XC90 buying advice
Discussion
Hi all -
I hope you are well.
I'm likely to be starting a job in the new year that requires significantly more travelling than I'm currently doing. My current car, an RS6 isn't great on fuel hence I'm considering an XC90.
I'm looking at the T8, R-Design petrol plug in hybrid. I've a few questions.
1) I wondered if you can tell me what optional extras I should be looking out for?
2) Any do's and don't when buying?
3) What's the fuel economy like on average?
4) What's the difference between R-design and R-design Pro?
Many thanks in advance!
I hope you are well.
I'm likely to be starting a job in the new year that requires significantly more travelling than I'm currently doing. My current car, an RS6 isn't great on fuel hence I'm considering an XC90.
I'm looking at the T8, R-Design petrol plug in hybrid. I've a few questions.
1) I wondered if you can tell me what optional extras I should be looking out for?
2) Any do's and don't when buying?
3) What's the fuel economy like on average?
4) What's the difference between R-design and R-design Pro?
Many thanks in advance!
Edited by hanny1973 on Friday 11th December 20:31
I have a 2020 MY T8 Inscription Pro which I picked up with 300 miles on about a month ago. It's slightly different to the current 20201 MY, and again different to the R-Design. I did a silly amount of research, and ended up finding a near perfect car in stock and got the dealer to add the remaining pieces.
But in essence, the main additions of the Pro are air suspension (essential) and bigger wheels (look nice, but everything else negative), along with the premium stereo. You get a few other pieces like heated steering wheel (which I love), and the bending headlights. These are nice, but not essential for me. Apple/Android car play are included with the premium stereo, which should be standard on any new car these days, let alone a high spec Volvo. This is essential to spec if you choose the non-Pro variant.
- I have the B&W stereo, which is a big leap in price and quality. The HK is more than good enough.
- The pano roof I rarely touch, and when it's cold or hot it closes the blind automatically to trap heat or block the sun.
- I chose heated windscreen over the HUD, I can see into the instrument cluster just fine, and the benefit of a frost free car (especially given the T8s pre-conditioning) means I never have to scrape a screen again.
- Parking camera 360 - this is quite useful, but to be honest visibility is pretty good. I've used the auto park once. To show the kids.
- Laminated glass - adds an almost imperceptible sound lessening. Not worth it.
- Retractable Tow bar - wouldn't know it's there day to day, but I carry bikes on the back making it essential for me, but obviously situation specific.
- Polestar - hard to say having not tested the life out of the non-Polestar'd demo car, but it was £375 for 10% more torque (from the petrol engine), and about 5% more BHP. So I thought why not, because, frankly, POWER.
I think almost everything else is standard. The R-Design has sportier seats and features compared to the Inscription's comfort. I found the Inscription seats more comfortable than the R-Design when testing, a consideration for long distances (it has massage seats too, which are better than those I had on a previous Audi S5 sportback). But seat comfort is subjective. Bigger wheels on the R-Design too, adding a bit of road noise/less comfort, but still likely quieter than the RS6! I'm not sure whether the R-Design has ventilated seats either.
I feel pointing out the MPG largely irrelevant coming from an RS6, but I wouldn't have chosen the XC90 T8 if I did predominately long journeys. For the comfort and speed sure, but you might find the T6 more suitable if you're doing mostly long journeys. Most of our journeys are within 25 miles, so we run on the electric motor most of the time, getting 1000 miles out of our first tank of petrol, which was 64 litres brim to brim.
But in essence, the main additions of the Pro are air suspension (essential) and bigger wheels (look nice, but everything else negative), along with the premium stereo. You get a few other pieces like heated steering wheel (which I love), and the bending headlights. These are nice, but not essential for me. Apple/Android car play are included with the premium stereo, which should be standard on any new car these days, let alone a high spec Volvo. This is essential to spec if you choose the non-Pro variant.
- I have the B&W stereo, which is a big leap in price and quality. The HK is more than good enough.
- The pano roof I rarely touch, and when it's cold or hot it closes the blind automatically to trap heat or block the sun.
- I chose heated windscreen over the HUD, I can see into the instrument cluster just fine, and the benefit of a frost free car (especially given the T8s pre-conditioning) means I never have to scrape a screen again.
- Parking camera 360 - this is quite useful, but to be honest visibility is pretty good. I've used the auto park once. To show the kids.
- Laminated glass - adds an almost imperceptible sound lessening. Not worth it.
