in the front of the XC90 there's not many places to put things, it's dated in that respect and a shame as the dashboard and switchgear is pretty good and looks very classy.

The GPS system is a little dated, but works well enough once you get used to it. The POI's were a little out of date though for petrol stations. There are a few illogical things too:

- Can't fold the mirrors if the ignition key is removed
- Can't close windows either when the key it out (and they don't close from the remote either)
- Not all doors unlock when you open the car from the inside - I keep forgetting this until I try to get the kids out or open the boot, I guess with time I'll adapt

What was really great on the trip was having the built-on DVD and screens in the head-rests. These use wireless for the headphones so the three kids could watch films an I could still listen to my music. In the past we had a cheap DVD player from Media Markt without headphones and this it very distracting as a driver.

Build-quality of the car and finish is very good and it gets a lot of appreciative comments from people - maybe not important, but nice nevertheless.

Fuel consumption is a bit poor, I'm averaging 10,1l/km. I was driving 140kmph on the motorways, had I done the speed limit (112kmph/70mph) then I would have got a lot better. I expect this to improve as the engine loosens-up.

Overall I'm delighted with it - it has exceeded my expectations in almost every way.

[Maxxypriest]

Good review - thanks for posting

Now can't wait till I get my hands on the R-Design coming early June !!! ;-)

[harvey07]

...I hope to be as happy as you in a weeks time...slightly worried about the performance after the Octy VRS I've just sold & didn't appreciate that the Mpg was so poor, but otherwise, fingers crossed & thanks for the review

[owenfackrell]

Good review. We still really like ours and we have had it for over a year.
You can close the windows with the key out if you haven't opened a door yet ( at least you can on mine).

[bfp169]

I took delivery of our XC90 last week and drove over 1200 km mainly doing highway and national roads in the UK and Belgium.

Up to now we are extremely pleased with the car.

Fuel consumption is better than expected since we did 8.5l/km on average (34 mpg), but we do tend to respect the speed limits (70 mph in the UK and 120kmh in Belgium).

[Big Ted]

I've been a long term lurker on this forum, but thought I'd chime in here & add some thoughts around my XC-90.
She's a 53 plate D5 (163) SE Geartronic
We've had it for just over 3 years & have taken the millage from 40k to over 105k in that time.

Overall I'm really pleased with the car.. It eats the miles with ease, with trips from the South West to Inverness being a relaxing affair. On short journeys & trips in to town I never struggle with the size nor the height of it in busy car parks & the like.

When 5 up, the boot is huge. The only real design flaw with the car I'm irked about, is the tonneau cover has no home within the car when you go from 5 seats to 7.
We like the built in booster seat, with this & the Isofix fittings on the outer 2 seats, we can move our family & friends around with ease.


In the years, we've put fuel in the tank - a lot of fuel, but apart from the servicing & usual consumables (Tyres brakes etc), I've only had to replace a split intercooler & 2 lower suspension arms.
Nothing's dropped of the car, it seems well bolted together & tough as old boots. The paint work is holding up well, with the odd scuff & mark on it.
The chrome has clouded on the windows surround & the skid plate is looking a touch worse for wear, but with 100k miles on it, I think she's weathered the miles well.


It's certainly not as quick or nimble as my former run arounds, but my life's moved on now & I don't try to overtake everything in front of me, nor wring the neck out of each gear. I'm now married with a family & I find myself tutting at such drivers. After 8 years of Saab's & Volvo's I feel I've yet again made a decent/safer choice in a family car than the other MPV's on the roads. ( Though I can't comment on the NCAP reports of the modern MPV's, I know I'd rather be in the Volvo.)


Were the car to be written off tomorrow, I would have no hesitation in going out & replacing it with another XC-90.
The things on my "options" shopping list would be...

• Front & rear Park Assist
• Not a 163bhp engine.. I would get anything over this as the additional power can only help
• Roof Rails if going for an R Design, as when 7up, the boot space is limited to say the least.
• Geartronic - the thought of a hill start on a manual makes my brain hurt.
• Newer style radio - to allow for Iphone integration. ( I can only use Dension which is £££)

Someone once told me, you can tell if a 4x4 is meant to go off road by the spare wheel - if it's a full size wheel, then it's a 4x4. If it's a space saver or worse, then it's not, which I think sums a lot up for me.
If you need to cross rivers & climb mountains, get a Disco or something similar.
If you want to go quickly, get a sports car
If you want great MPG - get a push bike or a Hybrid
If you want a safe, well screwed together, large, comfy family car, I'd say an XC-90 should be on your list for sure.

[harvey07]

Fair enough...

On the chrome fromt, have you tried reviving it? The XC90 I've bought is the same & it's on my list of 'to do's'. I've got some chrome cleaner (name escapes me right now) stuck away in the garage somewhere.

[artwilliam]

Auto Glym Bumber Treatment (green) removes the clouding from the chrome trim

[Karoshio]

I also like mine very much.
Had it for 3 weeks and approx 3500km.

I really like the car. I came from a V70 08 which had a lot of space inside and was a really nice car so the XC90 had to really live up to the expectations...

And it did. The only annoyances I have discovered are listed above:

No possibility to fold mirrors automatically nor when car is switched off.
Outdated GPS.
and most of all the turning circle (don't know how to put this in proper english). I still can't get used to the wide turning circle and end up always to back and forward a couple of times to get in a parking space...

[Lycanthrope]

Originally Posted by Karoshio

and most of all the turning circle (don't know how to put this in proper english). I still can't get used to the wide turning circle and end up always to back and forward a couple of times to get in a parking space...

The english is correct, don't worry, but agreed, I should have listed this too - it has the turning circle of an oil super-tanker :-/