D5 SE Lux or..... Touareg SE 3.0TDI?

[nc11]

Hello there,

Been searching the net for owners feedback on these 2 fantastic vehicles. Currently undecided on which one to order...

My wife had test drives on both last Friday, however she always loved the Volvo's appearence, so it's her preference. Personally I think that the engine lets the Volvo down big time compared to the one in the Touareg. In the D5 you know you're driving a diesel, whereas in the VW you don't. Other than that I believe there are pros and cons to either so it's a preference issue.

Oh and of course there is the small 4K price difference! but that's something my wife is not concerned about:Banane59:

She currently drives a Grand cherokee overland, which is so thirsty it's unreal!! It only returns less than 200 miles on a 90 quid worth of fuel tank, so we need something else and quick.

Has anyone else had these 2 cars in mind and what has convinced you going for the XC90?

Cheers,

NC.

[timclifford]

Hi there
We have an XC90 D5 SE geartronic 2005 163 bhp 5 speed and an
Audi A6 Quattro 3.0 D tiptronic which has the same VW group engine and I know exactly what you mean...the 3.0 diesel is smooth, fast, economical and pretty quiet - I think of it as a 3rd generation diesel. The D5 now is faster and smoother than ours and the gearbox is improved but it is still a second generation diesel in my book BUT...
the XC90 is a wonderful car with great looks, confident but understated, well made with a great sound system, and incredibly comfortable - with the best seats in the business (far better than the VW/Audi ones) with an engine that has character! When on the move it has plenty of power and you can chip mine and the new ones for more power.
We have had our XC90 for three months and we have not looked back - my wife claims that the XC90 is my second car as I love driving it so much mine sits in the garage all weekend!
On top of all of this the XC90 is cool and seats 7, the VW is driven by lots more WAGS
hope this helps!

[bircham]

We looked at the Tourag when we bought our new XC90 a few months ago and I am glad that we went for the Volvo. The Toureg doesn't have a 3rd row of seats for a start, the dashboard feels like a slab of black in front of you and I can't get away from the fact that it has those ungainly 'fat' looks. Just last week a friend of ours had a Tourag courtesy car as his Phaeton was in for a service. He brought it round to show me and I thought exactly the same things again, as unsolicited, he also did. If you compare them side by side I think the Volvo has more presence and looks more complete. Inside the Volvo has a far more relaxed dashboard that is nicely sloping, reminds me of an aircraft cockpit.
Of course the Tourag has a typical VW/Audi dashboard, all small buttons and bits of chrome and I have to say that it has a sense of accasion to it, but, and I think this is important, the door panels and dash top appear to be made of a harder more brittle plastic than in the Volvo and I do know that VW cars can creak and groan after a few years (from personal experience of 2 new A6s over 4 years motoring).
Anyway I wouldn't ever criticise anyone over their personal choice of car because it is exactly that, personal. And the Tourag has that amazing diesel engine as well - mind you it also has 'amazing' fuel consumption!

Hopes this helps,
Jon

[nc11]

still un-decided... I've managed to get around 5K off the list price through autobytel. The car will come through the inchscape dealership network, the volvo one in Norwich. my local dealer is refusing to come to terms with it and is willing to offer a 2K discount only.

When the discounted options are factored in the savings are huge!! still not sure if to get the comms pack, or just the GSM option and also have asked about cars that are already available through the volvo network in order to shorten the delivery times. of course that means compromising on the specs.

In order to ensure we can "live" with a volvo I've taken a XC90 for the weekend through the local dealer. We agreed that should I decide to purchase through him I'll get the rental cost off the purchase and if not pay 50% (150 quid). I think that's a good way of deciding on a 40K purchase...

Anyway I've been reading the mpg threards carefully and that is certainly a concern. What about those who have chipped their engines? are they getting much better return on the mpg than before?

[Patrick lince]

I certainly think that taking the car for the weekend is well worth the expense, so that you are absolutely certain before taking the leap, after all it is a substantial investment to make!!

[nc11]

Well, just to continue this thread from where we left it off...

We did hire a XC90 from our local dealer for the weekend. We took advantage of the great weather and spent the weekend down in poole on the beach. The drive was great, both my wife and myself thoroughlly enjoyed the car and the kids loved it too.

So we decided to get one! following all the research I've done and few visits to the local dealer I decided to go ahead with the autobytel offer. All in all it represents a whopping 6K off the list price. I don't think one can argue with such a huge discount. Spent 37K on the SE Lux with comms, sunroof and few other bits.

The only concern I've got is the slow response from the dealership. Not that they don't return your call or emails, it just take too f***in long!!

Anyway I got a call from them on Tuesday informing me that my car would be the 1st 08MY car in the country!! It's due for delivery early June. I should have the exact date on Tuesday.

[nc11]

Just another update...

Car is due in June 12th. Dealer has improved comms and is actually quite good now!

I've still to decide about 3 things:

1. RSE - have opted for an aftermarket one. Does anyone have any suggestions?

2. Front park sensors - as this is a dealer-fit I'm not sure about it. Has anyone installed it? is it any good?

3. Running boards - again a dealer-fit, so am looking on eBay to see if those will come up...

Cheers,

NC.

[Genghis]

NC

Where did you get to with the front sensors?

Jamie

[nc11]

Hi,

I've visited my local dealer over the weekend to check on these items. Have managed to get to the following:

RSE - they use someone who takes your headrests, bring them back the next day with the monitors moulded inside and installs the system plus the dvd player on-site. should cost about 1300 quid.

Front park sensors - have seen those on a SE model and on a SE Lux (V8) one. Both installations were different as the one on the V8 was built into the front bumper, whereas the one on the SE looks like an add-on to the bumper. I was quoted 650 for that and will have to come back to them again to see this in detail (it was getting late for me so I couldn't ask questions, etc.).

