[prairieboy]

So I have been looking for a good used XC90 for quite some time. I am leaning more towards the V8 in 06/07 but would take the 3.2 in 07. Trouble is, I have passed up many vehicles because they didn't come with the factory RSE (dual headrest) and dvd player in the console or it didn't have the NAV.

I was leaning more towards a RSE system cause I can pic up a cheaper GPS unit than the factory one, but then I got thinking about the RSE systems.

So, a couple of questions here:

1. If you were to choose, would you rather have factory NAV, factory DVD RSE, or dealer installed RSE, both NAV and DVD or neither. I am thinking that it has been too many vehicles passed up cause they didn't have one or both of these options.

2. On the Factory installed RSE and/or the dealer installed RSE, is the sound limited to the wireless headphones or is there any way to have the sound played through vehicles sound system. If it is only through the wireless headphones, then I wonder what the audio cluster on the passenger pillars is for.

Thanks for any or all of your inputs!

 

[tremor12]

1) I've got the factory RSE and a windshield-mounted GPS. This works just fine... Volvo's nav system isn't the best, new handhelds have much more power/POIs/etc.

2) I don't think you can get the sound from the RSE anywhere but the wireless headphones. The cluster on the pillars are for wired headphones -- you can plug headphones in and operate the head unit independently of what the front seat occupants are listening to, i.e. up front listening to radio, rear seat listening to and controlling the CD changer.

 

[JimJa43]

Re: (tremor12)

My '08 has the OEM Nav system. I knew it was "low end" going into the deal, but if I had to do over, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't get it.

All nav systems get you from point A to point B. The issue - at least for myself - is the POIs. My hand held has 6 million, my Volvo OEM has 1.75M. I know how to get to friends, and other places I frequent w/out using the nav, but what I REALLY want the nav system for is to get me to, a business by name, and it's not in there. It's in my five year old hand held, but not my $2000 Volvo system. The same holds true for almost any place I desire to go in the city...it's not there. As a result, my OEM nav system becomes more of a toy than a truly useful item. What I find myself doing - and I'm not making this up - is find the location and address on my hand held and entering the address in the Volvo system. Sort of defeats the purpose in my mind.

Interestingly, there are only two data suppliers of data and Volvo and Garmin both use the same supplier. So the data is there, but someone at Volvo made the decision to do it the way they have and it's not very useful, at least for me.

So think about how you want to use your nav system. An aftermarket unit may serve you better. I can't speak to the Garmin Volvo installs as an aftermarket, that may be better. Someone else will have to comment.

As for the DVD system, that depends on how long you normally keep your vehicle and how old your kids are. My son was 17 at the time and a Senior in HS. IOW he wasn't going to be around too much longer, so I didn't get the DVD system ($500 special at the time) and don't regret it. When he does ride with us and wants to watch a movie, he uses his computer. If I had kids that were pre-teen, I probably would have bought it. Pretty useful then.

 

[DFC]

Re: Nav and RSE questions (prairieboy)

Prairie Boy,

I went with factory NAV simply because I wanted an integrated solution, not some questionable-looking add-on, though I do agree there is far more value to be had from a portable solution from Garmin or TomTom (have one of these also for the other vehicle).

I have the factory RSE the sound can indeed be played through the vehicle's sound system, though only the back speakers. This leaves your front speakers for the front passengers, though usually this is distracting if the kids are watching a movie in the back. Concur whole-heartedly with the comments about the age of your children being the critical factor here. If you don't travel distances with the kids then I would advise you save your money. Audio cluster on pillars is indeed for wired headphones.

Hope this is helpful.

David

 

[Husker Z]

I had the Volvo RSE put in our 07 we bought a couple weeks ago. It varies from the factory installed version as it's not located in the console, each headrest is it's own entertainment center. They can watch two separate things and/or play games on each of them. Each comes with wireless headphones and its own remote. I think this is much superior to the one that comes from the factory. I don't lose the console, play two separate games/dvd's. We are really happy with it.