Volvo XC90 inscription v VW Tourareg

[Lexman8]

Originally Posted by Computastar

It wasnt on all XC90's prior to the 2018 facelift, in fact on the lower models it had the noddy speedo and tacho as digital and the fuel and temp gauges looked like they came off a 1970's princess

Wrong. All XC90s (and subsequent models) from 2015 onward have had fully digital instrumentation. Btw, the more you go on about VW, the weaker your argument becomes.

Btw, I assume you meant Princess, not princess. Just making sure...

[Dibble]

Originally Posted by Clan

Volvo pioneered the telematics of on call systems 20 years ago , only now do other manufactures come on the scene, as it is in the process of being law on every new car sold , much like many other volvo firsts 👍🏻
It is a pity it took 40 years for the rest to be forced to have day running lights though in recent years .

Clan, what about those VW's and Audi's with day running lights at the front and nothing at the rear? Chap past me last week while out walking the dog, dark and foggy and no rear lights. Presumably he was under the impression that his rear lights were also on. Can't believe that a manufacturer like VAG would ever consider such a concept. So perhaps these VDubs are not as good as we are being told on here! On a personal level I have had VW and Audi and they are good cars but they never gave me the satisfaction that my Volvos have done. He can keep his Tourag. I would rather have my XC60!

[Automatic Only]

Originally Posted by Computastar

VW do have the equivalent to Volvo On Call, Car-Net all the same functionality as Volvo, given the number of units VW shift compared to Volvo they are likely to be issues.
As for WhatCar, I rate their opinion as highly as much as Clarksons, neither of them would know a car if it ran them over.

OK fair enough - I was wrong on that one, it didn't mention the remote start functionality etc on the brochure I have and none of the drivers here know about it!
Yes of course every manufacturer has problems but if you look at the stats, I think you will find that a higher percentage of VW's experience problems compared to Volvos.
Its up to you who you trust, I don't agree with WhatCar on everything but you will also find that the XC90 is rated the same or higher than the Touareg by every other major car magazine. They can't all be wrong.

[gaby]

Originally Posted by Dibble

Clan, what about those VW's and Audi's with day running lights at the front and nothing at the rear?

I see a lit of those! I also find it important that the rear lights are on.

[nightcolours]

We're currently looking at XC90's and Touareg's. I've so far driven all 3 specs of XC90's but only the Black Edition Touareg which is the top spec model with all the bells & whistles. In terms of comfort & cabin quietness over UK roads the Touareg was hands down the winner. The engine is smooth, quick and pretty quiet. However it was equipped with Air Suspension and none of the Volvo's were. The Volvo, IMO, is much more 'exclusive' and 'upmarket' inside, for all the screens etc in the Touareg it feels a little plastiky and dare I say cheap.

What I can say about the XC90 though is that I was really surprised that it wasn't more 'refined' in terms of comfort and noise. I know that's completely subjective but it does seem to be something that is mentioned a lot. Why it surprises me is because in many ways the XC90 is a fabulous car, it's lovely inside, it looks great and it's packed with the kind of features that other manufacturers are hiding away on expensive options lists.

Anyway, Mrs still loves the XC90 so I guess we're still in the market

[Bendolfc]

The VEA engine, whilst great on paper just isn't as refined as other makes and at the top end will always suffer against the 6 cylinder options.

The problem is the ICE has not much life left in it, it was probably always doubtful where they would recoup the development costs (same for JLR and theirs), never mind invest more to refine it so it is what it is for now.

[Clan]

Originally Posted by Bendolfc

The VEA engine, whilst great on paper just isn't as refined as other makes and at the top end will always suffer against the 6 cylinder options.

The problem is the ICE has not much life left in it, it was probably always doubtful where they would recoup the development costs (same for JLR and theirs), never mind invest more to refine it so it is what it is for now.

you realise it has a balance shaft in the bottom of the engine to smooth it out ?