- Retractable Tow bar - wouldn't know it's there day to day, but I carry bikes on the back making it essential for me, but obviously situation specific.
- Polestar - hard to say having not tested the life out of the non-Polestar'd demo car, but it was £375 for 10% more torque (from the petrol engine), and about 5% more BHP. So I thought why not, because, frankly, POWER.
I think almost everything else is standard. The R-Design has sportier seats and features compared to the Inscription's comfort. I found the Inscription seats more comfortable than the R-Design when testing, a consideration for long distances (it has massage seats too, which are better than those I had on a previous Audi S5 sportback). But seat comfort is subjective. Bigger wheels on the R-Design too, adding a bit of road noise/less comfort, but still likely quieter than the RS6! I'm not sure whether the R-Design has ventilated seats either.
I feel pointing out the MPG largely irrelevant coming from an RS6, but I wouldn't have chosen the XC90 T8 if I did predominately long journeys. For the comfort and speed sure, but you might find the T6 more suitable if you're doing mostly long journeys. Most of our journeys are within 25 miles, so we run on the electric motor most of the time, getting 1000 miles out of our first tank of petrol, which was 64 litres brim to brim.
Fourmotion said:
I have a 2020 MY T8 Inscription Pro which I picked up with 300 miles on about a month ago. It's slightly different to the current 20201 MY, and again different to the R-Design. I did a silly amount of research, and ended up finding a near perfect car in stock and got the dealer to add the remaining pieces.
But in essence, the main additions of the Pro are air suspension (essential) and bigger wheels (look nice, but everything else negative), along with the premium stereo. You get a few other pieces like heated steering wheel (which I love), and the bending headlights. These are nice, but not essential for me. Apple/Android car play are included with the premium stereo, which should be standard on any new car these days, let alone a high spec Volvo. This is essential to spec if you choose the non-Pro variant.
- I have the B&W stereo, which is a big leap in price and quality. The HK is more than good enough.
- The pano roof I rarely touch, and when it's cold or hot it closes the blind automatically to trap heat or block the sun.
- I chose heated windscreen over the HUD, I can see into the instrument cluster just fine, and the benefit of a frost free car (especially given the T8s pre-conditioning) means I never have to scrape a screen again.
- Parking camera 360 - this is quite useful, but to be honest visibility is pretty good. I've used the auto park once. To show the kids.
- Laminated glass - adds an almost imperceptible sound lessening. Not worth it.
- Retractable Tow bar - wouldn't know it's there day to day, but I carry bikes on the back making it essential for me, but obviously situation specific.
- Polestar - hard to say having not tested the life out of the non-Polestar'd demo car, but it was £375 for 10% more torque (from the petrol engine), and about 5% more BHP. So I thought why not, because, frankly, POWER.
I think almost everything else is standard. The R-Design has sportier seats and features compared to the Inscription's comfort. I found the Inscription seats more comfortable than the R-Design when testing, a consideration for long distances (it has massage seats too, which are better than those I had on a previous Audi S5 sportback). But seat comfort is subjective. Bigger wheels on the R-Design too, adding a bit of road noise/less comfort, but still likely quieter than the RS6! I'm not sure whether the R-Design has ventilated seats either.
I feel pointing out the MPG largely irrelevant coming from an RS6, but I wouldn't have chosen the XC90 T8 if I did predominately long journeys. For the comfort and speed sure, but you might find the T6 more suitable if you're doing mostly long journeys. Most of our journeys are within 25 miles, so we run on the electric motor most of the time, getting 1000 miles out of our first tank of petrol, which was 64 litres brim to brim.
Great description and sounds like a superb car. But in essence, the main additions of the Pro are air suspension (essential) and bigger wheels (look nice, but everything else negative), along with the premium stereo. You get a few other pieces like heated steering wheel (which I love), and the bending headlights. These are nice, but not essential for me. Apple/Android car play are included with the premium stereo, which should be standard on any new car these days, let alone a high spec Volvo. This is essential to spec if you choose the non-Pro variant.
- I have the B&W stereo, which is a big leap in price and quality. The HK is more than good enough.
- The pano roof I rarely touch, and when it's cold or hot it closes the blind automatically to trap heat or block the sun.
- I chose heated windscreen over the HUD, I can see into the instrument cluster just fine, and the benefit of a frost free car (especially given the T8s pre-conditioning) means I never have to scrape a screen again.
- Parking camera 360 - this is quite useful, but to be honest visibility is pretty good. I've used the auto park once. To show the kids.
- Laminated glass - adds an almost imperceptible sound lessening. Not worth it.
