Sounds like XC90 for the win

 

I think you nailed a bunch of the differences, I would've thought the QX60 would win the MPG challenge, but based on 14 MPG City I am guessing not. The old tech and model of the QX60 would rule it out for me, I think the Volvo is way ahead of the Infiniti and Acura on looks inside and out as well as tech. My decision included Q7 and bigger SUV's like the Land Cruiser, Armada, and New Expedition.

I bought ours about a month ago and we have 3 children, coming from a Minivan I was worried about room, so far it has been Great!!!

Have you thought of the T8? With the current rebates (Assuming they did not change with the new year) and the tax rebate it is almost the same price as the T6. That would more then offset the Premium Gas especially if most of your driving is local.

Good Luck!!!!

 

There's is a handle little compartment to the bottom left of the steering wheel for your sunglasses and it's my experience that the seats in the Volvo blow away the seats in all of the luxury Japanese vehicles, they are the best in the biz. 13,000 miles in and I'm still in lust with my XC90. Did I mention the B&W system is amazing? [emoji1303]

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

Good analysis. Japanese manufacturers have fallen behind their European counterparts in the tech category and the overall drivers experience as well. I test driven both and felt very underwhelmed for 50k cars. I still think reliability is better on Japanese cars. I’m shocked on the QX60 mpg. Is that accurate?

 

Good analysis. Japanese manufacturers have fallen behind their European counterparts in the tech category and the overall drivers experience as well. I test driven both and felt very underwhelmed for 50k cars. I still think reliability is better on Japanese cars. I'm shocked on the QX60 mpg. Is that accurate?

Nissan is the Dodge/Chrysler of Japan. Japanese cars for poor people. And this is coming from someone who discovered that after buying an EX35 before looking at other Infinitis. If I had known how cheap and crappy the other cars in the brand were before getting the EX (which is a luxury wrapped exception) I would have never bought one.

QX60 is complete garbage. Just a re wrapped Pathfinder. There is not a single redeeming quality about that junk. The ONLY reason people buy that thing is "for the room" which is a crock as well.

 

I recently drove the 2017 QX60 for a week (rental) and OMG was awful! At first I couldn't figure out why it was soooooooo slow and sluggish and then I realized it's a CVT transmission lol :facepalm: Even sport mode didn't help! 360 camera quality awful compared to XC90 especially at night couldn't see anything, I was scared to back up! In the XC90 everything was clearly visible like there's nigh vision or something 🤔 The handling, let's just say felt like driving a big bloated boat even though both are the same size (length was almost the same in my garage). And the fuel economy was bad 18L/100km. My X5 with the 4.4i V8 had better fuel economy :facepalm: I was so happy to get my XC90 back, felt soooo good to drive it again! You really appreciate your XC90 so much more after 😍👍

 

I recently drove the 2017 QX60 for a week (rental) and OMG was awful!...the fuel economy was bad 18L/100km. My X5 with the 4.4i V8 had better fuel economy :facepalm: .

Was it in the -20C weather we had? What are you getting with the XC90 in the same weather? That's almost impossible unless you drove it like you stole it?

 

I had a QX60 prior to my First Edition XC90 and absolutely hated that car. I’d go out and the battery would be dead and the dealership said nothing is wrong with the vehicle. After this happened a few times I was done with it. Not to mention I couldn’t get past what I felt was just a cheap feeling vehicle. It didn’t feel luxurious to me, it truly felt like a dressed up Nissan Pathfinder, which of course it was, but they did a piss poor job of making it feel ‘different’. At least IMO.

 

Night and day difference between cars. You are correct, the QX has an outdated engine/trans combo. I actually was looking forward to the launch of the QX. My wife loved her FX35 (with sport package, etc). I think that was an 07. Then we added another kid, and needed bigger so went to a CX9 which I loved. Then the QX came out and I went to drive it and hated the CVT, wasn't thrilled with the boring styling, hated the fact it had hidden exhaust (I know small detail but I like what I like) and overall it was nothing like driving the FX (great handling and power, unique styling, excellent exhaust note, rear wheel drive biased AWD). So, ended up getting the MDX instead (had one before the FX).
The one pro/con you want to explore would be reliability. While I love the euro cars, I at least can't argue with the reliability with the Japanese cars. Here is a quick break out of our SUV non-scheduled service starting with the best down to the worst:
12 MDX: 3 years 45K: 0 Visits
09 CX9: 2.5 years, 40K: 0 visits
07 FX35: 2 years, 30K: 1 visit
04 MDX: 3.5 years, 50K: 2 visits
06 LR3: 2.5 years, 40K: 3 visits
04 Discovery: 2 years, 30K: 4 visits
00 Discovery: 2 years, 30K: 4 visits
12 X5: 4 years, 70K: 8 visits
17 XC: 4 months, 3K: 6 visits

The way I see it, in 4 months and 3K my XC has been in for service the same amount of times as my 5 best (4 Japanese plus a Land Rover!) in around 14 years of driving. With that said, I do really love the XC. I'm not sure what experience you had with the Infiniti, but I'm just saying a "pro" for me on the Japanese cars was the fact the only time they really saw the dealer was for schedule service.

