General: New XC90 at last! :)

[EdmundIJones]

Originally Posted by TruckbusUK

Mmm, not sure about the looks, bit reminiscent of the Toyota Land Cruiser at the front, albeit a bit smoothed out, inside nice! ... more disappointed about the price ....

From the articles published so far


entry level in the UK ..... £46K
entry level in the US .....$49k (£30k)

Why ... because they can and they think European/UK owners are stupid and gullible.

Not quite, it's based on Purchasing Power Parity, not exchange rates. The GBP is 23% overvalued against the USD (see http://www.worldeconomics.com/WorldPriceIndex/WPI.efp), so based on what you can buy for your money, you are essentially 23% better off than a US purchaser. The other 7% is basically the sales tax average in the US which you'd have to add (probably and depending on state)

[TWPC]

Originally Posted by TruckbusUK

From the articles published so far

entry level in the UK ..... £46K
entry level in the US .....$49k (£30k)

Why ... because they can and they think European/UK owners are stupid and gullible.

I agree that Euro/UK car prices are far higher than in the US but note that the What Car article above said that the £46K price is for the D5 4wd model. Later in 2015 a D4 2wd model will become available, presumably at a lower price.

Also, US car prices are quoted excluding sales tax and delivery charges. State sales taxes range from 0% to 11% in addition to which a city/municipality tax must often be paid. The delivery charge on the XC90 appears to be $900. Excluding VAT at 20%, the comparable price for a £46K XC90 in the UK is £38,333 - still a rip-off but a smaller differential.

[TruckbusUK]

Originally Posted by EdmundIJones

Not quite, it's based on Purchasing Power Parity, not exchange rates. The GBP is 23% overvalued against the USD (see http://www.worldeconomics.com/WorldPriceIndex/WPI.efp), so based on what you can buy for your money, you are essentially 23% better off than a US purchaser. The other 7% is basically the sales tax average in the US which you'd have to add (probably and depending on state)

Hello EdmundIJones, I understand the fiscal and economic arguements on WPI, but since the car is manufactured in Scandanavia and shipped to the US, why is the currency cost 50% more in the UK, the index is purely for comparison, and at 23%, the UK are still getting ripped of nicely.

After all its all about what you buy and with what, the WPI's only purpose is an international comparrison of purchasing power, the hard currency stays the same, and Volvo Sweden, who will get the money first will still get approx 30% more for every car the sell in the UK than the states, regardless.

[y2blade]

Originally Posted by AB-UK

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/volvo/x...d-full-details

The best part of £69K for the top of the range exclusive introductory models.
Doesn't say if this is for the Hybrid version though.

I was hoping to make the new Gen version my third XC90, but as a private buyer this is way out of my range alas

You do realise you don't HAVE TO buy them brand new.

Leave it a few months, see what comes about.

[EdmundIJones]

TruckbusUK, It's the same with everything through, it's €10 euro cheaper to buy an iPad or iPhone in Germany and Italy than it is in France, they all use the Euro so in theory it should be the same... but isn't.

All big companies have teams of economists working out how much they can charge for products all over the place. It comes down to what people can afford, how strong currencies are (in relation to each other) and what they think they can get away with. People in the UK generally have more cash than a lot of other countries so can proportionately pay more.

Volvo is now owned by the Chinese so I bet they are a lot cheaper there and effectively subsisted by other country sales.

[EdmundIJones]

Crash tests of the new XC90 for you:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0LX...ature=youtu.be

[Ducklakeview]

Originally Posted by EdmundIJones

Crash tests of the new XC90 for you:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0LX...ature=youtu.be

It does very well there, especially in the rollover, the glass roof didn't even go - The current one did well in the tests, but this one is even better!

Mike

[T1sh0]

This looks impressive to be fair! That's why we shouldn't make a judgement how car looks like from outside without knowing everything about it.

[yeoman]

If this car drives anything as well as the BMW x5 or Audi Q7, I am certainly coming back to Volvo!
I left Volvo as the BMW X5 was in a different stratosphere in terms of the driving experience. I dearly hope this car measure up to the German marques in the driving stakes.

[TWPC]

Originally Posted by yeoman

If this car drives anything as well as the BMW x5 or Audi Q7, I am certainly coming back to Volvo!
I left Volvo as the BMW X5 was in a different stratosphere in terms of the driving experience. I dearly hope this car measure up to the German marques in the driving stakes.

Hear, hear

I love our XC90 but the ride and steering are no great shakes. Volvo desperately needs to sort out the ride of its cars in particular.

Interestingly the springing medium for the rear suspension of the lower spec new XC90s is a composite leaf spring (the Chevy Corvette is the only other current car I am aware of that uses one). It will be VERY interesting to see how that performs. The top end models use air suspension.