[Computastar]

Originally Posted by nightcolours

We're currently looking at XC90's and Touareg's. I've so far driven all 3 specs of XC90's but only the Black Edition Touareg which is the top spec model with all the bells & whistles. In terms of comfort & cabin quietness over UK roads the Touareg was hands down the winner. The engine is smooth, quick and pretty quiet. However it was equipped with Air Suspension and none of the Volvo's were. The Volvo, IMO, is much more 'exclusive' and 'upmarket' inside, for all the screens etc in the Touareg it feels a little plastiky and dare I say cheap.

What I can say about the XC90 though is that I was really surprised that it wasn't more 'refined' in terms of comfort and noise. I know that's completely subjective but it does seem to be something that is mentioned a lot. Why it surprises me is because in many ways the XC90 is a fabulous car, it's lovely inside, it looks great and it's packed with the kind of features that other manufacturers are hiding away on expensive options lists.

Anyway, Mrs still loves the XC90 so I guess we're still in the market

Go with the VW, I know the fanboys on here think I work for VW, but having owned both, the Volvo is all fur coat and no knickers.

The VW is more powerful, more refined, better built, the unrefinement of the XC90 is just unacceptable in the current class of SUVs, I know the replacement is due next year, but it's going to have to come a long way.

I know what you mean about the VW interior, but the Volvo interior is pretty flakey, there's only a cocker spaniel the goes in the back of mine, and the scratchers and marks on the plastic is the worst I've seen on a supposed 7 seat SUV, I'm sure there are people who are going to tell me they are the Von Trapp family and the interior is pristeine.

As for the tech on the Volvo, I wouldn't bother most of it doesn't work that well, and Senus behaviours like it's possessed a lot of the time.

The chinese influence on the latest Volvos is clear to see, and it will ruin what was once a brand that stood apart, at least under the Ford umbrella they had some autonomy.

People don't like to admit they've bought a lemon but XC90 for me is, and I cant wait for it to go back

[familymangreg]

Originally Posted by nightcolours

We're currently looking at XC90's and Touareg's. I've so far driven all 3 specs of XC90's but only the Black Edition Touareg which is the top spec model with all the bells & whistles. In terms of comfort & cabin quietness over UK roads the Touareg was hands down the winner. The engine is smooth, quick and pretty quiet. However it was equipped with Air Suspension and none of the Volvo's were. The Volvo, IMO, is much more 'exclusive' and 'upmarket' inside, for all the screens etc in the Touareg it feels a little plastiky and dare I say cheap.

What I can say about the XC90 though is that I was really surprised that it wasn't more 'refined' in terms of comfort and noise. I know that's completely subjective but it does seem to be something that is mentioned a lot. Why it surprises me is because in many ways the XC90 is a fabulous car, it's lovely inside, it looks great and it's packed with the kind of features that other manufacturers are hiding away on expensive options lists.

Anyway, Mrs still loves the XC90 so I guess we're still in the market

I completely hear you, and was/am of the same opinion as you. We are now on our second XC90, having test drove a Q7 before buying the first and test drove a Q7 + Touareg between the two. Back in 2016 when we were test driving before buying our first XC90, I can still remember vividly pulling off the forecourt in a Q7 with the salesman driving, at that moment as it slowly drifted out, I was quite taken aback by how quiet and refined it was. It is basically a quiet diesel engine with so much torque that it barely needed to turn over to roll at 10mph. Note that I've been fortunate enough to travel in several very nice x5's, 5 series, A6's, Lexus's etc for many years, so I had a good basis on which to form this opinion. The Toureg and the Audi's main trump card in my opinion is the engine and refinement. The X5 has a lot of the same virtues, but somehow doesn't quite give you that feeling of solidness and quiet.

However, every car has a compromise, and it just depends where you want to sit in the venn of qualities and features. The Q7 is dog ugly, that isn't subjective, just fact. The previous generation, or should we say pre-facelift Q7 has a nice interior, but the new version, although great tech, has a huge slab of shiny black now, which I'm not so keen on. The Touareg isn't much better on the outside, but I do quite like the interior and again the infotainment.

