XC90 as a daily driver - Advice
 

Hi All,

It has been many years since I have been in the Volvo fold and may make a return.

I need something to replace my S-Class (2005) model, which has now gone and need a daily driver.

What I really want it a comfortable cruiser with a high driving position without breaking the bank at the pumps and depreciation.

With this in mind I have started to look at 2007-2014 models.

I notice there are many models, LUX, R-design, SE etc....could someone list them in order please?

Also 99% of them seems to be D5 cars which are either 185 or 200 bhp....what are the real differences?

Do these cars respond well to remapping?

Thank you for all your help in advance.
IceBoy

PS. Previously:

850 T5-R (855)
C70 T-5 Cabrio
V70 T5

Few things will be as smooth as a W220 S Class, but the XC90s are nice cars and are good at cruising.

I don't know whether your S Class was a 320CDI or one of the petrols, but in terms of fuel consumption with an XC90 you're looking at between 28 and 32 for a D5, regardless of tune, maybe more if you're a 60 mph on the motorway type. Watch the road tax bracket. Due to weirdness in the CO2 output some of the 185 bhp D5s are in the £500 range. My 2012 62 plate Executive was £325 for a year last time I bought it.

My XC90 is primary family transport - my wife drives it most of the time while I drive our Lexus GS450H. The Volvo has 200 bhp which feels sufficient and it's not a car to sling along a twisting back road - it weighs 2.3 tonnes and is a big old bruiser.

I think they can be tuned, but you may well see issues with the increased power putting stresses on other things, especially the gearbox. Early 5 speed auto gearboxes are known to be trouble, and the later 6 speed units are the ones to go for. Personally I wouldn't bother tuning a XC90 unless it's one of the very early 163 bhp cars. Even a tuned one will 'only' be putting out circa 230 bhp and if performance is what you're after a different SUV might be more your groove. X5, ML, Q7, etc.

Happy to be corrected, but I think the XC90 specification ladder is.
SE
R Design
SE Lux
Executive

However R Designs were frequently subjected to much ticking of the options list, so you may find R Designs with comparable specifications to SE Lux's. Despite its name, the R Design has exactly the same power output as other cars in the range, so is essentially a trim level. Some Executive cars have massage seats (weird but quite nice now I'm used to them), and nicer leather.

Great car the XC90, no regrets from my side, though my criteria may be different to yours - needed to comfortably carry three kids in child seats + two adults + luggage. Potentially everything might feel like a step down from an S Class!

Good luck and let us know how you get on.

Hi Odysseus,

Thank you for taking the time to reply.

Funnily enough, the cars I'm currently looking at for daily duties include:

V70 T5 or R
XC 90
S-Class 221
RX450h

So how does the 450h compare to the XC90, driving, speed, comfort, enconomy etc?

IceBoy

Good comprehensive post and the only thing I would add is that below the SE there is the Active model and this comes with a cloth/vinyl seat covering which does not wear well especially the drivers seat.

Re road tax yes you are correct, I pay well over £500 for mine with it being a 2007 , however what must be kept in context is that even the cheapest to tax is well over £300 so if you find an absolute cracker in the high tax bracket you are effectively paying about £20 a month more to tax that.:teeth_smile:

All those would be lovely cars in my view.

My Lexus is the GS not the RX, so the E Class/5 Series sized saloon rather than the SUV. That said both the GS and RX have the same drive train - a CVT gearbox and a hybrid system that makes the car essentially silent in traffic, as it can progress under battery power alone up to about 30 mph. There's nothing to plug in as it charges from the petrol engine and regenerates power under braking and slowing down. My GS is rear wheel drive, but the RX is basically front wheel drive with electric motors that will engage on the rear wheels when additional performance/traction is requested. From this point of view it's not dissimilar to a XC90.

The Lexus/Toyota hybrid drive train is a very clever, very well proven solution and very, very smooth (all those Prius taxis can't be wrong). Downsides are it's not especially involving and you can't hold the car in gear (you sort of can but they're pretend gears) for spirited driving, though this is small price to pay for such smoothness and quietness during driving.

MPG for a RX450H would be between mid 20s to mid 30s, and this would be petrol not diesel of course.
It would be a pretty brisk car to drive. They are circa 300 bhp and you'd be looking at 0-60 in 7 seconds ish.
I think road tax is about £250 per annum.
Since it's a Lexus it will have heaps of standard kit. Even so, I'd be looking at a SE-L model rather than SE. You'll get even more equipment and the additional cost over a SE model isn't huge.

Truth be told, if Lexus made a 7 seater RX450H in the same price bracket as the XC90 I ended up buying, I probably would have bought that instead.

Not to take anything away from the XC90 which is also a great car, but Lexus (Toyota) reliability and dependability is exactly the sort of thing I want for my family car.

Like I said though, everyone has different requirements. You can have lots of fun test driving all these cars and letting us know how you get on. :regular_smile:

I think the XC90 is a great car, especially for people in the back; most cars are great for front seat passengers but those in the back suffer as they try to make saloons look sporty DOH! Those in the XC90 get high seating and loads glass to look out of - I happily sit in the rear of ours but then I know my place!!

Thanks XJS,

I understand and you made me laugh!

IceBoy

Our second car is an X5 and the XC90 replaced our other X5- a 4.8is, which sadly dumped all its coolant on the motorway with extensive engine damage.

The X5 a 40d 2011MY was my daily driver - the twin turbo and all the toys (a well=specced M-Sport) make for a great daily driver albeit not exactly frugal, but if you want great economy, these biggies are not the ones to go for.....
It was hijacked by my other half, who actually chose the XC90 - as "she was used to driving X5s for over 10 years now".......you get the drift!

Our XC90 is a 2008 - a D5 185 Sport, I think this model was replaced by the R-design in 2009 onwards. Nice spec (although I would probably have gone for an executive if I thought if would end up being "mine"! ). Falls into the high tax bracket, but in the big scheme of things, it really doesn't matter much.

Flies down motorways - not quite as sporty as the X5, but the turbo still provides a great boost. I get an average of about 28mpg, mix town and motorways. Dealer I bought it from has paid for volvo indy repairs since purchase in September - new handbrake and new intercooler.

Still one of the safest SUV's out there, until recently no deaths in an XC90 crash in the UK- sadly two oldies died recently on the M1 when smashed into by a huge truck, but no-one would have made it out of that one. Still an amazing record as XC90s have been around since about 2003.

I hope to keep ours for years and if the X5 needs replacing it will be with an XC90........I did have the Lexus RX450 on my list but there are a few issues with towing with it so decided to go with the xc90 instead.