Running boards - see previous post for the details, but it's 450 quid and seem to be a good option, which I will probably go for.

If anyone has more info on these options, please let us know.

[nc11]

Well, at last we have taken delivery of the car on Thursday! It drives great, looks the part and my wife is very pleased with her choice.

Model is the SE Lux with comms pack, sunroof, TPMS, PACOS and tinted windows.

Few comments that will hopefully help others...

1. The deal through autobytel proved to be trouble-free, end-to-end. The service we have recieved through the web-site rep. (Darren) and through the dealership (Jason Huggins was our salesperson) was 1st class. It was proffesional, curtous, friendly and above all precise and clear. Dates mentioned were spot-on, costs were correct and details were clear. I would recommend anyone to go through autobytel. As far as the price we paid, it was around 6K below the RRP of the car and options - well worth it!!

2. Our car is one of the 1st 08MY cars in the UK. the main differences are: 1 CD player and iPod connector instead of the 6CD changer, active bi-xenons as standard on the SE Lux and I think the windows are now water repelent as standard too. The reason for the changer ommision was explained with the current influx of mp3 players that people have. My wife doesn't have an iPod (and my daugther didn't want her to use hers...), so since the player reads mp3 and WMA files, I just burned a WMA CD with her favorite 10 CD's and she uses that, no problems.

3. We have added the running boards and front park sensors through the dealer. I think these 2 are very wise options and should be considered by anyone who drives in the city a lot and has small children.

4. We have chosen the black saphire exterior and off black interior. The black is the best looking (my wife's opinion) and is the only color that would actually add to your car's value when you come to sell it.

5. RSE system - it was very tempting to add this through volvo, however I've decided to go elsewhere at the end. Reason is quality, the volvo system is just not good enough compared with what's in the market thesedays. Check your local ICE places and make your own choice. For me I'll probably go with an Alpine monitors and a non-brand multi-region player.

6. I would advise anyone who is about to spend 40 grand on a car to try it out properly first. All major brands will offer car hire services and I think the weekend when we have taken a XC90 on was extremely beneficial to us overall.

7. Up to yesterday my only expenditure on the vehicle was the 1000 pounds that I've paid as a deposit back in April. Once in the dealership I've add the cost of the deposit and have signed the finance paperwork. Worth mentioning if you (like me) want to organise your cash accordingly.

Thats it for now, I'll be happy to help with any questions you might have :-)

NC.

[Genghis]

Thanks NC

I've still not made my mind up about the running boards - just seems a lot of money but the kids will certainly like it!!! I've got a search on e-bay and the only thing which has come up are some non-Volvo ones (think they are Viper) and I'd prefer to stick with Volvo.

Hope you & the wife are enjoying the car

Cheers

Jamie

[jennifernn]

We recently got a new XC90 SE D5, we got the exterior styling pack (sometimes called the cross country pack) which includes the running boards, load bars for the roof rails,roof ribs and front mud flaps, dealer did it for £646.25 fitted. I have short legs so find them very useful! Also essential for putting anything on the roof. And we wanted load bars and mud flaps anyway.

[RoyMacDonald]

We recently got a new XC90 SE D5, we got the exterior styling pack (sometimes called the cross country pack) which includes the running boards, load bars for the roof rails,roof ribs and front mud flaps, dealer did it for £646.25 fitted. I have short legs so find them very useful! Also essential for putting anything on the roof. And we wanted load bars and mud flaps anyway.

Good price.....I find the running boards invaluable for cleaning or loading the roof. You can stand on the back tyres to reach the back of the roof, but for the front part you really need the running boards.

[2plus2cat]

I have ordered the XC90 sport today and hope to have it delivered in the next 2 weeks from a local main dealer. All excited so thought it a good idea to join the VOC and seek advise on running boards and tow bars. Any ideas on the best place to order, the best price and anything else I should consider? Thanks.

[2plus2cat]

Found out yesterday from main dealer that they believe you cannot fit the XC90 sport with running boards as you have a chrome trim running along the sill line. This means that you do not have the clearance - has anyone tried to fit boards to a new xc90 sport? Thanks

[chunderground]

side steps / running boards are essential IMO for kids boarding the car - have seen pics of them fitted to xc90 sport and rdesign so I am surprised to hear that they are not available for the rdesign

[yeoman]

Found out yesterday from main dealer that they believe you cannot fit the XC90 sport with running boards as you have a chrome trim running along the sill line. This means that you do not have the clearance - has anyone tried to fit boards to a new xc90 sport? Thanks

Yes you can !!The trim does not prevent the fitting of the running boards. I have it on my R design which is the same as the sport.

[S60D5-185]

She currently drives a Grand cherokee overland, which is so thirsty it's unreal!! It only returns less than 200 miles on a 90 quid worth of fuel tank, so we need something else and quick.NC.

This Grand Cherokee is obviously not a 3.0 CRD (diesel) because i just sold my 2006 Overland model and that would easily do 28mpg or just over 31 on a run.

If the GC is not a diesel is it really fair to compare it to either of these?

Lastly the GC is a FAR more capable off road vehicle than either of the two ( Very Good cars ) that you are looking at buying.

:thumbs_up:

[The Painter]

This Grand Cherokee is obviously not a 3.0 CRD (diesel) because i just sold my 2006 Overland model and that would easily do 28mpg or just over 31 on a run.

If the GC is not a diesel is it really fair to compare it to either of these?

Lastly the GC is a FAR more capable off road vehicle than either of the two ( Very Good cars ) that you are looking at buying.

:thumbs_up:


No offence but this thread is over 3 years old !