Early Impressions

[BTXC90]

Originally Posted by neon

First impressions after 5 days with the car, 25/9/16. Please remember though that I am being picky and this is very early impressions and personal view. I am also no car expert. After paying £55k my expectation will be high. Items with stars against I have never had before so have no direct comparison.

Dealership: No arrogance and seem honest. Quality time and not rushed. Car was pristine when I collected. Everything setup correctly in car with common options. Information on the car sent in advance. Good overview of the car functions. No hard sell of extras. Service Manager gave me confidence they are knowledgeable of the new platform/technology. Early problems that were my fault were supported really well. Received 5 year service contract. Dealer contacting me in a week or so to answer any questions etc.
General Exterior Styling/Quality: Really like the style & colour combination of the car. Have not found anything damaged, misaligned etc up to now. Paint finish looks good, but I am no expert. Mud flaps feel cheap and certainly not worth the £220 I paid, should have bought them myself and fitted.
General Interior Styling/Quality: General styling and quality seems very good. Nappa leather feels real nice and more durable than I thought. Understand it comes from Scotland. Piano black trim, as I thought will show every fingerprint and be a pain to keep clean and not sure how durable, Sensus screen same, shows every fingerprint. Tunnel carpet looks different shade than other carpet, more grey. Love the carpet lining in the boot, much better than the cheap stuff used in my Mercedes. Walnut inlays real nice and certainly feel and look real. Walnut finish is slightly rough on one trim by the steering wheel. Built in rear sunblinds are nice. Leather dash and door tops nice. Not sure about steering wheel, Mercedes felt and looked better. Prefer if seatbelts, door pillars and headlining were black and not blond. Not getting why one side of the centre console tunnel is hard plastic next to the passenger, when everything else is so premium.
Driver Profiles: Not had an opportunity to try these yet.
Seats: Like the sports contour seats, makes the 2nd row seats feel quite basic in comparison. Lumbar support feels a bit limited. Still tweaking to get the right position.
Sound System: Overall for a base system sound good in the front seats with good quality source material. 2nd row bass sounds less for some reason. Cannot really notice the impact of the additional subwoofer I optioned, slider control for it in Sensus does not seem to do much. Maybe listening to it alongside the base system without it would show a difference. Wish I could have just basic folders for music showing exactly what I put in them.
PA2: * Really like it but understand it is a driving aid and has limitations. Great on motorways, dual carriageways, A1 roads etc. PA2 not advisable for roundabouts, sharp bends and roads with poor markings. Commercial advert showing PA2 is misleading. Having to nudge the steering wheel so frequently is a pain, hopefully Volvo will extend the time limit going forward.
ACC: * Never had this before and again a great driving aid. Did almost allow me to ram a low loader at one point though yesterday.
Lane Keeping Assist: Notice it kicks in quite a lot, being a big car and as I live in the countryside with roads not so wide. I am not one for cutting corners over the centre line like a lot seem to do frustratingly. Getting into the habit of quick signaling when passing parked cars etc helps as it cancels it.
Suspension: Feels quite firm but not uncomfortable, was expecting it to be a bit softer being an SUV.
Road Noise: Hmmm, difficult one. Mine came with the infamous Continental tyres on 20” wheels. Definitely quiet on good roads. Some of our roads will never be quiet with most cars. Have to say it could be a lot better and understand the comments about paying so much for the car and expect better. I was looking out for it and mentioned it to the wife, she did not think it was noisy. I will mention to Volvo though and want to know of anything they will do to improve it.
Engine/Handling: Need more time as engine new. Initial view is has some poke and very easy to go over speed limit. Pretty quiet for a diesel. Handling very good for a car of these dimensions and shape. Auto transmission is smooth.
HUD: * I think it is brilliant. Very clear and like the navigation info displayed. Got into car once and it had moved position almost out of sight. Understand there is a workaround this with memory buttons etc.
Sensus/Driver Display: Great, more options to personalise would be even better and hopefully will come with software updates. As I am right handed, it does feel a bit awkward having to use my left hand to operate Sensus. Must be easier for cars with left hand steering. As I get used to the Sensus I am sure it will become more 2nd nature and be a lot safer to operate on the go.
Volvo App: * Love it as long as it is not down to often.
Navigation: Initial thoughts, slightly behind the Mercedes I bought from 4 years ago. Mercedes system was more pleasing on the eye. In the XC90 the route calculated very quickly. Need more time with it on accuracy of route. Like the lifetime free updates. Graphics on Sensus could be much better. Driver display graphics pretty good. Wish it had google maps like the Audi for driver display too.
Air Conditioning/Pre Conditioning: External temperature gauge seems to be working ok. Fans are adjusting on auto and quiet. As ambient temp has not been that far from the required temp, needs more extreme conditions for me to comment more. Need more adverse conditions to try the auxiliary heater. Preconditioning nice with the app.
Fuel Consumption: According to the app my average fuel consumption is 29.1mpg, total miles 350. No surprise as my average speed is 20mph with playing around with the car so much.
WPI (Wife Pleasure Index): High, I am worried she keeps calling it our car.
Cameras: Really really like the 360 camera. Very clear and clever and will help me a lot with parking, reversing etc.
Service Contract: * Excellent 5 years for £500
Exterior Lights: Excellent intelligent lighting.
Interior Lights: In the Inscription there is a lot. Like the lighting of the door pockets. Also like the LED lighting under the walnut inlays, although only one colour and not very bright. Mood lighting, not sure about yet. Standard LED lights in roof great.
Voice Control: Hmmm, like all my previous cars not sure if I will just end up giving it a miss due to it being more hassle than it is worth. Need to spend more time with it.
Auto Parking: Went for a play in Asda carpark and auto parked in a bay. It did not position itself that well. Need more time with it.
Wipers: Very good. Really like the fact that the water comes from the wiper arm. Controls take a bit of understanding.
Panoramic Roof: * Brilliant.
Apple Carplay: * Tried it quickly with my sons phone and it worked. I have a Samsung currently and I have gambled that when Android Auto finally comes I will get it free. Or I may change my phone to an Iphone. Also wanted the additional USB port.
RCS (Rattles, Creaks & Squeaks): I am noticing some slight rattles in the back somewhere. I am a bit OCD on rattles in a car, especially after paying so much. Will be monitoring closely.
Keyless Locking/Unlocking: * Very good, but never had a problem with pressing a key button in my previous cars.

