XC90 Guidance

[Jonah098]

After 7 years I need to move from my wonderful 13 plate XC70 D5, she's done 160k and its time to look for a new car.

I'm looking at the XC90 but can't decide on the B5 or T8 there's a big difference on price and I'm not sure which would be better.

Most of the time a 20 mile range wouldn't be a problem for me, doing the school run and local drive daily. The issue is once a week I drive to London and back and while I think the T8 would be great the rest of the time I'm concerned that its going to be more of a hindrance on the big journeys. Part of me thinks a Petrol or Diesel B5 would be happy with the mileage and would give me the distance as and when I need it.

My reservations are given may budget the cars I'm looking at have between 25k and 45k on the clock roughly between 2020 and 2021 plates. So if I plan to own over the next 4-5 years I'm easily going to top 100k and I'm not convinced on the battery life over 100k.

Sorry bit of a brain dump but hope I can get a bit of guidance.

[MrM83]

What’s the thought process behind the T8 being a hindrance on long journeys. Sounds like it would be ideal, short journeys on electric, longer on petrol?

[Jonah098]

So speaking to the dealer they suggested the T8 would be far less economical on the longer journey suggesting the additional weight would be costly. I’ve since checked the weights of the two vehicles and can see only 150kg difference.

Is the engine in the T8 the same as the T6?

[MCV60]

Originally Posted by MrM83

What’s the thought process behind the T8 being a hindrance on long journeys. Sounds like it would be ideal, short journeys on electric, longer on petrol?

Lugging the extra weight of the battery impacting the fuel economy, surely.

[sk546]

Originally Posted by Jonah098

So speaking to the dealer they suggested the T8 would be far less economical on the longer journey suggesting the additional weight would be costly. I’ve since checked the weights of the two vehicles and can see only 150kg difference.

Is the engine in the T8 the same as the T6?

What year cars are you looking at? The later T8's have a bigger battery (no extra weight though) and have approx 35-40 miles of electric range as opposed to the earlier ones with the smaller battery (11.6kwh) and only 20ish miles electric range.

In the XC90, the T6 uses the same petrol engine as the T8 uses just without all the added Hybrid stuff (batteries, electric motors, 400v systems) so it is a little lighter.
In the other Volvo models, they provide a T6 as a plug-in hybrid but that doesn't seem to be available on the XC90.

Both of my XC60 T8's have returned mid to late 30's mpg on long runs using only petrol propulsion but I don't drive for economy so that could likely be higher if I used less throttle and cruised at the speed limit. The XC90 is a bit bigger and heavier so will likely be a little less economic but I wouldn't think the B5/T6 would be a great deal better on a long run.
The biggest difference will be on your local journeys where you would be using electric mostly, the T8 wins massively on that front.

[Stevepvolvo]

Interested in your choice of xc90 after an xc70. I had two xc70 2003 and 2007 models and found the xc60 the closest in terms of ride and handling. Still with a 2019 xc60. Do miss the xc70 though

[Kugaman1]

I think you need to step back and look at the figures.

Over your ownership, how much would you spend on fuel doing your weekly short runs? - dont forget, electric isnt free so estimate your fuel use in a petrol only car minus the cost of electric in a hybrid.

Now look at your longer runs, the petrol only car will be slightly more economical.

Now, look at purchase cost and cost of servicing, repairs depreciation and insurance…..

Im thinking a petrol only car will be the much better buy long term.

Personally I would rule out diesel for the driving you are doing and potential longer term DPF / DMF issues….

[JohnnyNapalm]

I went from a XC60 T8 Recharge 2022 (400PS) with a battery range of circa 15 miles locally to a XC90 T8 Recharge 2023 (455PS) with a battery range of circa 25 miles. I didn't bother with the Diesels as I prefer the Petrols. I get approx 26 MPG on the motorway sat at 78 so this would be more if I sat at 60 MPH. Hope this helps give you some real world figures but I live on the Isle of Man so it is used up hills which will have a negative impact on the battery usage. Cheers.

[Jonah098]

Originally Posted by MCV60

Lugging the extra weight of the battery impacting the fuel economy, surely.

That what I assumed.

[Jonah098]

Originally Posted by Stevepvolvo

Interested in your choice of xc90 after an xc70. I had two xc70 2003 and 2007 models and found the xc60 the closest in terms of ride and handling. Still with a 2019 xc60. Do miss the xc70 though

So I'm pretty tall and the XC70 while incredible is a little tight on headroom and leg room for the passenger in the rear the XC90 is just a little bigger.