 

Another comparison point, though subjective, is the design. We were comparing these two vehicles before purchasing, and finally went with the XC90 largely because of the interior and exterior design. It just felt like a really nice cabin to be in, far better than the competition.

 

Seems like a small niggle - have you not found the glasses holder/storage cubby to the left of the steering column by where your left knee would be? It’s good place for glasses (what the FDC pointed out to me) and other miscellaneous small items.

 

Seems like a small niggle - have you not found the glasses holder/storage cubby to the left of the steering column by where your left knee would be? It's good place for glasses (what the FDC pointed out to me) and other miscellaneous small items.

Thanks! Always good to know.

You can get a sunglass holder that replaces the entry handle. Volvo charges ~$50 for it, and I'm sure the dealership would install it (took me about 5 minutes). I don't see why the handles are even there on the front seats considering how low the XCs stance is. Maybe it's necessary for the ladies?

I actually had this installed upon delivery (for free). Works great.

 

You can get a sunglass holder that replaces the entry handle. Volvo charges ~$50 for it, and I'm sure the dealership would install it (took me about 5 minutes). I don't see why the handles are even there on the front seats considering how low the XCs stance is. Maybe it's necessary for the ladies?

 

I had an QX60 in the past, and now have the XC90
Actual MPG i have found to be about the same in real life numbers (I get around 19mpg blended)
The QX60 fuel tank is also a bit larger

QX60 pros:
Slightly more space inside
Handles bumps much better
Seems to be put together better - nothing moving around and making noise
No start/stop annoyance
Remote start does not require app subscription
Might be a bit quieter with active noise canceling
The climate control may work a bit better

XC90 pros:
Better acceleration, though not like a good V6
Better handling dynamics
Seats are more comfortable (at least in the front row)
Sensus (tech) is light years ahead of infiniti
pilot assist

Overall, I like the XC90 much better

the MDX is significantly smaller then the QX60/XC90

 

QX60 pros:

Handles bumps much better

Seems to be put together better - nothing moving around and making noise

That's because you're riding on balloon tires lol My rental QX60 had 18" wheels :facepalm: Handling was non existent!

Felt cheap inside IMO, my XC90 not making any noises.

 

I have been driving Infinitis for 2 years now. QX50, QX60, QX80, Q50 and Q70. Volvo, hands down. Style, refinement, technology, standard features (specially with the new XCs).

Regarding Acura. I will put it this way. Acura has (or had) the lowest owner loyalty on the market. Not sure exactly why, but at least for me, I never returned to it; used to own a CL Type S 6-speed manual.

 

I’ll add my 2 cents... I’m trading in a 2017 MDX tomorrow for a 2018 T6 R-Design. It was my third MDX and I really did love them; however in 15 months, I was in the shop at least a dozen times. Some minor, some major.... but I couldn’t deal with it anymore.

I’m moving to the Volvo in hopes of increased reliability; though if I’m being honest, reading these forums is starting to make me second guess my decision. I’m hoping that it’s better than I’m reading here.

 

I'll add my 2 cents... I'm trading in a 2017 MDX tomorrow for a 2018 T6 R-Design. It was my third MDX and I really did love them; however in 15 months, I was in the shop at least a dozen times. Some minor, some major.... but I couldn't deal with it anymore.

I'm moving to the Volvo in hopes of increased reliability; though if I'm being honest, reading these forums is starting to make me second guess my decision. I'm hoping that it's better than I'm reading here.

Lol, boy are you in for a surprise.

Sent from my obamaphone.

 

Don't panic, issues with MY 18 are much more benign as the model has endured a couple years to tweak out all the gremlins of a new model car. A few folks have been bitten hard with their 16's and you will see them post all over this site. My 16 did have a sunroof leak and replaced the spark plugs. Otherwise, all good.

I too came from Infiniti (FX35 and FX50). Loved the handling and great reliability. They just didn't keep the model up to date and it became a bit small for my family.

