S90 Lease - First impressions
 

S90 R Design with Winter Pack
£408 per month (23 +1) 20K miles p.a.

So… I’ve only covered a few hundred miles in the S90 and thought I’d replay my experience

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Background:
I had never seen a R Design in the flesh – or driven any S90 – so my choice of car was solely what deals were on offer with lease companies. My only criteria was that I needed a good motorway cruiser – my previous lease was a Bluemotion Passat 2.0D which was a good choice at the time – standard spec which included adaptive cruise – which I liked.
My ideal car would have been a BMW 520d (I have had one before and couldn’t fault it) but the cost was prohibitive (by far) and no-one had any offers on them. In the end the choice was:

1. Skoda Superb
2. Another Passat
3. Volvo S90
4. VW Tiguan – some good deals at the moment.

I didn’t like the Superb (unless it was the top spec which pushed the budget too high), the Tiguan was spacious but not the saloon I was looking for – Passat would have been the safe choice - so I gambled on the YouTube reviews and went for the S90 R Design with winter pack.

Styling:
The R Design is an excellent trim level and its exterior looks do raise it to executive car status (Audi A6 / BMW 5 Series) The “bright silver” was not my choice and I would recommend a darker colour as this car shows up every squashed summer bug and mud splatter! The wheels look good but immediately collect a layer of brake dust… I know I am going to kerb those alloys - very little rubber of the tyres to protect them.

Inside – beautiful, those seats have got to be THE most comfortable on the market

I tried out the heated steering wheel – gonna be useful in a few months I’m sure.

The Sensus has the illusion of being intuitive, I have had to reference the manual on a couple of occasions,which, by the way, I found easier to download to my tablet – and not using the in-built Sensus manual.

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The Drive:
Nice and quiet – so much so …I was concentrating on the tyre noise more than engine noise.
Not great feedback through the steering wheel – but acceptable for this type of car.
More power than my previous Passat and closer in speed and torque levels to a 520d, however, at higher speeds I found the feedback through the steering wheel not as re-assuring as its German opposition.
I use Pilot Assist with my hands on the wheel and every now and again testing the resistance slightly – this avoids the warning messages. I’m not sure of its true advantage over the active cruise control but I’ll have a better view after a few more miles
Gearbox silky smooth – but a bit slow off the mark at junctions (maybe because I’m using Eco mode?)

Great Sensus things:
Spotify App is good- (I wasn’t expecting to use this)
Great sound from the standard Amp & Speakers
Connection (WiFi & Bluetooth) works well

Annoying Sensus things:
You cannot specify a starting driving mode – It will always start in comfort and you have to change it every time (to Eco in my case). Unless anyone else has found a way of doing this?
Turning of FM TA announcements (hidden in menu items)
Difficult to keep clean (finger print marks)

Maintenance Costs:
This is the only thing that concerns me at the moment – I will use Halfords Autocentre as my go to garage to keep the costs down – not sure how many visits I’ll need.

Options I would add:
Front Parking sensors – let’s face it I need a captain’s licence for this barge!
Volvo On Call (disappointed this wasn’t on this 2018 model) really would like this !
Built-in Modem (I bought a PAYG MiFi Router that I have plugged into the USB port for Internet access) works well but a little untidy
Options I wouldn't miss:
Paddles on Steering Wheel
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Overall:
This car is amazing value (if you can get one of the lease deals) I doubt I will be able to get anything as good for the same money when this ends in 2 years.
It’s a rare car – I’ve seen a handful of V90s but only one S90 in the last 3 weeks – compare that to the fleet of A6/BMW/Mercs on the road and this does seem exclusive.
It’s a really handsome car – I find myself looking back over my shoulder after I’ve locked it just to admire its looks. I’m pretty sure I’ve made a good choice with this one.
:)

Great to read as i have a V90 on order and great looking car from the front. Don't think i've ever seen a R Design S90 in the flesh. Probably quite a rare car / trim level combo! :-)

Good to see you got a great deal. A friend of mine is looking to lease an S90 but he said the prices have rocketed in recent weeks. If it's not too intrusive a question, would you mind sharing which company or dealership you got the great deal from?

Enjoy. Great car. But your comment about the wheels is so true. My dealer has lent me 2 of these. Both had nasty chunks out of the rims. Enough for me to go back and make sure they were aware before I drove off.

Nationwide Leasing - This thread has lots of info
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/...&t=1719296&i=0

Hi, maybe just have a quick look in your lease contract regarding servicing. I saw in the small print of my own contract that they will invoice an end of contract surcharge of £100 for every service not performed at a Volvo dealership. I have no idea if this is enforced or not, all my previous leases (non Volvo) could be serviced at any independant VAT registered garage provided genuine parts were used.

It is very unwise to farm this out to any Tom Dick or Harry for service work , this is a specialised highly technical car which needs the correct things checking and carrying out in the correct way , would you take a Ferrari to Halfords ? It's exactly the same situation .
At least two things which will lead to trouble , not having the software updates and the oil change will lead to a trip to the volvo dealer eventually after the service due to oil level issues . ! The oil is a unique specification to volvo too and it must be used as to not invalidate the warranty .

re comment on fingerprints on sensus screen - I use a stick on film which mostly stays clean. These are readily available (just do a google search).

Driving mode is set to default to Comfort mode every time engine is started, you can't alter this.

Software is updated to the latest updates and improvements at every service and Volvo include free 12 month breakdown and recovery with every service, great when 3 year warranty is up. Or if breakdown cover is not included in the lease deal. I was quoted £270 for my 3rd year service, I did not pay as I have a 5 year service plan, (new guy did not know)

Pilot assist works with adaptive cruise surely???

You mention not being sure of the advantages? Not sure what you
Mean by that?