[Closed] Another Volvo thread, xc90

Well one of the cars you mention is tasteful, and the other one isn't.

Actually now I type that, neither are tasteful. Have you considered your children shall inherit the planet you leave behind?

The petrol is a massive huge no no, the engine is too long for the transverse location so the (auto) gearbox is smaller sized than it should be as a result it's unfit for purpose and unreliable.

The D5 is the only reliable option preferably in a manual but even then the bork factor is still high

Oh dear, that could be the xc90 off the the list then. Well the Audi can be had for a chunk less at least, and I doubt I'd be left feeling it was any less vehicle.

Tesla Model X?

Hadn't considered s Tesla, how many seats? I'll take a look, thanks.

How old are we talking? The first gen XC90s are well known for being huge chasms to throw money into. See also: first gen Tuaregs.

I'm guessing if you're looking at Teslas then nothing like as old as that though!

Or a people carrier instead of a 4*4?

Ford Galaxies are extremely good cars for folk with kiddies

7 seats, great! But how much! Gulp. That makes even the hybrid xc90 look affordable

A huge petrol 4x4 in London...hard to comprehend the logic I’m afraid.

My post above on the petrol Xc90 refers to the old shape model not the current one.

I'm considering new.

My MD has the T8 XC90 and its a great techie car , but 80 odd grand it should be. Electric system is pointless. He can get 30 miles from a charge. Great for going to the local shops, but not much use for his 140 mile daily commute. Very complex and has had loads of irksome issues with the info system . Its a nice place to sit, dont get me wrong, but doesnt feel as huge as the old shape. I dont know what petrol ones they do, but guess a 2 ltr T5 ? Its a big unit to make the thing move. The one in the T8 is a 2 ltr turbo and supercharged, I believe.

Which? Magazine just found that the Volvo XC90 is the single most unreliable car on sale today. Nothing dangerous but plagued with central locking, fuel and exhaust faults. Top 8 reliable makes are far eastern with Porsche and MINI at 9 & 10. Premium German brands don't fare much better than Volvo and the only Japanese brand with any questionable reliability issues was Nissan with the Juke and Qashqai. Hybrids will be obsolete soon as well, apparently.

What about a BMW 2 series Grand Tourer. Premium badge, can get in range of petrol or hybrid option, doesn’t look like a SUV so world will not hate you 😉

never heard of that db, thanks I'll take a look. One thing I've noticed in my not that extensive search so far, is diesel options seem to far outway petrol, and a fair few cars (the Galaxy) don't seem to come in a petrol at all currently. I'm surprised, I thought my own dislike of diesel was not rare these days.

I'll give a few more pointers on what I think I want. Petrol, a bit of poke/pull/grunt rather than wheeze, a 6 or ideally 7 seater, a fair bit of space, must temper those features with not being as big as a van or the wife will never ever ever drive it. Style wise I'm not too badge conscious, If only the skoda kodiaq were actually a 7 seater (instead of a 5 seater that has 2 unusable deck chairs in the boot) as I am pleased with the Octavia. I will go and look closer at a Pug 5008, although when a Q7 can be had for only about 7K more I could see cost of ownership being less on the luxury SUV (seems absurd to me, but...) its also french. Frenchness also factors against some other MPVs that crop up in reviews.

Not sure on the petrol options, but Seat Alhambra? 7 proper seats and basically a VW but with better trim and more toys. Your wife won’t like the turning circle though.

To the OP: the kodiaq has good size rear most two seats. I sat in them fine and I'm 185cm. They're bigger or have more space than the Hyundai Santa Fe which were fine for smaller adults (women) and kids. Wouldn't discount the kodiaq.

they stopped selling the alhambra last year, there's still a few sharans kicking about - I don't think I'd rate the 140bhp petrol with all that weight as 'pokey' though

there's a kia sedona hybrid coming later in the year, that might do the job. landcruiser is an option if fuel isn't an issue.

my folks bought an xc40 recharge and for them, the plug-in range (again, sub-30 miles) is perfect - 99% of their journeys are pottering around the local village, but a few times a year they trapse up to see me or my siblings (each 200 miles from them) and didn't want any messing about with recharging mid-way (or the additional cost of full-electric)

but the rear seats in the kodiak are not approved for any child seats

i thought i'd hate the beemer but it might be an option, definitely on the list for the moment, thanks db.

I have 2016 XC90 T5. Love it. Enough power, 250bhp, for comfortable highway cruising and fairly sprightly acceleration. Lovely cabin, great ergonomics, extremely comfortable. Get about 24mpg average fuel consumption, though I drive mostly on the highway. No reliability issues so far (owned it a year).

