I'm pleased my thread has provoked such quality debate and information sharing. VIDA/DICE is something I'm considering but it's not on my priority list, though to someone who knows what they're looking at I can appreciate how useful it would be.
Other updates though...
The replacement navigation discs arrived. Disc one was inserted and my breath was bated. Unfortunately the disc couldn't even be read.
I somewhat grumpily contacted the eBay seller who thinks "there is a problem with my unit or my drive needs to be cleaned". I'm very sceptical about this, but he has offered me my money back so I'll probably return the discs and ponder my next move. I do want updated maps but I don't especially want to pay Volvo hundreds of pounds for the privilege.
Does anyone have any links to a seller on eBay or similar where they have had success in updating their navigation?
On a positive note, I managed to find a tonneau cover for sale on eBay not far from me. I won the auction and this morning I took a 25 minute jaunt up the A1 to pick it up. A good find at £48.
Similarly positive is that the V5 arrived. This allowed me to assign the private plate I had on retention and means the Volvo is now wearing a new reg. I feel I have to give credit where it's due to the DVLA on this one. The process of assigning private plates to cars used to be a horrendous exercise of standing in queues at the post office and waiting weeks for paperwork to arrive but these days you can get it all done online in minutes - most satisfactory.
I snapped a few pictures of the Volvo with new plate while 'off-roading'.
Thanks for looking.