XC90 or BMW X5
 

I am now driving between Belfast and London 4/5 times a year and as our 1 year old lab is fully grown and quite big I need more space and a comfortable mile muncher. Also when we travel to London in addition to the dog we also have a lot of luggage. I went to the Volvo dealers today to have a look at the XC60. I was quite disappointed with the boot space in the XC60 with the rear seats up and sadly ruled it out of the running. In the showroom, next to the 60 was an XC90 which had the occasional use two rear seats in the down position. The space was superb and exactly what I need.
I will pop over to BMW next week to look at the X5. Has anyone any experience of these two models to compare with each other? Regardless of the X5 whats the general feeling of those who own the XC90?
I was gobsmacked with the style of the Volvo interiors. I thought they were superb. The price is also gobsmacking so I seriously need to watch which model and options I choose. I know I want/need the Pilot assist and park assist together with the acoustic glass together with the sun protection. Whilst I don't need it the sunroof is probably going on the list just to lighten the interior.
I would be very grateful for any comments and advice from the cognoscenti.

I have two Deerhounds. They are massive, so I am limited on car choices.

I just placed an order for an XC90 (3 year lease) I currently have a VW Touareg and the boot is probably too small for the dogs. It works, but it's tight.

I have looked seriously at all of the big SUVs for dog space and here's what I think:

Volvo XC90 - fantastic. It's a dog Palace. Just never use the 3rd row seats (fine with me) and put a bit of VetBed in the back and you are golden. My 2 are going to love it.

BMW X5: Rubbish. Very high loading lip (split tailgate) for dogs to jump onto and not a very big boot anyway.

Range Rover Velar: Technically, its about the same size as my Touareg. Just looks awkward and cramped to me. Very high loading lip as well. This was a shame as I really wanted to order one of these with the D300 engine. Not enough dog space though.

Touareg: Had two, want something different. Works well for big dogs.

GL/MLE: Had two of these as well, so didn't look. Maybe the new model could be my next car in three year's time though.

Audi Q7: Pretty good. Similar to XC90 - with 3rd row down it's OK. Only had a quick look.

Having said all this, you have a single lab and even the biggest of them isn't a "big" dog. So any of the above cars will be fine. Air suspension is a good option for dogs though, as you can drop the loading lip by a couple of inches. You would definitely need this option if you bought a Velar as the lip on the boot is very awkward.

If I were you. I would go and have a look at the Velar. It's a lovely car and surprisingly affordable on lease. There are reports of reliability issues with the internal screens amongst other things. Still - it's a super car but can get eye waveringly expensive if you add lots of options. Still, for one lab it would work fine.

On the spec, I have done a complete 180 degree turn over the last two weeks. My initial thinking was that I needed a V6 3.0 diesel in whatever car I bought. Just for the grunt of it. I haven't driven a 4 cylinder engine for over 20 years until I recently did some test drives. The Range Rover 240 Diesel impressed me, even after having driven the D300 which was my preference. Then I drove the Volvo 2 litre petrol and diesel engines and was impressed with them as well.

I ended up ordering a D5 R-Design Pro with the Xenium pack and smartphone integration. So I traded engine power for options, which I may regret. That combo has everything I want. I just need to learn to try drive it smoother than the V6's. But I have motorcycles for when I want to go fast, so it should be fine.

Thanks very much for the detailed reply as it’s very helpful and saves me traipsing round dealerships. I like the look of the velar bus sadly the reliability of JLR would worry me so it’s a no from me 😄
I’m glad I don’t have to feed your dogs as I would have difficulty buying a car😂

Thanks very much for the detailed reply as it’s very helpful and saves me traipsing round dealerships. I like the look of the velar bus sadly the reliability of JLR would worry me so it’s a no from me 😄
I’m glad I don’t have to feed your dogs as I would have difficulty buying a car😂

I am not sure BMW dealers have a new X5 demonstrator as yet. I assume they will be in showrooms soon enough now that the press have done their reviews. I could be wrong. Being a new model there will be little to no discount for a good 8-12 months

As the F15 is in run out of the examples will be either pre-reg or already built. We considered the X5 (currently driving a F11 5 series) but a lot of the vehicles in the inventory lacked options that are standard on the XC90 making the Volvo a no-brainer

No-brainer for me - I love my XC90 (D5 Inscription Pro with air suspension, Xenium pack etc etc) and have not a single regret dumping my Disco Sport - hateful car with a series of fundamental engineering and build quality issues. So you are right to disregard the Velar. The XC90 has an enormous boot with the rearmost seats down, out two Retrievers and single Wheaten Terrier just disappear into the space! My requirements are a bit more specific in that being 6' 7" tall I need more physical space than most and it's amazing the number of cars I just simply could not get a comfortable driving position in - the X5 was one of those and also didn't have the quality feel of the Volvo. So for me an easy decision

Why don't you simply avoid the black interior?
The blond would make it the lightest, but even the Amber would be better than black!