IIRC someone on here had an £800 bill for changing a headlight bulb on an XC90. Turns out they have to partially lift the engine to get at it... It's things like that would put me off, clearly not well thought out for maintenance (or extreemly well thought out if you are the one handing out the bills!)

You state above you don't want something as big as a van, but say you're looking at XC90 and Q7. Have you not seen how big they are? Our neighbours XC90 is bigger in footprint than our transit custom, but has far less usable space (& seats). The Ovlov is a much nicer vehicle though obviously.

My brother (who has 4 kids and lives in London) went with a Citroen C4 Grand Spacetourer in the end (as he also found petrol 7 seaters were hard to find), he only had a £17k budget though so was buying secondhand. Seems nice enough though (although not much grunt).

I'm not sure there's a 7 seater than isn't massive (if that's what you mean by van-like)...

IIRC someone on here had an £800 bill for changing a headlight bulb on an XC90. Turns out they have to partially lift the engine to get at it

To change a {halogen} headlight bulb on my XC90 was a 2 minute job as the entire headlight unit was removed after pulling out 2 pins.

Looks at cars OP considering

Then

especially in London.

Realises that we are doomed

Looks at cars OP considering
Then
especially in London.
Realises that we are doomed

For the record, I find all the cars OP listed as being pretty offensive regardless of region. But come on - if I lived in London I'd want a car I could use to transport the family away from there as often as possible.

for his 140 mile daily commute

just wrong

My brother (2 kids) has just swapped the family Octy for an XC90.. as his wife's car. It is * massive.. taller, wider and longer than the Skoda by some margin!

For the record, I dislike SUVs very much indeed.. they cost so so much and offer very little (nothing in my view) in return. There is no doubting it is a lovely place to be but it's size is absolutely ludicrous on our road network and car parks. What I will say though, is that the Volvo is probably the least offensive of these type of vehicles.. Q7s are * horrible things and Disco's just seem to litter hard shoulders up and down the country. I reckon 50% of broken down cars I see have an LR badge.

Only other thing to add is not discounting electric. Whilst the Tesla's are expensive you are (depending on mileage) likely to save an absolute fortune in fuel and tax (VED or BIK depending on circumstance). We have a Model 3 and it is a fantastic car. The X (up until very recently I think) had free supercharging* on them.. Maybe pick up a nearly new one with this? When charging at home the cost is minimal and then supercharging on the road for free. One of the Directors at our place swapped out a RR Sport for a Model X and he is better off every month for it.

*Only drawback is that regular supercharging is not good for the health of the battery.

Hybrids will be obsolete soon as well, apparently.

no they wont, well certainly not PHEV's - the grown ups are slowly getting their voices heard above the insulant school children politicians, so ICE is not dead certainly not by 2035!! (or even 2030 if you beleive some fools)..

There is little point to this thread. The OP clearly has had his mind set on a fancy 4X4 and now he his in a financial position to do so....so, whats the point? An Audi A6 est or BMW 5 series est would do the job so much better and would be my choice.

I had a 7 seater BMW X5 as a hire car a couple of times. Didn't actually unfold the back seats to see how big they were but it was a lovely car. They do a plug-in hybrid now too.

HAve a serious look at access to the rear seats. Having had several large cars, many of them have equally large doors, which when you need to open them wide in a car park to get the kids in and out is a nightmare. Sad as they are we found the best are the likes of Galaxy, Sharan, Espace etc. Less of an issue as they get older (but we have had to pay three other drivers for door dings over the years as teens seem unable to take care of anything, so maybe not).

Only other point is that if you are the family with the seven seater, expect to be taking hte extra kids everywhere...

Strange how Which and What Car can't seem to agree this month on which cars are more reliable

I just love the stw judges, do carry on.

Yes I have seen the be SUVs are a bug car. Had this very consideration with a neighbour and friend who fixes Vans, mercs and vw mainly. He stopped when by chance I saw a vwT5 he was repairing, parked in front of me a Vito, parked in front of a xc90. The difference in length and width was noticeable.

No my heart isn't set on a luxury SUV. It is set on finding a practical and pleasant place for the family to be when travelling, and not diesel. As I said, the BMW is something I'll look at and the lower cost is not to be ignored.

Good point re e-vehicles, upfront cost does come with lower running costs. The upfront cost on the Tesla is somewhat eye watering though isn't it.

