XC90 and its dated engine, Volvo need to buckle up

[TWPC]

Some good points made here. I bought a new XC90 SE with some extra toys & three years cheapo servicing for just over £27K in September.

My main thought since buying it is that I have never had such a satisfying & fit-for-purpose car. I was saved from committing the wife to a large people carrier like the Galaxy, Sharan or Espace which she LOATHES. She is grateful for this too!

Recently I've been reading road tests of the new BMW X3 and marvelling at the efficiency of the engine. Autocar got 43mpg out of it on their touring route. We currently average 29mpg in the XC90. We do about 7000 miles per year so the fuel cost will be £1364 whereas in the BMW it would be £920 if we could hit the same mpg number as Autocar. A saving of £444 per year but the BMW would have cost £4000 more and can't seat seven so isn't in the running.

My point is that while it would be great to have a more modern, efficient engine in the Volvo, I am so thankful that a great design like the XC90 has remained in production so long that Volvo can afford to put through the discounts that they are. The engine is a consequence of that age and the continuing competitiveness of the rest of the product shows up the engine's shortcomings more as time passes. In absolute terms, I don't think it is that noisy (listen to an old VW PD diesel...), it is fast enough, the poor economy isn't financially disastrous (see the example above) and it does sound... distinctive.

Unfortunately if/when Volvo do ever get round to replacing the XC90 I am not going to be able to afford the new version for several years.

[pdrvolvo]

Originally Posted by yeoman

Dont get me wrong , I love my XC(0 R-Design , but cannot but wonder why the XC90 is soooooooo lacking in performance and efficiency especially when you compare the XC90 with the AudiQ7 and BMW x5.

Just look at the figures here for the Q7. If volvo came any where near these it would be unbeatable !!

AUDI Q7.
Fuel consumption (urban) 32.8 mpg
Fuel consumption (extra urban) 42.2 mpg
Fuel consumption (combined) 38.2 mpg
0 - 62 mph 7.9 seconds
Top speed 135 mph

What do you want a 4x4 or a raceing car ???.


peter.

[RoyMacDonald]

The X5 and X3 should be compared to the five seat XC60, not the seven seat XC90.

The Disco 4 is bigger on the outside but my neighbour has a Disco 4 and he thinks the XC90 is bigger inside. Tax and fuel costs are in a different league as well. +30%

If performance is not enough with the diesel and running cost are irrelevant there are the petrol engines. The XC90 V8 0 to 60mph is 6.9 seconds.

[moncman]

Maybe we shouldn't get too hung up over official figures as when comparing like for like the XC90 stacks up reasonably well:

AUDI Q7.
Fuel consumption (urban) 32.8 mpg
Fuel consumption (extra urban) 42.2 mpg
Fuel consumption (combined) 38.2 mpg

XC90.
Fuel consumption (urban) 25.7 mpg
Fuel consumption (extra urban) 41.5 mpg
Fuel consumption (combined) 34.0 mpg

In fact where the Audi really scores is on the urban cycle when its stop start technology (which I believe most of us would switch off as it might become a pain in the t!ts) helps, as does the energy regeneration system which apparently is worth around 3%. For this you pay around £10 grand more, again like for like prices from drivethedeal.

In reality we probably all get around 32 on a motorway run I would be surprised if the big Audi was very much better. In any case, you can buy a lot of fuel for 10K

[RoyMacDonald]

The 2011 figure are....

The Audi 3.0 TDI has a 0-60 of 8.5 sec

Combined fuel consumption 31.0 mpg

The XC90 D5 has a 0-60 of 9.7 sec.

Combined fuel consumption 34.0 mpg.

Dosn't seem that great a difference to me.

I assume you're not trying to compare it to the Audi Q7 V12 which starts at over £100,000 list! Fuel costs are irrelevant if you can afford that sort of money.

[catbert]

I got a brand new xc90 with xenons, auto box, metallic paint, bluetooth and 3 year service package for under 24k. The best audi could do on a similiar Q5 was 31. I didnt even bother with the Q7. its so expensive, ugly and not that big(inside).

You cant beat the volvo on price. You just cant. A remap will sort out the performance issue i guess. 300quid or so.

[Banzai]

Originally Posted by RoyMacDonald

The X5 and X3 should be compared to the five seat XC60, not the seven seat XC90.

Current X5 has 7 seats AFAIK.

[catbert]

I think the x5 7 seat is a 1300quid optional extra, and only recent. Its nice to see them do it, but it just makes the x5 look even more expensive

[artwilliam]

Hmmmm, I wonder how much boot space is left with the third row of seats up?!...

Not too much by the look of it...

[tahirs]

Look like crap seats too