Yesterday's Telegraph.

[Deman77]

Originally Posted by neon

Why is that, are their more up to date designs still as bad as the older models for reliability.

may be it's like fantasy football - you have to choose what you have but you can't have everything. JLR went for quiet ride and had to give up more reliability?

[marceloavg]

Originally Posted by Deman77

may be it's like fantasy football - you have to choose what you have but you can't have everything. JLR went for quiet ride and had to give up more reliability?

Haha all car would have their own flaws, just need to choose the ones you can live with

[Deman77]

They also complained about rear visibility in that article. First car where rear headrests don't interfere with the view (I used auto drop option twice - once to test and once by accident). Unlike in many cars rear screen wiper clears large enough area, rear water squirter is always at high pressure so only need to press it once. In many cars you have to pump it several times because no pressure in the back line. Fewer distractions=safer.

My only negatives after over a year of ownership:
1) early in model cycle for very high tech model so still plenty of teething issues but manufacturer is resolving them and dealers are reasonably knowledgeable.
2) ride on air springs is patchy over poor surfaces at low speed but great versatility with extra comfort for entry exit and driving modes. Great ride on standard suspension even on 22s.
3) voice recognition is poor when moving - probably not helped by poor road noise performance.
4) road noise on 20s too high for car this good otherwise. Manufacturer has gone a long way towards making it acceptable but if it was even Good the car would be nearly faultless.
5) turbo lag on D5 at low speeds (or slow pick up at low revs low speed). Anything other than very low speeds the engine is fantastic - responsive and quiet. Going around town the accelerator just feels like there is pillow between the pedal and the true accelerator. I am not comparing to other diesels though but to other cars - I am spoiled in that department by 10 years in priuses but surprised diesels still can't get it right after all this time.
Power pulse in my17 onwards arguably improves on that but I haven't had the experience so can't comment. Unless it's a game changer I would probably convince myself to get a T8 if I was buying now.

Other than these I can gush over several pages how great the car is, but it would be not in the spirit of this forum.

[neon]

I have struggled with rear visibility on most of the cars I have owned, I would not say the XC90 is worse than them. The overall camera system is brilliant, especially in 360 mode. This should be standard on all cars and add the option to record and wow, will improve safety, reduce insurance premiums and stop some of the idiots.

With voice control, I have not had a car yet that has been good enough for me to use consistently. Is there actually a car out there that does it well.

I have driven diesels for a long time now and think the powerpulse engine is really good. Anyone used to petrol may still notice a lag though.

[Philip Fisher]

Originally Posted by Deman77

......They also complained about rear visibility in that article. First car where rear headrests don't interfere with the view (I used auto drop option twice - once to test and once by accident).........

How do you autodrop the rear headrests?

[FooMan]

£150

Power Folding 2nd Row Headrests

Helping to increase your field of vision when the second row of seats is unoccupied, the outer head restraints can be folded forward at the push of a button from the driver's seat. In the folded position, the head restraints are designed to obstruct passengers from sitting down without raising them to their upright position. The height-adjustable rear middle head restraint can be fully retracted into the backrest to further improve rear vision.

[aab203]

And then when they are down you have to manually go and put them back up again

Probably good for any badly behaving passengers too!

[tem]

Originally Posted by Philip Fisher

How do you autodrop the rear headrests?

I did this accidentally, when in the Sensus Menue for disabling the Stop/Start and Reduced Guard and touched the Rear Headrest function.

Was waiting in line to board the DFDS ship and when it was my turn to board, I disabled the Stop/Start and then heard a clunk, at first, I thought that I had run over something like a steel plate and it was not until the following morning that I noticed the headrests had dropped.

tem.

[tem]

Originally Posted by aab203

And then when they are down you have to manually go and put them back up again

Probably good for any badly behaving passengers too!

My dealer pointed out this function for keeping naughty kids in check, a good whack on the head.

tem.

[Philip Fisher]

Originally Posted by FooMan

£150

Power Folding 2nd Row Headrests

Helping to increase your field of vision when the second row of seats is unoccupied, the outer head restraints can be folded forward at the push of a button from the driver's seat. In the folded position, the head restraints are designed to obstruct passengers from sitting down without raising them to their upright position. The height-adjustable rear middle head restraint can be fully retracted into the backrest to further improve rear vision.

I see, cost option, not something i have missed.