As above consider an mpv. I bought a vw touran pretty much simply because the opportunity came up at the right time when I needed to replace my previous dying octavia estate.
Its brilliant. 7 seats when needed really adaptable, usable space inside. Loads better than the Octavia. Yet it is a shorter car and easier to park.

Its not sexy it is not a status symbol. It is just extremely capable at being practical, non-planet-raping transport for a family and gear you lug around with that.

Although I love the Touran, and would recommend, there are plenty of others in the same class (smax) or the slightly bigger ones like the Sharan/Galaxy.

Also consider how much boot space do you need with all 3 rows of seats deployed

We had the old shape XC90 and with 6 people onboard we needed a roofbox to go on holiday for a week as the boot was too small

Not sure if this problem exists with MPVs

Also for the old shape XC90 more than 90% of them sold were diesel automatics

Not sure if the same is true for new shape and no problem if you are buying new

Given the choice of pretty much anything and having driven Teslas, iPace and everything else, the bloke who set up evo magazine picked a PHEV BMW X5. He does live in the country though and even drives off road on his farm.

Sell your least favourite child and buy a normal sized car.

I'd consider that, but the wife won't entertain it.

My wife has the latest model XC90, 2lt T8 with turbo and superchargers. High spec model, cost a fortune but once she drove it, nothing else would do - and we drove everything. The safety features mattered to me, since we live in the 3rd world and they all drive like nuts, and I believe the Volvo is a very strong and safe car.

With 3 kids plus dog, we really wanted 7 seats, and the Volvo hands down has the most room in the “boot” with the 3rd row of seats up, due to the leaf spring rear suspension.

We have had it almost 2 years, touch wood no problems, dealer treats us great, all happy up to now. We also got the 5 year warranty just for peace of mind.

Compared to the Audi, Range Rover etc we have had before, totally recommended, and somehow you feel much less of a flashy prick driving it!

Thank you, an informative response by someone that has experience... Thank you.

I was considering one earlier this year as there were some amazing deals on the T8 hybrid so had a look at one when my XC60 was in for its service. But my god they are HUUUUGE so I decided against one – ended up getting a Mercedes GLC AMG with a 'fun' engine 🙂

Exactly 😂

We will have another one, based on experience up to now, cant really say better than that!

You mention the Pug 5008. I’ve just got a 69 plate. Ok I’ve only had it a week so it’s not had chance to fall apart yet (I’ll say it before anyone else) but it really is a lovely car. 7 seats and crucially for me, 3 separate isofix seats across the second row. Surprised myself paying so much for a Peugeot but I think it’s fantastic. I’ve got the 1.5hdi auto But I think there’s a couple of petrol options in the range.
We traded a ford galaxy in and the Alhambra was pretty much the go to option but having looked at them we felt they were already a little dated. Lost a bit of practicality with the 5008 but the difference between it and an Alhambra is night and day

Lost a bit of practicality with the 5008 but the difference between it and an Alhambra is night and day

What difference? Not a sarcastic reply, genuinely interested. Assuming the alhambra is massively more volumous (?) so what are the differences? (Asking as someone who's looking at bigger cars than their focus estate and considering everything) - ta!

Estates can do everything an SUV can do only better, cheaper, faster with more usable space and better handling. Did I mention they are also easier to put your bikes on.

@flannol, no that’s fine. It’s Just my opinion anyway. Sorry if I waffle!
My comment ‘night and day’ Really referred to how much more modern the 5008 is next to the Alhambra.
The Alhambra isn’t made anymore as you know but you can still get near new cars. We wanted something to keep long term and the Alhambra hasn’t really changed in the past maybe 8 years or so barring the odd facelift. We just felt we wanted something much more modern to start with and that’s how we got onto the 5008.
The interior is pretty special. Peugeot have really stepped it up and the I-cockpit (as they call it) is a really nice place to sit. It all Feels very well put together. Loads of safety features and gadgets even in the lower spec cars. I’ve watched / read the reviews ... all positive.
Compare it to the Alhambra dash and I don’t think you could argue against that.
Peugeot seem to be doing well in the reliability surveys too - often ahead of the German brands. Ok not the be all but good to know as I had my reservations initially.