Overall, so far really enjoying the car and not regretting my decision to buy. Apologies if it is too long. Will post pics when I have found the best way to do it.

Nice write up. Good pics as well. enjoy

Osmium Grey

[neon]

Originally Posted by nu11eaf

Mine did that yesterday, it went blank then came back on, the right hand steering wheel buttons stopped working a few times as well but started working after turning engine off and back on, But the thing that disappoints me most about the car is the cabin noise, I hate driving the thing, I really wish I had kept my MK 1 XC90. If it were not for the noise issue I would be happy with mine, I could live with the other issues.
Good review though and I suspect it reflects on what most people have thought about their new XC90, I hope you enjoy yours more than I do mine. The noise bothers some people more than others,

What has Volvo said about your dissatisfaction with the road noise.

[nu11eaf]

Originally Posted by neon

What has Volvo said about your dissatisfaction with the road noise.

Passed my complaint on to the dealer, who fitted sound proofing in B posts, which quietened that area a little, but the suspension and road noise is still the issue, volvo offered to fit 19" wheels and tyres if I paid half the cost, which would have cost me over £1100, I turned that down, I am not paying to sort out Volvo's mistakes, after spending just short of £59,000 they are not getting more money from me, the dealer has hinted that new tyres may be on offer later when Volvo sort new quieter tyres out with Continental. Rebushing of suspention may also be in the pipe line but not holding my breath. I dislike this car more every time I drive it.

[neon]

Originally Posted by nu11eaf

Passed my complaint on to the dealer, who fitted sound proofing in B posts, which quietened that area a little, but the suspension and road noise is still the issue, volvo offered to fit 19" wheels and tyres if I paid half the cost, which would have cost me over £1100, I turned that down, I am not paying to sort out Volvo's mistakes, after spending just short of £59,000 they are not getting more money from me, the dealer has hinted that new tyres may be on offer later when Volvo sort new quieter tyres out with Continental. Rebushing of suspention may also be in the pipe line but not holding my breath. I dislike this car more every time I drive it.

Yes I can understand your point and I am sorry you are feeling like that. I am looking to get some 19" for use as winter wheels rather than swapping tyres. The only thing I am not sure of though is the look vs my current wheels which I like. It will give me chance to see what difference the 19" wheels make with road noise.
Someone else said about potential new tyres and bushes under warranty coming. I am going to try to get my dealer to confirm this too.

[Lexman8]

Looks good. Glad my new one will be Osmium Grey.

[nu11eaf]

Originally Posted by neon

Yes I can understand your point and I am sorry you are feeling like that. I am looking to get some 19" for use as winter wheels rather than swapping tyres. The only thing I am not sure of though is the look vs my current wheels which I like. It will give me chance to see what difference the 19" wheels make with road noise.
Someone else said about potential new tyres and bushes under warranty coming. I am going to try to get my dealer to confirm this too.

I drove an XC90 with 19" wheels and it was not as loud but it also had steel springs, but it still was not a quiet car, mine has air suspension, and I think the noise that comes up from the left foot well or centre area is from the air suspension, there is also the tyre noise, the 19" tyres are not as wide so less contact with the road, on smooth tarmac mine is very quiet but not may roads like that in England. I have never been a fan of wide low profile tyres, if Volvo had given the option to have 19" wheels instead of 20" I would have ordered it with them, or even 18" wheels and higher profile tyres as on the Mark 1 XC90.

[iain cooper]

it's a shame it has no armrests on the front seats.

a big oversight in a premium vehicle.

Volvo look at Landrover and learn !!

Iain

[Razer]

Thanks for the post, ours will be Osmium Grey too. The market will be flooded with them in 3/4 years. lol.

As for the armrest noted by iain ive never used the one in our XC60 so all down to personal use and experience.

[neon]

Originally Posted by Lexman8

Looks good. Glad my new one will be Osmium Grey.

Yes, nice safe colour that will not show the dirt much either.

[neon]

Originally Posted by nu11eaf

I drove an XC90 with 19" wheels and it was not as loud but it also had steel springs, but it still was not a quiet car, mine has air suspension, and I think the noise that comes up from the left foot well or centre area is from the air suspension, there is also the tyre noise, the 19" tyres are not as wide so less contact with the road, on smooth tarmac mine is very quiet but not may roads like that in England. I have never been a fan of wide low profile tyres, if Volvo had given the option to have 19" wheels instead of 20" I would have ordered it with them, or even 18" wheels and higher profile tyres as on the Mark 1 XC90.

I would have been quite happy with 19" wheels if that had been an option on the Inscription. I am not clear why there is almost an obsession on having massive wheels with low profile tyres on these types of cars, it is a SUV after all. I like stylish wheels but 19" in the style I have would have been great.