 

I think in the community we hear about the best and the worst and a little in the middle. Overall there is a lot of passion for Volvo, especially in safety and design. My 2018, my first Volvo, now with 8000 miles, is young but reliable so far. When I get into it each day I feel like it's something special inside and outside, more so than the BMW's and Audi's I've had. All of them, including the most reliable brands have their horror stories and surprisingly the one lemon law I pursued and won, was for a Toyota. I hope you choose to move ahead with a Volvo - keep us posted.

 

When you love a brand, reliability comes second. Just look at the Range Rover owners. Car brakes, they don't care; just get a new one.

 

I have no particular love/loyalty to Acura; I bought them because they drove well enough, and were bulletproof for me. My 2009 MDX was only ever in the shop for scheduled maintenance, over 8 years. But my 2017 broke me, and I'm taking a pretty good hit getting out of it, 16 months into a 36 month lease.

I love the look and design of the Volvo, but in the end I need it be reliable in addition to being a pleasure to be in. Here's to hoping...

 

Back in 2012 when our second child was born, we wanted a 6 or 7 seater vehicle. We looked at the then MDX at the time, which was a generation ago. The MDX wasn't bad, but it did nothing particularly well. It was hard to get into the third row. The car was big enough, but with the thick seat padding, the second row sat very high, that made it also pretty hard to get in to the second row unless you have the door step rail. The interior design was old and outdated in 2012. Fast forward to now, the newer MDX is slightly larger, the interior upholstery are much higher quality and the seats are awesome now. However, the overall theme of the car is still a cookie cutter design, in fact the entire Acura line up has this cookie cutter design that is just very blend. It looks like an appliance with the dull plastic buttons everywhere and the dash clusters that is no better than any Honda products.

About the QX60, it is still the same JX35 that was from 2012-2013. So back in 2012, I test drove it, for the price and what it offered, I left the dealership very unimpressed. It has been a re-badged Nissan Pathfinder. The material on the Pathfinder has been as good as the JX35 and the interface of the infotainment and gauge clusters have been almost identical. The best thing about the JX35 and the QX60 has been the tilting second row seat that allows you to get in to the third row without removing the child safety seat in the second row. For me, there was and is no reason to pay extra money for a re-badge JX35/QX60. Plus, the QX60 and the Pathfinder are very tight in the third row. I sat in my friend's QX60 third row recently and I was basically squatting in that little space the whole time. The D-pillar at the back is so big that the third row is very claustrophobic too. I ended up comparing the Pathfinder and the Nissan Quest minivan, which shares the same underpinning platform and powertrain. The Quest actually was the winner, despite not having AWD, because of the added space, the easier access to all the seats, much more passenger friendly in the third row and same level of luxury as the Pathfinder and JX35/QX60. I ended up leasing the Quest for 3 years simply because at the time there was no better and more sensible alternatives for a 3 row vehicle.

So about a year ago when I had to shop for a different 3 row vehicle again, the new Volvo XC90 addressed all the things that the MDX, JX35/QX60, Pathfinder did poorly on. The Volvo is stylish and unique inside and out, unlike the MDX that is a poster child of blend-ness and uninspiring design. The Volvo has an innovative and efficient powertrain, unlike the smooth but disengaging V6 with CVT on the QX60 and Pathfinder. The Volvo has the space advantage too, it is shorter than the QX60 by 6 inches overall but has a longer wheelbase by 1 inch. That makes the Volvo easier to drive but offers just a bit more legroom. The sculpted design of the seat and seat-back provides amazing comfort but does not require much padding, this leads further improvement of legroom. The Volvo has a more stylish but somehow boxier shape that also gives more cargo space and utility than the QX60. And last but not least, the fully touch screen Sensus infotainment system is a big attraction. Although it is slow at start up and it takes some time to get used to not having buttons for some simple tasks, the fact that it is fully touch screen and allow you to change all the setting all in one place, it is a true cutting edge design and provides great functionality. For some people, the lack of button is rather annoying, but that is the same complaint that we all heard when iphone took over the smart phone market share from Blackberry. Eventually people will get used to the touch screen and I for one find the Sensus very intuitive.

Now I have the 2018 XC90 T6 R-Design. To me, the only worthy comparison the XC90 really faces is from the Audi Q7 (which has better luxury and performance) and the VW Atlas (which has better value with lower price and comparable features).

 

To me, the only worthy comparison the XC90 really faces is from the Audi Q7 (which has better luxury and performance) and the VW Atlas (which has better value with lower price and comparable features).

Atlas is dated looking and ugly sorry. And better luxury and performance in the Q7 is obviously your opinion, I find the XC90 very luxurious and my T8 definitely has better performance 😉 There's a reason the XC90 is the most awarded SUV of the century!