The XC90 is far better looking than the Touareg, in my humble opinion, and trumps it on practicality. I personally found our XC90 on 20s and air had a great tide and level of comfort, and our new car on 22s and air is just as good, if not slightly better even.... I know you're all scoffing and saying what, 22's, better ride quality... honestly it is, and I'm not the only person who has travel in both my cars to say that... I'm pretty sure Volvo must have tweaked the air suspension or similar in the last 5 years. Also, we have laminated windows now, so when you're cruising along, the engine dies back and its a pretty serine place to be. The new B5 is also a lot more refined than the older D5 too.

I'm sure I would be very happy in a Touareg, but I would miss the 7 seats, and maybe the boot of the XC90 when loaded to the gunnels with camping gear. But the XC90 somehow has such a nice blend of doing everything well, if nothing astonishingly well. The XC90 does feel a pretty special place to be on the inside.

I hate to say it, but there is also an image thing, my mates might take the p1ss, but I quite like the image, I don't my the Touareg image so much, but don't fancy being an Audi or BMW driver these days, and my wife wouldn't be seen dead in a Land Rover.

:wq

[Computastar]

Originally Posted by familymangreg

I completely hear you, and was/am of the same opinion as you. We are now on our second XC90, having test drove a Q7 before buying the first and test drove a Q7 + Touareg between the two. Back in 2016 when we were test driving before buying our first XC90, I can still remember vividly pulling off the forecourt in a Q7 with the salesman driving, at that moment as it slowly drifted out, I was quite taken aback by how quiet and refined it was. It is basically a quiet diesel engine with so much torque that it barely needed to turn over to roll at 10mph. Note that I've been fortunate enough to travel in several very nice x5's, 5 series, A6's, Lexus's etc for many years, so I had a good basis on which to form this opinion. The Toureg and the Audi's main trump card in my opinion is the engine and refinement. The X5 has a lot of the same virtues, but somehow doesn't quite give you that feeling of solidness and quiet.

However, every car has a compromise, and it just depends where you want to sit in the venn of qualities and features. The Q7 is dog ugly, that isn't subjective, just fact. The previous generation, or should we say pre-facelift Q7 has a nice interior, but the new version, although great tech, has a huge slab of shiny black now, which I'm not so keen on. The Touareg isn't much better on the outside, but I do quite like the interior and again the infotainment.

The XC90 is far better looking than the Touareg, in my humble opinion, and trumps it on practicality. I personally found our XC90 on 20s and air had a great tide and level of comfort, and our new car on 22s and air is just as good, if not slightly better even.... I know you're all scoffing and saying what, 22's, better ride quality... honestly it is, and I'm not the only person who has travel in both my cars to say that... I'm pretty sure Volvo must have tweaked the air suspension or similar in the last 5 years. Also, we have laminated windows now, so when you're cruising along, the engine dies back and its a pretty serine place to be. The new B5 is also a lot more refined than the older D5 too.

I'm sure I would be very happy in a Touareg, but I would miss the 7 seats, and maybe the boot of the XC90 when loaded to the gunnels with camping gear. But the XC90 somehow has such a nice blend of doing everything well, if nothing astonishingly well. The XC90 does feel a pretty special place to be on the inside.

I hate to say it, but there is also an image thing, my mates might take the p1ss, but I quite like the image, I don't my the Touareg image so much, but don't fancy being an Audi or BMW driver these days, and my wife wouldn't be seen dead in a Land Rover.

:wq

I agree totally on the Q7 front, fugly, although the latest guise isn't too bad, the 7 seat point is semantics as the Touareg and Q7 are basically the car with badges swapped and about £10K, the differentiator is the 7 seat option, and the VW group not being British Leyland tend not to pitch identical cars against each other.

You know what, I can't argue that the Volvo interior is not a nice place to be, although a little dated now, but it can't compensate for the rest of the car, road, tyre and wind noise, 1970s asthmatic soviet tractor engine and flakey software, which no one is ever going to convince me is acceptable on £60k+ car.

Image is a good point, never had a BMW (just not my sort of car), had Audi's before they became too mainstream, had a RR Sport, again all fur coat and no knickers, when the fuel gauge moves quicker that the speedo, you know you're in for expensive time. People were surprised when I got the Volvo, still has a bit of an old man image, even if it is covered in spoilers and skirts and riding on 22" alloys