SwedeSpeed - Volvo Performance Forum banner
Cancel

2019 Volvo XC90 Departing Review - The Good, The Bad & The Ugly.

8305 Views 105 Replies 37 Participants Last post by  Big Lebowski, 
Big Lebowski
I have one month left on my second XC90 lease, and I am honestly counting the days until it is over. Admittedly, part of that is excitement for my new car which is scheduled to be built early next month, but mostly I am ready to move on. I am on multiple other vehicle forums, and I understand how this can come off. I'm going to share my feedback and let future buyers draw their own conclusions. Flame suit activated for those that do not like my perspective, and I respect that.

Where I came from: My first XC90 was a Momentum, in a gorgeous denim blue. After owning multiple Jeep Grand Cherokees I needed a 3 row utility due to kids, trips, dog, life, etc BUT needed to stay under a certain length and height as I have a car lift in my garage that I store my "summer" toy on. I felt many domestic mid size SUV's were too low rent for my taste and the Germans (Audi, BMW) were too pricey. The Volvo hit a sweet spot, but I admit I NEVER saw myself buying a Volvo.

What I liked: The Good
  • Design: I was attracted to the minimal styling of both the interior and exterior. In a nut shell, I thought it looked very attractive and stylish. I love the Audi's and saw this as a baby Audi. I negotiated a great deal and off the lot I drove.
  • Engine: I was surprised by how peppy the engine was for a 4 cylinder and it met my physical needs.
  • Auto Pilot: I of course was aware of Volvo's reputation for safety but that had little to do with my decision to buy one. I actually learned more about the safety features AFTER I bought it, then prior. My hands down, favorite feature of my XC90 is the AutoPilot feature. We take a lot of road trips, and the feature allows me to take micro-breaks while driving to change a station, talk, get a soda, etc. It does pull weird when an on ramp enters the road, and never centers but all in all it has been a phenomenal feature. It was a big feature I looked for in its replacement.
  • R-Design: I don't remember how long I owned my Momentum, but with a few years my dealer offered to upgrade me for the same payment into an "R-Design" in blue. I still LOVE this blue color and the styling of the R Design.
  • Visibility: Has good visibility, as expected for a Volvo.
  • Sound System: The upgraded Bowers & Wilkens sounds system is a delight.
  • Heads Up: Love it and have it on a few other vehicles, and insist on it whenever available. So handy.
  • App: The app is handy and respect that Volvo doesn't charge a monthly fee, that it comes with the car. I use the remote start from my phone and watch daily in the Winter and the middle of the Summer. Very handy.

What I don't like: The Bad
  • Engine: (Yes, I realize this was a like above...initially). In "polestar engineered" mode, its pretty peppy...surprisingly so at highway speeds, but it lacks low end umph, and at the end of the day I prefer V8 (v6 at a minimum) power AND sound. The 4 cylinder turbo and supercharged engine is very tinny to me. It gets old for this size of vehicle. Some of this is my baggage, and I acknowledge that.
  • Design: What are we at? 7 years? 8 years, with little or now cosmetic refresh? The design looked sharp when I bought it in 2017 / 2018, but now looks a little long in the tooth.
  • Chrome / Aluminum: Its Everywhere. Literally. Mirrors, grille, trim, etc. Tacky plastic aluminum. In fairness, the new ones have more exterior black trim and looks a load better. The aluminum just dates the design IMHO.
  • No cooled seats: The R-Design with its suede interior does not have cooled seats. Lame. This was a big negative on long road trips, especially in the Summer.
  • Seat Comfort: What began as looking tight, crisp, thoughtful and minimal seats are actually hard as a board. 10's of thousands of miles have not softened them...only wrinkled them. For perspective, I'm used to firm seats with bolsters in sports cars. On long trips I am constantly shifting in place. Not a fan.
  • No Buttons: What began as looking like a minimal, elegant designed cockpit, void of buttons is actually a user PITA. I really did like the lack of buttons and dusty spots, but after daily use, having to go through the head unit / touch screen for common tasks related to the radio selection or climate control gets old. The interior needs just a handful more buttons for frequently used tasks.
  • Safety features: Lane keeping assist can be invasive. My wife and daughters refuse to drive the car. Yes, you can turn it off, but they don't like it. So no on drives it but me.

What I REALLY don't like: The Ugly
  • Touchscreen Head Unit: After almost 5 years, I am still not used to the head unit organization. It is slow, it glitches and the swipe left, swipe right feels awkward and unnatural. I always swipe the wrong direction for what I need to do. The vertical orientation is TINY by todays standards and just doesn't work. CarPlay is a postage stamp. Radio channel selection, browsing requires too much time of your eyes off the road. Since almost EVERYTHING the driver needs to control is in this touchscreen it lacks finesse and a rational UI that makes logical sense. The system is just slow. Slow to wake up, slow to respond. Just slow.
  • System Crashing: Both my XC90's had issues with the dash crashing while driving. Now it does it a few times whenever we are on a longer drive. VERY unsettling to have the entire dash (including speedometer), touchscreen everything go blank at 75 mph. Systems goes dark, music off, AC off and drive mode resets. It reboots and we're eventually back in business. The good news is I have never lost vehicle power during this time. Dealer has done "software updates" but obviously we still haven't found the issue.
  • Loud Cabin / Road noise: It is not a quiet sanctuary as they'd have you believe in the commercials. Road noise, wind noise, engine noise... This is not a german by any stretch.
  • Rotors / Breaks: In my 2019, the Rotors are a joke. First ones were warped so bad all 4 rotors had to be replaced. They still vibrate when braking. Again, I am used to sports cars and don't need a cushy Cadillac ride. These brakes are not good and the vibration is horrible braking from highway speeds to an off ramp. If I wasn't returning it in a month, I'd be asking for new rotors again. Now, I just don't care.
  • Suspension: The air suspension went out and the entire rear system had to be replaced. That was a week plus in the shop but covered under warranty. Would not want to imagine paying for that outside of warranty.
  • Rear Axle: Something happened with the rear axle on my momentum, and the ENTIRE rear axle had to be replaced. Seriously.
  • Long-term Feel: It is not a comfortable vehicle. It is rigid, firm, unwelcoming, unemotional and stoic. It is northern European to a tee. If you are an uptight neat freak, you might love it. I hand wash and detail my own cars and this is about as lovable as a cat.
  • Service: I bought into the Volvo also for the service. They would pick up my vehicle and drop off a loaner. This occurred for the first few years but during Covid that changed. I understood during the pandemic but they STILL will not come to me for pickup, which requires me to take a half day from work and go sit in their cold dealership while they work on my car...or get a 40 minute ride back home. Loaners even are hit or miss. This was one of the biggest disappointments and original differentiators that steered me to the brand.

If you own a reliable XC90 and love it, my hat is off to you. I am sincerely happy for you, but I and my family have found in time, this to be a miserable piece of transportation. It gets us from point A to Point B. After considering the X5, Q7, Genesis and Cadillac, I have decided to get a loaded Lincoln Aviator. Should be here late February / Early March and I can't wait. The Volvo experiment is coming to a close. Ironically, I turned my brother in law onto Volvo and he loves it. My sister is in the market too, and she has decided on the XC90. Friends ask me about it, and I share the good, bad and the ugly and let them decide. If you are looking at an XC90, go into with open eyes is my only recomendation. It will not get faster. It will not get softer. It will not get sexier...but it very likely will let you walk away from an accident. So there is that.
See less See more
Reply
Save
Like
  • Like
  • Helpful
Reactions: 5
81 - 100 of 106 Posts
B
Island_V70 said:
Or.........last time I was shopping Lincoln warranties were longer in time and miles than Ford. Plus at least here the Lexus dealership is so nice you want to buy cars from them frequently so you can hang around, the Toyota dealer that has the mechanical sisters of many Lexi is a grin and bear it experience at best. I can think of a LOT of reasons to shop Lincoln other than ego. Speaking of, is there anyone under about 90 that really cares about Lincoln vs. Ford when they see one drive past?
Click to expand...
Having owned Audi, BMW, VW, Toyota, Honda, Infiniti, Ford, Volvo and a Mercedes, and been to all those dealerships - I can't say I care a whole lot. First, you spend so little time there as % overall car ownership life. Second, some differences are barely cosmetic. My current 'Audi' service center has different front offices but the same workshop behind for Audi, VW, Kia and Porsche. Yes, getting a loaner used to be easier at the 'luxury' brands but even that doesn't hold up any more. Yes, the Merc dealership was super shiny and flashy but I cant say service levels were much different.

Lexus is an interesting case. It did start as a completely differentiated brand - sort of like VW vs. Audi - with cars build on entirely different RWD platforms etc. Same with Nissan/Infiniti initially. But over time, everyone has come to realize to cost savings and $$ benefits of the Honda/Acura model. Build the same car, add some padding and slap on a new badge. Honda was even shameless enough for a while to sell the same cars as Honda in US and Acura in Canada.

So now the entire industry has moved to the same model. Toyota probably puts in the most additional work to upgrade the Toyotas to Lexii (?), while the newer Infinitis are mostly worse than their Nissan underlying IMO.

The last holdout has been VW/Audi - and even they have thrown in the towel. Going forward the Audi line will be split with A4/A5 being build on VW platform (A3 already is) and A6+ on the Porsche platform.

The lower trims of 'luxury' brands are absolutely the worst value out there. There is nothing luxury about them - they lack many features available in mid/upper trims of mass market brands. So yes, it is an ego exercise.
See less See more
Reply
Save
Like
  • Like
Reactions: 1
I
bot42 said:
Having owned Audi, BMW, VW, Toyota, Honda, Infiniti, Ford, Volvo and a Mercedes, and been to all those dealerships - I can't say I care a whole lot. First, you spend so little time there as % overall car ownership life. Second, some differences are barely cosmetic. My current 'Audi' service center has different front offices but the same workshop behind for Audi, VW, Kia and Porsche. Yes, getting a loaner used to be easier at the 'luxury' brands but even that doesn't hold up any more. Yes, the Merc dealership was super shiny and flashy but I cant say service levels were much different.

Lexus is an interesting case. It did start as a completely differentiated brand - sort of like VW vs. Audi - with cars build on entirely different RWD platforms etc. Same with Nissan/Infiniti initially. But over time, everyone has come to realize to cost savings and $$ benefits of the Honda/Acura model. Build the same car, add some padding and slap on a new badge. Honda was even shameless enough for a while to sell the same cars as Honda in US and Acura in Canada.

So now the entire industry has moved to the same model. Toyota probably puts in the most additional work to upgrade the Toyotas to Lexii (?), while the newer Infinitis are mostly worse than their Nissan underlying IMO.

The last holdout has been VW/Audi - and even they have thrown in the towel. Going forward the Audi line will be split with A4/A5 being build on VW platform (A3 already is) and A6+ on the Porsche platform.

The lower trims of 'luxury' brands are absolutely the worst value out there. There is nothing luxury about them - they lack many features available in mid/upper trims of mass market brands. So yes, it is an ego exercise.
Click to expand...
Lincoln gets you one more year and 50,000 instead of 36,000 miles warranty. If the transmissions in those things isn't any better than previous years, you are going to need it!
Reply
Save
Like
maggs
Personally, although I am a long-time Volvo admirer, but only a 1st time owner (bought my factory ordered 2020 V90 and intend to keep it for a long time), I have no issues with OP's pros/cons opinions. Actually, they are fairly close to my experience, and I still very much like my V90. No car is perfect. Honestly, when I was seriously considering the purchase of a 2020 MB E450 Estate Wagon, I researched various MB owner group forums. Both pro and con information was found, which helped me to fine tune my review of the E450. I did the same with the V90, and purchased it, after taking both the E and V on identical 125 mile test drives, fully aware of the good and bad points of both cars.
Reply
Save
Like
B
Big Lebowski said:
I felt many domestic mid size SUV's were too low rent for my taste and the Germans (Audi, BMW) were too pricey.
Click to expand...
Big Lebowski said:
“Fancy Ford?” This passive aggressive comment says so much about you.
Click to expand...
I re-read all of OPs post to understand if I was missing something. And I realized, it was right there all along! The reason why Ford slaps the Lincoln badge on some Fords.
Reply
Save
Like
  • Like
Reactions: 2
S
Lol man you guys get awful worked up over things that are subjective. The Aviator is a great looking vehicle with a nice looking interior (subjective), but I personally found the interior to feel a bit cheaper than our xc90 inscription. But that twin turbo v6 would be quite an upgrade to the t6 engine.

IMO Volvo and Lincoln fall in a sweet spot of mid-tier luxury, where one can get a vehicle with many of the niceties of MB/BMW/etc but without being as flashy or pretentious.
Reply
Save
Like
Big Lebowski
bot42 said:
Creating an account only to criticize a car in a forum of folks who own that car - right before supposedly leaving the brand - is sh*tty form, if not outright troll-y.
Click to expand...
I can respect that perspective, which is why I tried to be objective and specific about what I liked about my XC90 (which there were many) and what I didn’t like (which there were far too many). But, I get that intentions are like jokes…if you have to explain them, they aren’t working.

bot42 said:
I am sorry that you had such a terrible experience with Volvo. But if you never cared to be part of the community to share the highs and lows, and never helped others when they had questions, maybe the right call would have been to keep it that way.
Click to expand...
I get the “trolly” reference, but you lost me with the “if you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say it” part of your feedback. This is a public forum and I sincerely tried to be objective in my feedback for the sake of future buyers research. These were my experiences. Not all of them were bad, and I tried to document that.

As for being a part of this community, I didn’t realize there was a shelf life on joining. FWIW - I was on this forum early in my XC90 journey, but I didn't remember my user login or email account I used, so I just created a new one. Some members join vehicle forums long before buying a vehicle to do research and some never do. Do they have more right to participate in your community than I do after owning (2) XC90’s? Maybe only the ones don't criticize the brand. Either way, I call BS on my feedback being somehow unfounded because I haven’t been on here in years.

I’m sorry my feedback was such a hard pill to swallow. Based on how other members have reacted, it turns out I‘m not alone in that department. If you are happy with yours, I wish you well and am not trying to diminish your enjoyment of it.
See less See more
Reply
Save
Like
Big Lebowski
bot42 said:
The only differences between the Aviator and the Explorer (which is a very nice car btw) are Ford's profit margin and the ego of the buyer.

Especially true for those who buy lower stripped down trims of the 'luxury' brand (which is most buyers) over the fully loaded and more luxurious versions of the mass market brand, for about the same price. Because their ego requires them to trade off actual luxury features for a superficial luxury badge.
Click to expand...
You really need to actually test drive the two. From afar, that was my impression too (and originally true of the Aviator) but that is not the case any more.

bot42 said:
I re-read all of OPs post to understand if I was missing something. And I realized, it was right there all along! The reason why Ford slaps the Lincoln badge on some Fords.
Click to expand...
Glad I was able to entertain you multiple times. ;)

Please, test drive an explorer and tell me that interior finish and design isn’t ”low rent” for the price.

Stickygreen said:
Lol man you guys get awful worked up over things that are subjective. The Aviator is a great looking vehicle with a nice looking interior (subjective), but I personally found the interior to feel a bit cheaper than our xc90 inscription. But that twin turbo v6 would be quite an upgrade to the t6 engine.

IMO Volvo and Lincoln fall in a sweet spot of mid-tier luxury, where one can get a vehicle with many of the niceties of MB/BMW/etc but without being as flashy or pretentious.
Click to expand...
Agree with most of what you said. The Aviator Standard interior (base) is basic. The Reserve (mid-level) is comparable but I agree just below Inscription. However, Inscription doesn’t hold a candle to Black Label (high end) Aviator. That interior is gorgeous…but also out of my price range. I’m getting a Reserve which is just fine for me.
Reply
Save
Like
SilverStreak177
My god the intensity with which people try to foist their preferences onto others is astounding. This is one person's experience, and if you don't agree with it, point it out if you want, and leave it at that.
Maybe there are factual things that aren't 100% accurate (or maybe there aren't), but honestly it does. not. matter. This is someone sharing their valid experience in a way that isn't malicious imo, and that's just that. Relatively simple.
Reply
Save
Like
  • Like
  • Helpful
Reactions: 5
msantram
FFS!

toe may toe / toh mah toe

Good luck to all.
Reply
Save
Like
I
Big Lebowski said:
You really need to actually test drive the two. From afar, that was my impression too (and originally true of the Aviator) but that is not the case any more.
Click to expand...
Twins are not always twins. The Avalon and Lexus RX3xx series were corporate twins, but they were never identical. Contrary to what you might expect, we always liked the Avalon version better after test driving them back to back. You can have different suspension bushings, different engine tunes, different interior soundproofing, all kinds of little things that make them into fraternal twins instead of identical.
Reply
Save
Like
B
Island_V70 said:
Twins are not always twins. The Avalon and Lexus RX3xx series were corporate twins, but they were never identical. Contrary to what you might expect, we always liked the Avalon version better after test driving them back to back. You can have different suspension bushings, different engine tunes, different interior soundproofing, all kinds of little things that make them into fraternal twins instead of identical.
Click to expand...
Not sure I understand the point of comparing an Avalon (large sedan) to RXxx (crossover) instead of its direct Lexus variant the ES?

Also, as I pointed out above, there is some disparity between different brands. On one hand you have VWAG that builds Audis off an entire different platform from VW (except the entry level A3, and soon the A4). Toyota no longer goes as far with Lexus but probably puts in more effort than the rest. At the shameless end of the spectrum is GM, where you have to 'upgrade' from Chevrolet to GMC only to get access to some additional package on the same exact car!
Reply
Save
Like
I
bot42 said:
Not sure I understand the point of comparing an Avalon (large sedan) to RXxx (crossover) instead of its direct Lexus variant the ES?

Also, as I pointed out above, there is some disparity between different brands. On one hand you have VWAG that builds Audis off an entire different platform from VW (except the entry level A3, and soon the A4). Toyota no longer goes as far with Lexus but probably puts in more effort than the rest. At the shameless end of the spectrum is GM, where you have to 'upgrade' from Chevrolet to GMC only to get access to some additional package on the same exact car!
Click to expand...
BrainFart - I meant the ES300/330/350/etc :oops:
Reply
Save
Like
  • Like
Reactions: 1
B
Big Lebowski said:
...but you lost me with the “if you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say it” part of your feedback.
Click to expand...
Did I say that? Or was my whole sentence "But if you never cared to be part of the community to share the highs and lows, and never helped others when they had questions, maybe the right call would have been to keep it that way."

Big Lebowski said:
Maybe only the ones don't criticize the brand. Either way, I call BS on my feedback being somehow unfounded because I haven’t been on here in years.

I’m sorry my feedback was such a hard pill to swallow. Based on how other members have reacted, it turns out I‘m not alone in that department. If you are happy with yours, I wish you well and am not trying to diminish your enjoyment of it.
Click to expand...
You are living in your own make believe world where you are the lone truth teller providing 'honest feedback' to a rabid fanbase. Had you cared spend even a few minutes to just browse through the forum you would have found that nothing you have mentioned is unique. It has all been discussed ad nauseam. About Volvo falling short of the true luxury brand like Merc, Audi and RR in terms of engine refinement and noise. About all the features Volvo has been stealth deleting of late. Warped rotors and much much more. Or my most recent complaining posts was about the charger getting stuck in the port on a cold morning (along with many others complaing of the same). IT IS ALL HERE - including (somehow) a thread approach 300 posts about a person complaining about Volvo not replacing the engine on a 7 year old $110k miles+ well out of warranty XC90!

On the other hand I have seen similar posts on other car forums I am on. Typically it is a troll from another brand, who posts a seemingly objecive 'review' and why they eventually threw in the towel and moved to another brand (which they are here to flog). Seems incredible that anyone would have time to waste like that but such is the world we live in. More often than not, it is a newly created account, with no history of participation, and it is usually their first post.

You had your system repeatedly crash and reboot while driving, warped rotors that were never fixed, air suspension fault that required 'full replacement' and 'something' with your rear axle in the T5 which required replacement. The air suspension fault - typically in cold weather - does not need full replacement. Happened to me as well and I actually posted about it right when it happened. And the 'rear axle' problem is with the ERAD in T8s. PLENTY of posts on that.

And yet you NEVER happened to show up and post here to check in what other people were seeing and if this was common or one-off? But you suddenly woke up one day to write up this long post, where the 'problems' seem like a laundry list of XC90 problems people post about here? And without much understanding of what the problem is?

Yeah right.
See less See more
Reply
Save
Like
  • Like
Reactions: 1
Delmarva
bot42 said:
Did I say that? Or was my whole sentence "But if you never cared to be part of the community to share the highs and lows, and never helped others when they had questions, maybe the right call would have been to keep it that way."



You are living in your own make believe world where you are the lone truth teller providing 'honest feedback' to a rabid fanbase. Had you cared spend even a few minutes to just browse through the forum you would have found that nothing you have mentioned is unique. It has all been discussed ad nauseam. About Volvo falling short of the true luxury brand like Merc, Audi and RR in terms of engine refinement and noise. About all the features Volvo has been stealth deleting of late. Warped rotors and much much more. Or my most recent complaining posts was about the charger getting stuck in the port on a cold morning (along with many others complaing of the same). IT IS ALL HERE - including (somehow) a thread approach 300 posts about a person complaining about Volvo not replacing the engine on a 7 year old $110k miles+ well out of warranty XC90!

On the other hand I have seen similar posts on other car forums I am on. Typically it is a troll from another brand, who posts a seemingly objecive 'review' and why they eventually threw in the towel and moved to another brand (which they are here to flog). Seems incredible that anyone would have time to waste like that but such is the world we live in. More often than not, it is a newly created account, with no history of participation, and it is usually their first post.

You had your system repeatedly crash and reboot while driving, warped rotors that were never fixed, air suspension fault that required 'full replacement' and 'something' with your rear axle in the T5 which required replacement. The air suspension fault - typically in cold weather - does not need full replacement. Happened to me as well and I actually posted about it right when it happened. And the 'rear axle' problem is with the ERAD in T8s. PLENTY of posts on that.

And yet you NEVER happened to show up and post here to check in what other people were seeing and if this was common or one-off? But you suddenly woke up one day to write up this long post, where the 'problems' seem like a laundry list of XC90 problems people post about here? And without much understanding of what the problem is?

Yeah right.
Click to expand...
The audience for posts like that is mostly the originator. Proving to himself that the decision was right. Most owners take the time to research car model history and do test drives before buying. A few don't.
Reply
Save
Like
  • Like
Reactions: 2
Big Lebowski
bot42 said:
Did I say that? Or was my whole sentence "But if you never cared to be part of the community to share the highs and lows, and never helped others when they had questions, maybe the right call would have been to keep it that way."



You are living in your own make believe world where you are the lone truth teller providing 'honest feedback' to a rabid fanbase. Had you cared spend even a few minutes to just browse through the forum you would have found that nothing you have mentioned is unique. It has all been discussed ad nauseam. About Volvo falling short of the true luxury brand like Merc, Audi and RR in terms of engine refinement and noise. About all the features Volvo has been stealth deleting of late. Warped rotors and much much more. Or my most recent complaining posts was about the charger getting stuck in the port on a cold morning (along with many others complaing of the same). IT IS ALL HERE - including (somehow) a thread approach 300 posts about a person complaining about Volvo not replacing the engine on a 7 year old $110k miles+ well out of warranty XC90!

And yet you NEVER happened to show up and post here to check in what other people were seeing and if this was common or one-off? But you suddenly woke up one day to write up this long post, where the 'problems' seem like a laundry list of XC90 problems people post about here? And without much understanding of what the problem is?

Yeah right.
Click to expand...
Not here to flog. Interesting that my “bad” and “ugly” experiences are repeatedly quoted as proof I’m a troll, and no mention of the long list of “good” things I expeienced. I guess some people have a “glass half empty“ approach to any difference of opinion.

I’m sorry I didn’t stop by more often, but there are only so many hours in the day. I admit to spending more time on passion car forums, rather than daily driver car forums. Again. I didn’t know there was a shelf life or minimum “checkin” criteria to make a vehicle post valid.
Reply
Save
Like
N
Here's one thing i do not like: the camera view for reverse is not wide/tall enough. It is a very narrow view of what is behind you. In our Jeep Wrangler and even my wife's previous 2012 Grand Cherokee, you got a much wider field view of what is behind you. Sensors are great, though. It will yell at you well in advance.
Reply
Save
Like
  • Like
Reactions: 1
B
nyrhockey said:
Here's one thing i do not like: the camera view for reverse is not wide/tall enough. It is a very narrow view of what is behind you. In our Jeep Wrangler and even my wife's previous 2012 Grand Cherokee, you got a much wider field view of what is behind you. Sensors are great, though. It will yell at you well in advance.
Click to expand...
Interesting you said that. Last night I was pulling out of a spot and experienced that. I had to turn my head. I also had a 2016 Cherokee where I hardly turned my head. I do miss the Cherokee's wide angle but at the end of the day, the manufacture's and the lawmakers still want us to turn our heads and look back.
Reply
Save
Like
msantram
bagbklyn said:
Interesting you said that. Last night I was pulling out of a spot and experienced that. I had to turn my head. I also had a 2016 Cherokee where I hardly turned my head. I do miss the Cherokee's wide angle but at the end of the day, the manufacture's and the lawmakers still want us to turn our heads and look back.
Click to expand...
Ha! I still turn my head no matter how many cameras and sensors I have. can't trust em!

I don't always trust that someone or a dog won't suddenly run into the way. I try to think of these safety tools as helpers not doers.
Reply
Save
Like
Big Lebowski
4
rcutchins said:
You'll have to report back your initial feedback on your new Lincoln. I'll be curious to hear what you have to say. I've been a BMW guy for quite a while, and currently drive a '17 X5, which is an incredible vehicle to drive and own. Was thinking about going "Volvo" for an SUV (currently own 3 classic 240's for fun). After reading through this post, I'm wondering if sticking with the X5 is not in my best interest. Reading through all these posts, it seems like it's almost a draw on the good and the bad - I'm sure like most vehicles (the same post written about an X5 would probably come to a draw as well, although my experience with the two X5's I've owned has been stellar). Make a point of coming back and letting us know what you think of your new car.
Click to expand...
Well, I’m about 5 or 6 weeks into ownership of my Lincoln Aviator Reserve and so far I love it. Admittedly, I’m still with in the honeymoon phase but initial reaction to fit and finish is very good. The sound system is incredible. The seats are extremely comfortable and the interior is gorgeous. The exterior styling is stunning. It is shorter and wider than the XC90, but oddly feels like it rides higher. I find the ride to be softer and more predictable than the XC90 air suspension, and the Lincoln air suspension was one of the few options I did not go for on the Reserve (mid range like a Momentum). The Black Label interior blows the doors off anything most companies have to offer, but was about $10k out of my comfort zone. The twin turbo V6 engine is noticeably quicker low-end, and feels capable at highway speeds. I knew the Aviator “piped in” engine noise, and I’m sincerely not sure why. It is a little annoying and there is no easy way to disable it. The drive mode select is easy to use and can be done while backing up and not take over your backup camera the way the Volvo would. Sunroof controls feel more logical and all the frequently used functions have hard buttons for easy access. All-in-all, I am very pleased with the change.

To anyone leasing a Volvo through Volvo, beware. I’ve bought and leased cars for years and I’ve never met a company more difficult to work with. I tried to trade out of it a year ago (not ideal with a lease but can be done) and Volvo refused. Never had a company NOT allow me to trade out. Jeep did. GM did. As the end drew near, I knew I was over on mileage and began sending in extra in the final 4 months to reduce the lump sum at the end. The day I returned my lease, I was locked out of my account and can no longer see any payment history. I called VCFS and they confirmed. Shady. I should have had about $1k built up in positive “equity” towards my mileage. When my final bill came it showed ZERO positive balance. i called VCFS and they acknowledged the additional payments and didn’t have a reason why the funds were not applied. It should have been an easy deduction but it has turned into a shady PITA. It has made for a perfect cap on an otherwise disappointing experience...for me.

If you are enjoying your XC90, please enjoy it. There is nothing better than a vehicle you are proud of that puts a smile on your face.

Tire Wheel Car Land vehicle Vehicle
Tire Vehicle Car Wheel Grille
Tire Wheel Vehicle registration plate Vehicle Car

Car Vehicle Gear shift Motor vehicle Automotive design
See less See more
Reply
Save
Like
  • Like
Reactions: 2
B
Good grief. :rolleyes:
Reply
Save
Like
  • Like
Reactions: 1
81 - 100 of 106 Posts
SwedeSpeed - Volvo Performance Forum
A forum community dedicated to Volvo owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about performance, builds, modifications, classifieds, troubleshooting, maintenance, new releases, and more!
Full Forum Listing
Explore Our Forums
R Forum (2004-2007) S40 & V50 (2005-2012) XC90 (SPA: 2016 - ) S60, S60CC & V60, V60CC (2011-2018) XC90 (2003 - 2014)
Top