 

T8 is junk

If you have any interest in your car working, then I would avoid Volvo, and especially an XC90 T8. I just took delivery of an 18 XC90 T8 and I got a Hybrid System Failure message within less than 20 miles and 2 days of owning the car. Not to mention a long list of other glitches and problems which are so intermittent that I know I will now be spending the duration of my ownership of this car fighting with the service department. They already said they need to look at the car to determine if it is user error! (Like turning on the car and getting a Hybrid System Failure message could be user error!).
I really wish I could go back in time and buy ANY other car. This car is Beta. If you want to be a Beta tester than go ahead. But all the style, gizmos, etc, are meaningless when the basics won't work.

 

then I would avoid Volvo, and especially an XC90 T8.

I LOVE my 2016 T8! Never had such a message in my T8 in the 19 months I own it. Sorry to hear about your issue but crap happens to any car. Years ago I had a brand new BMW X5 and few days after picking it up, some hose came off while driving and car almost died, I barely got to the dealer!

 

No sunglasses holder on a $60k car?

I put two set of sunglasses in the enclosed storage area bottom left of the steering wheel.

 

Yes, but I find it next to impossible to take one out without fingerprinting the glass.
In that regard, the handle-replacement holder is much better, I can take glasses out with my right
hand without touching the glass. We had one in our XC70 and installed it in the XC90 also.

 

Fair enough. Not for me but I`m surprise you weren't ask for the part number and link already.

 

Infiniti's cars do show how they're a lower end luxury brand. Kind of like Coach or Michael Kors vs Louis Vuitton or Prada

 

It's about pricing too. The quality is much better on the Q70 and QX80, though both are aging. I miss my Q70 S, though the driving was not as refined as my 535i (F10).

The Q70 is to Prada as the S90 to Hermès. Miachael Kors, you need to get down to the Nissan Sentra.

 

My thoughts on my loaded 2017 XC90 Inscription:

1. People in Jeeps give each other the peace sign when they pass each other. I secretly wonder when two XC90 drivers pass each other if they lock eyes and think, "I know you know too".
2. People at work joke that "the coolest feature of your car is that it changes colors". ( I have had 8 or 9 XC90 loaners in different colors since June 2017).
3. There are still many reasons to buy this vehicle, safety related in my opinion.
4. There is something that you really need to get comfortable with whether you like your xc90 or not. It doesn't have a lot of redundant buttons, and many things require a push, swipe, push, close action. You can't turn a nob to raise the temp or increase the blower. You can't disable the auto start stop every drive with one push of a button (maddening for me). Menus and menus and sub menus. Its like controlling your car with an ipad. Since I brought that up, you have to be comfortable with letting the software load before doing really anything or you will delay responsiveness. Example, if I start the car and try and change the radio station or the air temperature right away....yikes don't ever do that! It is buggy, we all know that. Flip side, you have cool tech in the car. Your any early adopter. Your cutting edge. You expect software problems and often. You bought the i-watch when it launched and already own the new i-phone. You identify with new and cool technology and are patient.
5. This message board is strange. 2016 was the worst year and great year from some. 2017 fixed a lot of problems, but not for many. Engine is great, but peoples' blew up because of bad plugs and everyone knows there a potential problem and Volvo won't issue a recall (I find this one hard to believe). Software updates help, but for some it screws up stereo volume and polestar. Massaging seats are great, no mine won't stop inflating on its own. Its down right crazy when I read this message forum. I love my air suspension, someone has three vc90s that all three need suspension replaced. Sensus works great, no.... Volvo knows its such a big problem that they are abandoning and outsourcing the software in future models due to complaints. The list goes on and on of contrary view points.
6. Got to tell ya, a lot of car brands and models are disasters. Every brand is littered with lemons. That's why there is the lemon law. Cars are expensive now-a-days. Read the forums and look for patterns then place your bet.

 

2. People at work joke that "the coolest feature of your car is that it changes colors". ( I have had 8 or 9 XC90 loaners in different colors since June 2017).

Best joke about the XC90

 

I cross shopped the QX60 and RX350L briefly. The QX had an OK interior, but felt very dated. Drive was not good at all. The dealer was literally willing to give it away, but I declined. Very happy I went with the XC90, well worth it in my opinion.

 

I don’t think you’ll see many people cross-shopping the XC90 and the QX60. QX60 is old and due for a full redesign soon. It would be like someone cross-shopping the QX60 when it was brand new (and known as JX35), with the previous gen of the XC90.

 

I had a 2017 QX60 loaner one of the many times my 2017 Q60 was in the dealer and i found it to be very slow compared to my XC90 and the interior felt dated. Parked side by side with my XC90 and driving them back to back the clear winner was the XC90 even if its a couple of grand more it will be worth it.