V90 Deleted Kit from 2023

[OldEngineer]

Went to have a look at a V90 Ultimate today and was surprised by some features. I guess I knew that the motorised boot cover has had the motor deleted but I also found the Hydraulic Struts are deleted from the upper floor. It now has a piece of string to hold it open.

What else will I find?

I think I've worked out that the Google system has interfered with the 3 cruise control settings. I generally use Pilot Assist on the Motorway and the Speed Limiter in town. But it looks like I can't control that with the buttons on the steering wheel? Is it only possible to have one or the other with Active Cruise?

The salesman (quite young) wanted to show me the Voice Control features which seemed to excite him. If you are alone in the car it might have some merit. But a family on a journey would find it quite stupid that controls can only be changed when everybody was quiet in the car. A simple push of a button is so easy and quicker.

[vonRypp]

Originally Posted by OldEngineer

Went to have a look at a V90 Ultimate today and was surprised by some features. I guess I knew that the motorised boot cover has had the motor deleted but I also found the Hydraulic Struts are deleted from the upper floor. It now has a piece of string to hold it open.

What else will I find?

I think I've worked out that the Google system has interfered with the 3 cruise control settings. I generally use Pilot Assist on the Motorway and the Speed Limiter in town. But it looks like I can't control that with the buttons on the steering wheel? Is it only possible to have one or the other with Active Cruise?

The salesman (quite young) wanted to show me the Voice Control features which seemed to excite him. If you are alone in the car it might have some merit. But a family on a journey would find it quite stupid that controls can only be changed when everybody was quiet in the car. A simple push of a button is so easy and quicker.

I have a MY23 V90CC Ultimate. Yes, the gas struts were deleted for my car as well, but the motorised cover is still there for me.

They also removed the electric backseat folding buttons in the boot area. You won’t be able to change the colour of the interior ambient lighting. No self-parking function, audio settings were simplified even for the BW system, you won’t have normal household electric socket for the rear passengers, only USB Cs with low power output (you won’t be able to charge your laptop for instance), rear seats are not perforated, only the fronts, and some more minor things beside the ones you mentioned. It’s still a good car, but some cost-cutting has been made.

[neilgorin]

Originally Posted by OldEngineer

But a family on a journey would find it quite stupid that controls can only be changed when everybody was quiet in the car. A simple push of a button is so easy and quicker.

Long journeys in my car tend to have my wife and mother in law in tow.

Voice activation is all but useless in those circumstances.

You're correct about the buttons. It's very frustrating to have to use a screen to switch between the functions - I would routinely use cruise on the motorway and then the limiter in roadwords, flipping between on the buttons is easy on Sensus and via the screen a menu deep on AAOS is irritating. Worse though is that AAOS loses GPS quite regularly which never happened on Sensus.

My car is currently in being repaired again. I've been given a top of the range S60 to use as a loan car, on a 23 plate. Compared to my old 19 plate Inscription (of which it is supposedly the same level of trim) it's also missing electric adjustment of the passenger seat.

The non-basic cruise and speed limiter are options on almost all models. I've driven XC40, XC60 and now a S60 this year whilst by V60 has been out of action, and all of them were well specified but missing anything other than the basic cruise/limiter system.

[Tony Gathercole]

Originally Posted by neilgorin

I would routinely use cruise on the motorway and then the limiter in roadwords, flipping between on the buttons is easy on Sensus and via the screen a menu deep on AAOS is irritating. Worse though is that AAOS loses GPS quite regularly which never happened on Sensus.

TBH I find that recognition by AAOS of the speed limit signs on many motorway roadworks and incidents is so hit-and-miss (particularly overhead gantries and "Smart Mororways") I'd not trust the automated speed limiter and if you're manually adjusting the limit, then you might as well just nudge the cruse control setting down and then up - which is what I do.

I also find that the speed limiter not infrequently picks up "20 MPH Zone" markings from side roads in towns. At least once that caused a very unexpected and rapid speed reduction from 30 MPH to 20 MPH which must have been a brown trouser job for the driver behind me who wouldn't have seen any reason for it!

Therefore seldom or never do I use it.

[neilgorin]

Originally Posted by Tony Gathercole

TBH I find that recognition by AAOS of the speed limit signs on many motorway roadworks and incidents is so hit-and-miss (particularly overhead gantries and "Smart Mororways") I'd not trust the automated speed limiter and if you're manually adjusting the limit, then you might as well just nudge the cruse control setting down and then up - which is what I do.

I also find that the speed limiter not infrequently picks up "20 MPH Zone" markings from side roads in towns. At least once that caused a very unexpected and rapid speed reduction from 30 MPH to 20 MPH which must have been a brown trouser job for the driver behind me who wouldn't have seen any reason for it!

Therefore seldom or never do I use it.

I never use the automated speed limiter, I just set it to a flat speed. The speed sign feature I've tried on AAOS and Sensus - it's just as bad on each, both seeing local 70mph dual carriageway (part of the A1 no less) as a 60mph road for example. Thankfully easy to permanently break the link from the signs to the limiter on these cars.

The system is bad on every car I've driven - picks up side roads as main roads, has historical limits on it etc.

I'm not a fan of using cruise in busy traffic or through road works but the limiter is very useful for that. 50 average? Set it to 55 and forget, car overreads a little anyway and it stops you finding you're doing 58mph because the driver in front isn't concentrating.