Volvo Owners Club Forum - View Single Post

Keeno · Feb 26th, 2016, 13:56

Hi everyone, first post...I recently test drove one and the engine is one of the poorer elements of the car, but i wouldn't say "poor" per se, and if 40mpg can be a reality than for 90% of the time this will be more beneficial than those 10% hooning it late to the station / dinner / kids pick up moments. I currently drive a 3.0TDI 2015 Touareg and in sport mode it can shift, its a V6 and has more of a growl although again it doesn't sounds like a proper V6 - in fact the sound deadening on the whole car is rubbish. A lot of folks seem to compare the XC' to a Range Rover Sport SDV6 or a 4.0d X5, but in all reality when specced up to the XC90 level, there is a pretty significant price difference. A basic RRS with an ok spec is £70k. I also think the XC offers different things; i've had a number of X5's over the years, from an original 4.4 2000 car to a 2008 3.5d - not all were great and the dealers were variable. I had several cracked alloy wheels with the run flat tyre issue and the general level of arrogance was often limitless. The XC90 is a family truck, it does the 7 seat thing like no other, its a practical, useful thing that has tried to step up a level in terms of luxury, tech and kit. I think its succeeded, and the sales figures and general reviews would suggest that. The downside of its success is that it is attracting RRS, X5 and Q7 owners, not something the old car probably would have done. It's now fighting with the big boys, people that want their SUV to be practical, useful, luxurious, quick and fun to drive, whilst having a prestigious badge. That's ultimately why these SUV's are so popular, their breadth of ability is better than any other type of car...
I salute Volvo for the engine choice, but its early days for the new engine architecture and the XC90 is the guinea pig. These motors will get better, will pump out 300bhp, gearbox software will improve, sound better etc. If your priority is performance and power, the XC90 is probably not for you - the Cayenne, X5 and RRS are more biased towards those dynamics. Personally, I can forgo some of the dynamics for the rest of the package, and I like the image, but I also have another car with 4wd and 450bhp for spirited driving, some people dont, and therefore their SUV has to cover more bases - i completely get that. Horses for courses etc etc!.

Feb 26th, 2016, 13:56	#27
Keeno New Member Last Online: Apr 6th, 2018 08:20 Join Date: Feb 2016 Location: Tunbridge Wells	Hi everyone, first post...I recently test drove one and the engine is one of the poorer elements of the car, but i wouldn't say "poor" per se, and if 40mpg can be a reality than for 90% of the time this will be more beneficial than those 10% hooning it late to the station / dinner / kids pick up moments. I currently drive a 3.0TDI 2015 Touareg and in sport mode it can shift, its a V6 and has more of a growl although again it doesn't sounds like a proper V6 - in fact the sound deadening on the whole car is rubbish. A lot of folks seem to compare the XC' to a Range Rover Sport SDV6 or a 4.0d X5, but in all reality when specced up to the XC90 level, there is a pretty significant price difference. A basic RRS with an ok spec is £70k. I also think the XC offers different things; i've had a number of X5's over the years, from an original 4.4 2000 car to a 2008 3.5d - not all were great and the dealers were variable. I had several cracked alloy wheels with the run flat tyre issue and the general level of arrogance was often limitless. The XC90 is a family truck, it does the 7 seat thing like no other, its a practical, useful thing that has tried to step up a level in terms of luxury, tech and kit. I think its succeeded, and the sales figures and general reviews would suggest that. The downside of its success is that it is attracting RRS, X5 and Q7 owners, not something the old car probably would have done. It's now fighting with the big boys, people that want their SUV to be practical, useful, luxurious, quick and fun to drive, whilst having a prestigious badge. That's ultimately why these SUV's are so popular, their breadth of ability is better than any other type of car... I salute Volvo for the engine choice, but its early days for the new engine architecture and the XC90 is the guinea pig. These motors will get better, will pump out 300bhp, gearbox software will improve, sound better etc. If your priority is performance and power, the XC90 is probably not for you - the Cayenne, X5 and RRS are more biased towards those dynamics. Personally, I can forgo some of the dynamics for the rest of the package, and I like the image, but I also have another car with 4wd and 450bhp for spirited driving, some people dont, and therefore their SUV has to cover more bases - i completely get that. Horses for courses etc etc!.