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Originally Posted by Hornet
I am a very happy V70 driver, however in the next few months I need to make a decision about a new car. I love the look of the XC90 but am wondering if it is the car for me?
At the moment I do about 30k a year, but this is going to do down to less than 20k miles per annum soon. I should point out I don't NEED a 4x4, just fancy the idea of one. I shall also be doing a lot of town driving too, as well as motorways.
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Obviously only you can decide if spending the extra money on vehicle that has more features than you require is the right thing to do. The XC90 will burn a lot more fuel than your V70, especially when in town and particularly in a hilly town! Although with my XC90SE D5 Geartronic I normally achieve about 33mpg on a motorway run, I only expect about 20mpg around town and at times this falls to 17. I could easily get this even lower with a heavy right foot. My sister runs an XC70 and she does a fair amount of motorway miles and her average consumption is around 39-40 mpg with the same engine. The reason for the difference is that her XC70 is almost 1/2 ton lighter and has less frontal area.
Parking is not a problem as long as there is plenty of space! The XC90 is a fair sized vehicle, so you need fair sized parking spaces! As far as possible, I always try to avoid parking right next to other cars in multistorey car parks or when in supermarkets. This is mainly to reduce the chances of receiving typical careless car door damage. When parking on the street, you will need to use your mirrors due to the blind spots, but with them and the reversing sensor, it does not take long to get the hang of it.
At all times you will find the extra height gives you great benefits with respect to vision. I have long been a fan of taller vehicles, and find them much more relaxing to drive. As mentioned by Perussell, the boot is very deep, and yes at 6' you still need to get in to reach the far end! The extra height of the boot and tailgate means almost no danger of banging your head on the tailgate! Noise levels are low, although if you have sensitive hearing, you will notice a very high pitched whistle from the drivers door mirror. This occurs (for my hearing!) between about 38mph to 53mph. Outside these speeds, the whistle is either to quiet to hear, or above the frequency I can hear! When I asked the dealer about this at the free 'Safety check' shortly after purchse, they tested it and said all XC90s do it. Sure enough, I have driven a coulpe of others since, and they do. I am being very picky, so don't let this worry you as you may not be able to hear it anyway!
Yes the XC90 is strong and yes it is very safe. Yes it tows trailers etc well, and yes it does everything I have asked of it to date. No it is not quick (in diesel format, mine is 163hp not the new 185hp), but I did not expect it to be. Of course, the V70 is much lighter and thus quicker, so do not by the XC90 if you want high performance. Xenon headlights are great, albeit a bit short on range (I had the dealer adjust mine up to the upper limit) and for me, well worth the extra money.
We love our XC90, but this is because for us it fits our requirements for a spacious, practical, comfortable vehicle, that can cope with slippery surfaces (wet grass with a large trailer and slipways), is safe and has relatively low depreciation.
I hope you managed to get to the end of this monologue and that it is of some help!