What to replace an XC90 with?

[idiotgap]

This is an interesting topic to me because I only recently got a used XC90, the journey to that choice took me round a few of the options you are considering.

Previously I've been running older Mercedes e-class estates. I had a 1996 W124 shape one which I bought for under £3k and sold 5 years later for nearly double what I paid for it as they grew in classic status while I had it. It wasn't without faults though and with the 130k + mileage inevitably it needed various suspension, leaks and other things attended to. We had to get rid of it in the end after I'd attended to all the faults, because although it was a seven seater with two rear facing seats in the boot with 3 sons I needed to seat them all in the front 2 rows much of the time and that model only had a lap belt in the middle seat.

After that we got a 2004 e-class w211 style estate for about £3.5k Again with 130k= miles it also needed work from time to time but with much more electrickery in it's construction they tended to be more complex to deal with.

Both of those options were very cheap in the general scheme of things and especially when compared to buying or leasing a newer car, but they whilst not leaving us stranded or anything did need time with mechanics and some sympathy to keep going.

My approach was that although we could afford a new car, the advantages against cost seemed to be highly weighted toward having something new and 'bling' on the drive which isn't something that interests us very much.

Never the less, we thought we would try something new for a change and see how we got on. We wanted petrol to preserve re-sale, power and weight to tow our caravan and 7 seats for at least occasional use for kid's mates/grand parents etc.

We decided on a Skoda Kodiaq after test driving the kia, hyundai, VW equivalents etc. unfortunately the buying experience was very poor. Horrendous delays, badly managed changes in specs when the new model year came in and an expectation that we would pay thousands extra and wait even longer despite the problems being caused by faults in the supplying dealer and manufacturers process. So we cancelled.

Re-evaluating the problem we decided to look at a used, but not too old car to balance initial depreciation against not needing to constantly be maintaining it. After that, we determined that an XC90 was the car that was most likely to meet our needs from an interior and practicality point of view. Whilst the new ones are pretty, they've not been around all that long and still quite expensive, plus petrol ones are not so often available and we saw reports typical of cars shortly after launch a few issues coming up regularly.

In the end we went for a 2013 XC90 so hopefully it's a well developed product and our example well maintained, full main dealer history etc. The expectation is that it will last us a good few years and although a diesel resale won't be such an issue it already having depreciated significantly. We don't expect it to be maintenance free, but perhaps better from that perspective than we've endured with the older e-class cars and a reasonable total cost of ownership in the end.

[Bigjimknickers]

My wife’s car is a seat Ateca, very very good car, a little on the sportier side of a 5 seater suv but that suits her.
16k trouble free miles in 2 years since it was new.
Enough room for 3 adults in the back, plenty of engines to choose from.

I’d recommend one.

[Odysseus]

Not wishing to pour scorn on anyone's choice of car - freedom to choose is excellent and long may it continue - but personally I can't see the point of a five seater SUV unless ground clearance and all wheel drive are vital necessities.

I find myself as an XC90 owner as I needed a seven seater and my own vanity and idiotic shallowness meant I couldn't bring myself to buy a Ford S-Max or Citreon MPV thing like any sensible person might do.

In general, estate cars provide better performance, handling, economy, and are generally cheaper, while having just as much internal space.

Once my three kids get tall enough to start no longer needing booster seats I fully intend to replace whatever seven-seater SUV we have by then with a nice E Class/5 Series/V90 estate.

[sthodgson]

My wife likes the higher driving position around town and it is much easier to get kids in and out of due to higher seats. Also, because the seating is squashed upwards they have deeper leg troughs in the back. You can sit on the higher seat without cramping and without banging your head on the ceiling, which also means the boot can be deeper and higher for stacking buckets and spades.

They do get criticised a lot by estate fans, and I have a v50 estate, but I think the SUV makes a great family car - it’s a true refinement of a genre.

Looking at SEAT Ateca and Skoda karoqs.

[TruckbusUK]

Originally Posted by sthodgson

Looking at SEAT Ateca and Skoda karoqs.

TBH, I think you will find them rather cramped, and marginally larger than the Skoda Yeti they replaced, which in itself was a great car (one of the top three we have owned,) just nowhere near the size of an XC90/60 and tbh only take 4 adults and a very skinny teenager, with not much luggage room .... (excellent if there are only two of you though!)

[sthodgson]

We’re going to sit in a karoq on Saturday to find out.

The mk1 xc90 is such a darned good design that it has hardly been bettered all these years later - one of the great cars of history arguably. Great, but complicated.

We could afford one that’s about 6 years old but would we just be joining the expensive maintenance merry-go-round all over again? A new loan we had after a prang a few years back leaked in the boot like ours so it didn’t fill us with confidence.

Choices, choices. Put me in Eatern Bloc and give me Trabant and I’d be happy. Fairly happy.

[XJSDriver]

Now our 3 kids have left home we have the XC90 as occasionally road floods when lots rain so enjoy the XC90's height; before the XC90 we had a Galaxy which took the family of 5, 3 dogs and occasionally the mother in law! We had a small roof box to take some luggage but even with a huge box on the XC90 it still does not come close to the space a Galaxy offers.

The Galaxy is significantly cheaper to run although Ford parts are close in price to that of a Volvo so no savings there but in 200,000 miles the Galaxy only needed a turbo and clutch, plus regular servicing. I know that before 200,000k is up with our XC90 as a minimum it will need a refurbished gear box which is 2K+ but I do plan to keep it for a good while as long as the interior holds up which is the Galaxy's achilles heel

[GSTheo119]

If you need comfort, economy, seats and space, on paper, big MPVs definitely make most sense - ...but, Who really actually properly wants one? If your car is more to you than just a tool to schlep people and stuff it really helps to like the damn thing when those bills come in.

My XC90 does the dump/shops/taxi duty runs, bosses dirt tracks to take my son motocross riding (with a KTM on a towbar mounted rack, boot full of tools and kit) and it'll move 5 adults across continents with their luggage in comfort at over 30mpg, all with a sound system even new cars would struggle to match. If you need/want all that, big SUVs are hard to beat.

[Bigjimknickers]

I think a test drive in a Karoq/Ateca is just the ticket, I quite enjoyed using my wife’s 1.6 tdi Ateca while my XC was poorly, the Ateca is on the sportier side but that doesn’t bother me especially when it’s my job to clear out the dpf after she’s chocked it up!
If it was mine I’d want it in 2.0 tfsi dsg personally.
Or there is the Ateca Cupra now if you really want speed/suv combined!
(We’d LOVE one, but the monthly is too much).

[sthodgson]

Thanks all. Just a quick question about the mk1 XC60 with the new D4 engine (4 cylinder) - are there problems with the DPF when used mainly for short runs?

It would be great if Volvo made them with an economical petrol engine.