Comfort of an XC60 R Design Lux + 20" wheels

[swishtony]

Arianne, thanks for your supportive comments on my other thread! i wanted to send this as a private message but I'm not allowed. Hopefully itis accpetable as a new thread!

I've read some things that the R Design Lux with 20" wheels can be a little rough to drive due to to the stiffer suspension and large wheels. I notice you have that spec, same as I'm getting. I just wondered from a first hand point of view, how do you find the drive/handling/comfort? Just that it is easy to read so much stuff online and never quite sure how much is second hand information!

Thanks

[Arianne]

Just about to nip out for a couple of hours......and, as folk know on this forum, I never use ten words when 100 will serve me better.

I do have the spec you mention and I have a view on it. I'll respond properly when I get back.

In the meantime, you may wish to search on my first few reviews when I first picked up the car, just search on my posts around 8 march.

Have a nice evening.

Arianne

[swishtony]

Ahh, found it, great review and many thanks. Think I read everything I needed to so know need to repeat for my sake... unless of course there's more to add now you've had the car a few months!

[andymcp]

I must add that I am just back from two days driving round meetings in Arianne's back yard and no wonder the 20" wheels are so good - the road surfaces round the Borders are fantastic! Possibly the most serene couple of days behind the wheel for me, smooth as silk, lovely sweeping roads and instant overtake power while still returning 60+mpg. No wonder you enjoy living there Arianne, and are delighted with the wheels!

[Arianne]

So Swishtony, just back and we're finishing the Germany v USA match (nobody is to post a spoiler - you've all been warned).

So, at 3,500 miles what do I think about the 20" wheels on R-design suspension?

I would do it again and order 20" rims. Yes, the suspension can be a bitch on patched roads and it's not as composed on the concrete motorways either.

But........what a looker! And, speaking as an ex-Alfa Romeo owner, I've always been a sucker for 'drop-dead gorgeous' looks (that includes Mrs A )

If I had the money I would have ordered the 4C chassis. Maybe you've got that? If you have then you've got the best of all worlds.

The way I see it is that, on the european motorways they have those lovely smooth surfaces and no cats eyes. In Britain I've developed an amazing knack of lane switching and missing the cats eyes at the same time.

So, yes the sports suspension and the 20" rims aren't the best combination for a composed ride. Always try before you buy this configuration (I did, twice for a whole day from my local dealership, Clelands). But what poise those wheels give the car when you look at it and on drive pasts.

Best wishes.

Arianne

[Arianne]

Originally Posted by andymcp

I must add that I am just back from two days driving round meetings in Arianne's back yard and no wonder the 20" wheels are so good - the road surfaces round the Borders are fantastic! Possibly the most serene couple of days behind the wheel for me, smooth as silk, lovely sweeping roads and instant overtake power while still returning 60+mpg. No wonder you enjoy living there Arianne, and are delighted with the wheels!

The A7 from the M6 up to Edinburgh, what a super road. No longer an important route so the road is quiet. The road becomes progressively more challenging the further north you go - especially after Galashiels since this section was de-trunked (much to Scottish Borders Council's annoyance) a few years ago.

And the A708 Moffat to Selkirk via St Mary's Loch - for the Impreza driver inside all of us . Stop at the biker's hut on the Loch for a snack, and don't forget to note that original black AA phone box on the junction with the unclassified road to Megget & Talla Water.

The weather's mostly rubbish (right now we're in Kent and the bedroom window's open to get some needed cool air into the house) but it's a slower pace of life, you can get a table in good restaurant on a Friday night at the last minute for the whole evening and the scenery is wonderful. Just more sunshine please!

Arianne

[swishtony]

Thanks for the input. Big concern for me, where I live the roads are horrendous, they really are awful. Some roads, and I'm not exaggerating, are like something you'd expect to see in a 3rd world country. Pot holes everywhere and sections of road crumbling all over the place.

I don't think you can have the 4C chassis with the R Design, i know when I originally spec'd one up online it wasn't on the list of options, unless I just missed it?

