Considering an XC60, but... choices choices...
 

Hi guys,

I'm currently driving a 2014 Porsche Macan, which will be coming to the end of the PCP plan in a couple of years and I won't be paying the balloon payment.

I'm looking around at what's available now so I know what to expect in two years time when I actually need to step into something else and the SPA Volvos have caught my eye (naturally enough given the new design language).

A few of my previous cars have been Land Rover products, so I'm perfectly ok with losing out on the "sportiness" of the Porsche, and getting back to comfort. I've not been especially a fan of LR's after sales and servicing, so I'd rather not go back there.

The XC40 seems too small, and the XC90 is too large (I'm never going to use the third row and never need to haul a skip-full of stuff), so the XC60 seems peachy to me.

There's probably no real answer to the whole petrol/diesel/hybrid question that I'm currently tangling with.

* I've had diesels for a long time now, but the government and environmental people are coming round to the fact that they're a bad thing (the emissions scandal also made this worse). I fear that a diesel car now will be next to worthless at trade-in time.

* Petrol - will they become cheaper to run than diesels at some point? I have no idea.

* Hybrids. Used T8 seem to be selling for about 10K more than conventional fueled cars. My commute is 40 miles per day, so I wouldn't be saving that much in terms of running costs. Plus, there's more to go wrong and pay for post-warranty.

As much as I'd love a T8, I'm not sure I could stretch to it (although the straight-line performance would be kind of cool)

So the petrol/diesel thing will take some thought.

Also, I saw a YouTube yesterday where the reviewer complained about the boot-up time of the Sensus system - is this a known issue or did later software updates eliminate this problem?

Sensus boot has largely been resolved with system updates..

Your Macan is petrol, I imagine? So you should have a broad picture of the cost(s) associated with driving a petrol suv of similar size..

I'll refrain from the diesel vs. petrol battle this time :)

That's good to know, thanks.

It's the diesel 3.0 S. Averaging about 40mpg and about £70 of fuel every two weeks or so (depending weight of right foot on any given week). My partner has a 1ltr Fiesta, drives a lot less than me, and only puts a tenner of fuel in every time the needle dips a bit - so diesel/petrol comparison is impossible in my household...

You won't get 40mpg from the T5, expect 21 - 26 about town and mid 30s on a run, I did achieve 39.4mpg on a run a while back, total fluke! On the up side it's incredibly smooth and quiet inside the cabin.

Yeah, I'd expect petrol to have about 9-10 MPG less than diesel, so that ties in.

I can understand your need to explore what is out there however a lot can change in 2 years time. We could have a Labour government by then and their environmental priorities could have you with a horse and cart.

What spec have you in mind for your next car?

Have you looked at :

Audi q5
BMW x3
Mercedes glc
Vw tourag
Jaguar f pace
Hyuandi sante fe
Range rover velar
Honda crv
Toyota rav4

I considered all the above before I purchased my xc60.

Personally I would avoid momentum spec and go for r design or inscription. Feels better inside the cabin, but it's all down to budget at the end of the day.

I'm pretty sure the cars will be far from worthless for quite some time. Unless there is a hard crackdown then they will be faded out but it will be very gradual. (there have been threats of big bans on cities like Southampton but they quickly removed it realising they would kill their economy doing so)

The fact that the new cars that are "eco" are typically a bit more expensive helps keep the value on the older cars.

Many thanks for all comments, much appreciated!

Yeah, I’ve also considered the Maserati Levante as well.

The key refinements I’m looking for is comfort and refinement without compromise. I’m used to the level of comfort and quality that I’ve had with Land Rover (I’ve owned an Evoque and a full-fat Range Rover) and Porsche.

We have dogs, so a relatively low boot lip is preferred, as well as a decent sized rear area.

I’ve discounted the Q5 and the X3 as they’re just too similar (and arguably inferior) to what I have now. And I do like the idea of being somewhat different to my neighbours.

I do get the point raised about the depreciation, but I get the feeling that the trade in price will be artificially lowered due to less demand for diesel in the future. This is something I’m keen to keep an eye on over the next couple of years.

Spec-wise, I’m thinking of Inception or Inception Pro. Air suspenders is pretty much a must and the xenium pack would be great.

Current model XC90 diesel and petrol are hybrids as standard. It will also be the case for the XC60 within a few months. These will have significantly less emissions and around 5mpg better fuel economy on average than non-hybrid versions. I average 38mpg with my XC90 and often get mid 40's on a leisurely run keeping up with Summer traffic. So I would fully expect a hybrid XC90 diesel to average 43mpg at least in my hands and an XC60 may do a couple or three better than that.
Maybe not as good as a petrol C-RV hybrid, but this has the performance and the proper auto transmission to give a more satisfying drive.

So currently the choice isn't just between petrol and diesel but between either with mild hybrid electric engine assistance or not. If I were in the market for an XC60 I would certainly wait for the hybrid models to be available to order. These will get you into low emission zones with no penalty for the foreseeable future.

Oh, and they are 'Inscription' models. :grn-blink: