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

18K views 105 replies 37 participants last post by  Big Lebowski 
#1 ·
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.
 
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#63 · (Edited)
  • 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 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.
I agree with much of what the Big wrote in his OP. I've pulled out three of his bullet points here. I'm not an XC90 owner but a '22 XC60 T8 ER owner with the new Google OS. The things listed above are the same on all Volvos. I could not get myself to buy a Volvo despite trying my darndest to so during 2017-2022, and in that interim I bought Porsches for myself and a RAV4 Prime for my wife. I finally got the '22 XC60 because it's a plug-in hybrid with (finally) a decent all-electric range and a truly decent drivetrain (the best drivetrain in a Volvo in my opinion by far since the pre-4-cylinder-only era). These 2-liter, 4-cylinder over-charged engines have been underwhelming, and the bigger the Volvo, the worse they are. Volvo really needs to go to electrification as fast as possible, and run away from making ICEVs. (I test-drove an XC90 soon after it came out, ca. 2003, and remember it being really lethargic driving up a hill -- not impressed with an engine that was too small for too heavy a vehicle.)

I agree on the usual points about great visibility in these Volvo SUVs (and wagons), and their safety is great as far as the non-software parts are concerned. Given how bad Volvo software is, I have little faith in software to protect my life in a serious accident, but hope that the metal cages would do so. The LKA is indeed horrible, but then it's really horrible in all cars (and in my opinion should not be allowed in cars); ACC is really the only automated type of driving that automakers should be allowed to put in their cars ... drivers need to steer and stay alert!

The "no buttons" issue is huge. Other notable automakers are not following the "Tesla route" on this topic, but sadly Volvo and Polestar are doing so. This makes Volvo and Polestar inherently unsafe cars, because they require the driver to spend huge amounts of time fiddling with their eyes on a finicky touchscreen for basic things like audio, climate, phone, and drive mode when all of those things should be mandated by federal law to be in physical buttons/dials -- whether on or off the steering wheel (certainly phone and drive modes should be on the steering wheel, with gauges in the instrument screen). A recent poll at an XC60 owners forum on Facebook with hundreds of responses showed that about 2/3 desire more physical buttons in Volvos for these things that drivers need to access quickly and often. The federal government should mandate that a touchscreen cannot be utilized (i.e., touching it will do nothing) while the car is in motion -- for safety. Then, as other automakers continue to do, put important things into buttons/dials for the driver when driving.

This huge brain fart and cultish following of Tesla-stupid design has taken the "best safety automaker" crown away from Volvo -- years ago now. My 2001 V70XC wagon has only buttons and dials -- no touchscreen -- and I can access everything by feel/touch without even looking; that is good safety design in a car. I suspect that Volvo loses huge numbers of sales because of this -- lack of physical buttons and crappy touchscreen with tiny icons and badly designed software with stuff buried in sub-menus. It certainly was a huge factor in my not buying a Volvo from 2017 to 2022 and buying several other cars instead; what got me to buy my '22 XC60 despite the horrible access-to-functions issues is the more-powerful "Extended Range" drivetrain and other practical aspects of the car when ignoring the lack of buttons and horrible screens. (Yes, the current Volvo instrument-panel screens have to be just about the worst in the luxury automotive industry, except for Tesla which has none.)

I hear lots of Volvo people saying, regarding the buttons issue: but you have voice "control". That's a cop-out and not a dependable "solution". I can't get voice commands to do half the things I want/need, and what it does do, I often have to repeat 2 or 3 times. And I often don't want to use voice because I'm talking with passengers (or passengers are talking to passengers) or I'm on the phone or I'm listening to radio/music, etc., etc. No, voice commands are NOT a proper excuse for eliminating buttons/dials.

And chrome is much more of a subjective thing than the above topics, but I sure do hate chrome inside and outside cars, as well, and the cheap-looking chrome in today's Volvos makes them look like $20k cars inside, not like real luxury cars. My 2001 V70 has no chrome at all inside, and the only chrome outside is lettering/badging and the wheel hubs. I have an R-Design XC60, so the exterior is pretty blacked out (except for lettering/badging and wheels, again), and I'm thankful that Volvo allows that on the exterior. But I really prefer the interior of my 2001 V70 wagon to that in my '22 XC60 in almost every single way; the only thing I really want my computer screen for is maps, and the Google Maps in the new Volvos are superior to the crap that is in Sensus (and another reason why I wouldn't buy a Volvo prior to the '22 models going back to 2017). But a big design mistake by Volvo was trying to cram Google OS into the same apparent hardware unit/space, when they should have totally redesigned that space. Our other cars of recent years have horizontal screens (Toyota, Porsche), and horizontal screens really are superior for a driver, in my opinion to vertical computer screens.

Three more safety thoughts:
I don't know how it is in your XC90s, but in my XC60 I have no way to access tire pressure in psi in either my computer screen or in my instrument panel (where it should be, behind the steering wheel). In our Toyota and Porsches, I'm always checking the tire pressure in my instrument panel after I hit something in the road or hit an especially bad pothole, but I can't do this in my XC60. What the heck?
And I have gotten the optional infrared ("night vision") camera in my Porsche Panamera, which is really good for safety; it allows me to see pedestrians and animals at night whether near road's edge or actually in the road, when I can't see them due to darkness or to blinding on-coming headlights, and it allows you to see through dense fog in daytime or nighttime -- all of which can be a lifesaver. I do not understand why Volvo, the "safety automaker", doesn't offer infrared cameras as an option.
Third, glass roofs are inherently less safe than are all-metal roofs. I want the option (as I can get in Toyotas and Porsches) to have an all-metal roof. I don't want to have to worry about things hitting the roof glass and cracking/breaking the glass (a not-all-that-uncommon thing), or about excess glare/heat from roof glass, or about having to keep roof glass clean, or about problematical seals leaking water into the cabin from roof glass (something again too common in Volvos and other cars with glass roofs), or about how less safe roof glass is than metal in a roll-over accident.
 
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#73 · (Edited)
The "no buttons" issue is huge. Other notable automakers are not following the "Tesla route" on this topic, but sadly Volvo and Polestar are doing so. This makes Volvo and Polestar inherently unsafe cars, because they require the driver to spend huge amounts of time fiddling with their eyes on a finicky touchscreen for basic things like audio, climate, phone, and drive mode when all of those things should be mandated by federal law to be in physical buttons/dials -- whether on or off the steering wheel (certainly phone and drive modes should be on the steering wheel, with gauges in the instrument screen). A recent poll at an XC60 owners forum on Facebook with hundreds of responses showed that about 2/3 desire more physical buttons in Volvos for these things that drivers need to access quickly and often. The federal government should mandate that a touchscreen cannot be utilized (i.e., touching it will do nothing) while the car is in motion -- for safety. Then, as other automakers continue to do, put important things into buttons/dials for the driver when driving.
Curious for your reaction once you get acquainted with driver's window controls on EX90. Dedicated switches for all four windows have been replaced with one set of left / right switches, plus a toggle button between front and rear windows. Increased distraction for driver in exchange for net savings of one control. On a family vehicle. Madness.
Finger Communication Device Office equipment Gadget Office supplies
 
#64 ·
Interestingly, we were also thinking of moving into a Lincoln Aviator. We currently have a 2017 XC-90 with 85k miles. We do like the car, but there has been quite a few growing pains until today. They were not deal breakers which would have required us to immediately ditch the car.

But our issues were/are:
1) Sensus software - fixed via updates during the early months of ownership
2) Battery drain - fixed via updates during the early months of ownership
3) Brake rotor warping - I did NOT complain about this but they replaced it for free...twice! THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS ROTOR WARPING. But there are brake pad deposits that make it appear as though there is. From racing, I've always learned to jam on the brakes REALLY HARD after going 70+mph to clear this up; works every time. OR simply swap pads which I eventually have done with ceramic pads. No more "warping" and no more brake pad dusts!
4) Fit and finish - it's a pseudo luxury car so my expectations are a little lower compared to the Germans. But they were and still are very noticeable.
5) Overhead console leak - came about after a windshield replacement around 75k miles. I had no prior water issues. I didn't want to bring it back for fear of them screwing it up more. I had to retrofit to make it absorb the leaking.
6) Lots of squeaks and rattles coming from the sunroof and tailgate which I have to re-adjust/oil every so often.
7) This super-turbo 4 cylinder engine seriously sounds like crap but...

Things we like/love:
1) Gas mileage of this 4 cylinder given the power is great! 27 mpg fully loaded on the highway! Around 25 mpg with a roof box! The Polestar has given us new life for now.
2) Pilot Assist is a must for us for any car moving forward
3) Ability to remove the 2nd row center seat to create a 6 seater. I know this is a "mod", but not all SUVs can be easily modded to do this. Takes me 15 min to pop this in and out.
4) Heated seats for 4 seats and real hot heated steering wheel are a must for us moving forward
5) Styling still looks good to us
6) Panorama sunroof

Overall, this has been a good SUV for us. The only reason for the desired change is... 3rd row seating. The 3 kids are getting bigger such that we need to have the 3rd row be bigger (they can't sit next to each other as they will kill each other). On that note, the Aviator got nixed when we went for a "test fit". They liked the Navigator/Escalade size better, but they're too damn big and cumbersome. The MB GLS, BMW X7, Genesis are too small. The new gen Pallisade/Telluride may be better but we haven't test fitted them yet. The just-released Mazda CX-90 (interesting how the XC switched to CX) looks promising as it will have a mild hybrid turbo inline 6 cylinder, have a bigger 3rd row and bigger luggage area than the XC90. But dunno how Mazda's version of Pilot Assist will be. I know the Hyundai/Genesis/Kia's version is much better than the Volvo's. I don't want anything less than the Volvo's Pilot Assist at this point.

Maybe a year from now, we will move into the Mazda CX-90. It will supposedly handle like a BMW X5 (which we had) with a bit more room.
 
#69 · (Edited)
Three more safety thoughts:
-snip-
Third, glass roofs are inherently less safe than are all-metal roofs. I want the option (as I can get in Toyotas and Porsches) to have an all-metal roof. I don't want to have to worry about things hitting the roof glass and cracking/breaking the glass (a not-all-that-uncommon thing), or about excess glare/heat from roof glass, or about having to keep roof glass clean, or about problematical seals leaking water into the cabin from roof glass (something again too common in Volvos and other cars with glass roofs), or about how less safe roof glass is than metal in a roll-over accident.
One of the key reasons I did not buy new - not being able to option out the sunroof. For cars that are kept a long time they invariably rattle, need arms and seals replaced, take up headroom for tall folks, plus all the concerns raised above are quite valid. Also its extra several tens of pounds up high which increases vehicle roll in turns.

Hope Volvo reads these forums . . .
 
#70 ·
Re the V90 rough engine:
Is it the same I4 Turbo as the V60? I find that engine is plenty for the V60, the car is not slow. My one complaint is the transmission likes to shift early and the engine straining against a tall gear is kind of diesel sounding and feeling. If I spent what a V90 costs I might think more refinement would be nice. My old V70 is slower but the engine is smoother for sure.
 
#71 ·
I think it's the same engine, but with turbo and supercharger. In "dynamic", the car revs and shifts properly. In "comfort", when I step on the accelerator a little aggressively, the engine revs while the trans searches for a gear. Not as refined as the V6 E450 Estate I test drove, but (at that time) with an msrp of more than $20k, I can accept the reduced performance on my V. When I want to drive more aggressively, I use "dynamic", which is fine.
 
#75 ·
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.
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.

This isn't a fan club, it is a shared interest community. I think my own posts skew 30-30-40 criticizing-praising-troubleshooting. Volvo happens to be 1 of 3 brands I currently own, and of about 15 I have owned so far, so in no way is the my identity tied up with that car (I am aware of Volvo lifers here for whom that may be the case.)

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.
 
#76 ·
I am sorry that you had such a terrible experience with Volvo. But if you never cared to be part of the community and 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.
Amen to that brother:)
 
#83 ·
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.
 
#84 ·
I felt many domestic mid size SUV's were too low rent for my taste and the Germans (Audi, BMW) were too pricey.
“Fancy Ford?” This passive aggressive comment says so much about you.
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.
 
#85 ·
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.
 
#88 ·
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.
 
#96 ·
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.
 
#97 ·
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.
 
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