I might be slowly but surely heading towards sacrificing my deposit on my order and going down the DTD route with a different spec. It isn't something I gave enough consideration to, I've actually surprised myself there as I'm usually a very thorough researcher when it comes to buying anything. Where I test drove one actually has very decent roads so I would not have noticed anything untoward!

[simonjedrake]

Originally Posted by swishtony

Thanks for the input. Big concern for me, where I live the roads are horrendous, they really are awful. Some roads, and I'm not exaggerating, are like something you'd expect to see in a 3rd world country. Pot holes everywhere and sections of road crumbling all over the place.

I don't think you can have the 4C chassis with the R Design, i know when I originally spec'd one up online it wasn't on the list of options, unless I just missed it?

I might be slowly but surely heading towards sacrificing my deposit on my order and going down the DTD route with a different spec. It isn't something I gave enough consideration to, I've actually surprised myself there as I'm usually a very thorough researcher when it comes to buying anything. Where I test drove one actually has very decent roads so I would not have noticed anything untoward!

Your roads sound just like Shropshire with not too much silky smooth black stuff then - in that case you need my spec of SE Lux & 18" wheels - but the 4C chassis that gives you the best of options at the press of 3 buttons. I like my comfort when not in a hurry, but when having fun and in a press-on mode then with 4C in Sport Mode/Polestar all I see in dust in my rear mirror. I only live once so why not enjoy it.............

[swishtony]

Originally Posted by simonjedrake

you need my spec of SE Lux & 18" wheels - but the 4C chassis that gives you the best of options at the press of 3 buttons

That's precisely what I've been looking at!

[Arianne]

Originally Posted by swishtony

Thanks for the input. Big concern for me, where I live the roads are horrendous, they really are awful. Some roads, and I'm not exaggerating, are like something you'd expect to see in a 3rd world country. Pot holes everywhere and sections of road crumbling all over the place.

I don't think you can have the 4C chassis with the R Design, i know when I originally spec'd one up online it wasn't on the list of options, unless I just missed it?

I might be slowly but surely heading towards sacrificing my deposit on my order and going down the DTD route with a different spec. It isn't something I gave enough consideration to, I've actually surprised myself there as I'm usually a very thorough researcher when it comes to buying anything. Where I test drove one actually has very decent roads so I would not have noticed anything untoward!

The harsh rise of the R-design and 20" combo is something that the motoring magazines identify too. Because my last car was an XC90 I wanted something that had stiffer suspension so that I could whizz around the twisty Border roads without having to work hard as the driver, the XC90 tends to wallow in corners due to its size and suspension setup. We don't have any motorway or dual carriageway in the Scottish Borders so everything is country road. The A68 north of St Boswells is the fastest section of straight road in the whole county but it's peppered with gatso cameras.

So, in our circumstances, our specification is ok (note even I am not raving about it, ok is how I describe it in a measured way). The other cars in the family are an SRi Vectra (spine operation required after any drive around town especially when I have the winter tyres mounted with the XL rating, thought they were a bargain but didn't think about the impact of the stiffer sidewalls) & and an Audi TT. So you can see that none of our 'fleet' is set up for comfort but rather for performance.

It does sound as if you might want to cut your losses and contact DTD. Remember that brilliant £300 / £500 service deal that you can also buy on the new car too for 3 / 5 years that'll save you a packet? But just make sure that you are happy with the SE suspension as, to be honest, the motoring magazines say that as lovely as the XC60 is, the suspension and driving experience is not the best in class. Often this is identified as the weakest link. Of course everything is relative and a two ton SUV will never deliver the perfect ride. But if you're spending mega bucks then take a trip to the dealerships first and have some fun.

Maybe, bearing in mind the way you describe the roads around Hastings, a Toyota Hilux or Landcruiser. If you get the Hilux then I notice from the tv news that these almost always come with a machine gun mounted on the rear. I don't know if the 2-3 guys with headscarves come with the option pack too? Handy in and around Hastings 1066?

Best wishes, Arianne