I wouldn’t say the Alhambra is massively more Volumous. For me, the boot area is the difference.
The third row seats are fine for adults in the 5008 but I think the Alhambra would be better on a longer trip.
The 5008 is a pretty big car ... it doesn’t seem so big to me since I’ve had a galaxy for 6 years but family / friends comment on its size. Not that it feels like a big car to drive - it doesn’t.
The middle row of seats have plenty of legroom and all 3 seats slide individually and recline. On a par with the Alhambra I’d say. It’s the rear seats and the boot area where the Alhambra scores the more practical points. With its boxy/square rear end i can’t deny its more practical for filling with gear.
What it came down to is that we just chose a much more stylish, modern vehicle .. something we genuinely love and I don’t think that would have been the case with the Alhambra. Ok we’ve lost a bit of boot space but you fill what you have and that’s that.
We have the 1.5hdi.. we’ve only had it one week but it’s averaging 53mpg. £150 tax for the year. Can’t complain so far.
I’m no car reviewer as you can tell but happy to answer anything I’ve missed

Shit! Sorry - That’s a really big post!

thanks stox, very helpful. confirms i ought to go and see one.

i just realised there is a 7 seat tiguan (allspace). it comes with various petrol engines. upto 220ps. i hadnt considered the tig, i thought it was only 5 seat. my list of possibles grows. good.

It goes without saying I’d recommend You take a look at one. Friends and family have been very complimentary on mine.

I only went to the Pug garage to show the mrs a Rifter. That was me being practical. She wasn’t interested - no suprise!

thanks stox. styling wise i can see the pug turns heads. i like it. i do fear it would look dated in a few years. i would expect to keep the car a long while.

turbo and superchargers. High spec model, cost a fortune but once she drove it, nothing else would do – and we drove everything. The safety features mattered to me, since we live in the 3rd world and they all drive like nuts, and I believe the Volvo is a very strong and safe car

.

Ah. The Tragedy of the Commons for the 21st century....

I was looking for a big family car earlier this year. Needed to be able to take 3 child seats in comfort, previously had a Merc E class estate.

At the time I wanted a petrol car and really struggled with finding a people carrier style car, with a petrol engine, that I actually liked. Or that didn’t have a pathetically small petrol engine. Citroen does look quite funky in fairness

Big SUVs are a good option these days, but bloody pricey. It’s a real shame that big estates can’t take three kids seats side by side, and my one was huge

of all the trucks suggested, only the Tesla Model X will be fun to drive if acceleration is your thing. 4.4s or 2.6s to get to 60mph depending on the depth of your pockets. [edit] And that amazing pull from a standing start that you only get with an electric car[/edit] Its huge windscreen is quite something when you’re behind the wheel.

FWIW the Tesla Model X will have £310 VED due to the Hammond rule.

regular supercharging has no meaningful effect on the battery. Though ‘abuse’ of free supercharging can result in restrictive charging.  It does have an 8 year or 150,000 mile warranty on the battery and drive train and guarantees at least 70% of remaining charge capacity at that point if capacity degradation a concern.

as for a boss with a 140 mile commute, I assume that’s the sum for both ways if they’re in the U.K.  sounds like no fun at all.

I do find it odd that SUV’s are hated, but vans and campers are cool.

Many of these big vehicles do not come petrol because they are designed to carry more weight, so a petrol would be inefficient.

I would be looking at the Model X. Sat in one a few weeks back and was genuinely impressed.

I also know someone with an XC90, never had any issues

Have we persuaded op to buy a 15 year old 90hp berlingo yet?

Even though cars are getting much bigger (my 5 series estate is huge) kids car seats seem to be increasing even more in width. You can easily fit 3 adults in the back of my car but if you put 2 kids car seats in you'd be lucky to get anyone that's big enough not to be in a car seat between them.

Meant to reply to this yesterday but got distracted by work.

I see the BMW 2 Series Grand Tourer was mentioned, we’ve had an active tourer for just over 3 years, it’s been cheap to run solidly built and reliable, plus more fun to drive than a normal small MPV. My god they’re not cool at all, but they’re a decent car, worst thing about it is the cup holders and the blind spot from the A pillars at roundabouts. Nearly stuffed it on holiday in South Wales the mo th after we got it. At a 45° angle the blind spot is exactly the same size as a large car.

I have a 17 plate petrol XC90 - for us it’s been a cracking car so far (I did see the Which thing slating reliability). Carries *loads* of stuff, comfortable to drive on long journeys, pulls well - though not an interesting drive at all - nice interior.

Downsides? Expensive, petrol consumption rotten, unwieldy on small roads.

I’d recommend it if it suits your usage pattern.

PS we went SUV as my wife has an issue with legs and finds the more upright more comfy. If we hadn’t needed that I would look at the big Volvo estate S90 I think it is.