- Retractable Tow bar - wouldn't know it's there day to day, but I carry bikes on the back making it essential for me, but obviously situation specific.
- Polestar - hard to say having not tested the life out of the non-Polestar'd demo car, but it was £375 for 10% more torque (from the petrol engine), and about 5% more BHP. So I thought why not, because, frankly, POWER.
I think almost everything else is standard. The R-Design has sportier seats and features compared to the Inscription's comfort. I found the Inscription seats more comfortable than the R-Design when testing, a consideration for long distances (it has massage seats too, which are better than those I had on a previous Audi S5 sportback). But seat comfort is subjective. Bigger wheels on the R-Design too, adding a bit of road noise/less comfort, but still likely quieter than the RS6! I'm not sure whether the R-Design has ventilated seats either.
I feel pointing out the MPG largely irrelevant coming from an RS6, but I wouldn't have chosen the XC90 T8 if I did predominately long journeys. For the comfort and speed sure, but you might find the T6 more suitable if you're doing mostly long journeys. Most of our journeys are within 25 miles, so we run on the electric motor most of the time, getting 1000 miles out of our first tank of petrol, which was 64 litres brim to brim.
Can I ask what range does a charge and a tank have for a motorway journey? I do a strange combination of local runs where electric would be perfect; and long motorway runs 300 miles+. I am interested to know if it would suit this balance?
Stuart70 said:
Great description and sounds like a superb car.
Can I ask what range does a charge and a tank have for a motorway journey? I do a strange combination of local runs where electric would be perfect; and long motorway runs 300 miles+. I am interested to know if it would suit this balance?
I picked the car up in Scotland, and had a 400 mile drive back! It had half a charge when I left, and used about 1.2 tanks' worth of fuel (18 gallons). Bear in mind it was pretty much brand new, so should improve slightly with age. Actually, I also ran the engine to charge the batteries as I knew I didn't have my extension set up at home. It's not efficient when doing that. Can I ask what range does a charge and a tank have for a motorway journey? I do a strange combination of local runs where electric would be perfect; and long motorway runs 300 miles+. I am interested to know if it would suit this balance?
Range depends how you use the charge, how you drive, and the traffic conditions - if you use the inbuilt sat nav it calculates when to distribute the electrical power over your journey for maximum efficiency. Otherwise, in hybrid mode, it uses up the battery first then switches. I can join a dual carriageway not far from home and cover about 18-20 miles on the battery power. It'll cover nearer 30 on the school run, but it tends to regenerate about 25% of the battery it expends because my route is mostly cross country and includes some long downhill drags where I leave it in 'B' mode which uses engine braking to slow the car and charge the battery. It's 2.5 tons, so it actually works quite nicely at not making the car feel like it's running away! If you're in flowing traffic, where you constantly lift, then it could extend that electrical range quite a lot.
I don't know how the running in process will work, given that most of the time the petrol engine isn't even firing!
I'll be taking the car on longer driving holidays, and trips to parents when possible will be 150+ mile trips. I'm not expecting much on these occasions, but more than made up for by the rest of my journeys.
Thanks Fourmotion. Oddly I am not too worried about the fuel economy on the long runs, it would be the inconvenience of having to stop more than once on the trip. Sounds like it is manageable. Benefit would be in the day to day driving locally where my mileage would be mainly electric.
An interesting option.
An interesting option.
@Fourmotion - thank you so much for your really comprehensive reply - super helpful and has given me food for thought.
I'll be doing 160 mile roundtrip once a week. Although not huge mileage it's essentially two tanks of fuel a month with the Audi. The journey will probably be about 65 miles motorway, the rest urban.
I'll be doing 160 mile roundtrip once a week. Although not huge mileage it's essentially two tanks of fuel a month with the Audi. The journey will probably be about 65 miles motorway, the rest urban.
Every review I've read makes me think that fuel economy on these is barely any better than the D5 I ended up buying (and have now done 50k miles in).
If you do sub-50 mile round trips and plug it in I suspect that would change markedly, otherwise you will never get the additional purchase premium back IMO.
The standard car rides well without air suspension (all of these bits "IMO" of course
).
Pano roof is key for adding brightness into the car. For the same reason I'd recommend the blond interior - it stands dirt quite well and looks good (I have a 5yr and 8 yr old and the car is regularly used in 7 seat mode, getting a proper hammering). For an improved quality feeling to the interior, get the nappa leather option.
Standard stereo is fine. Ours has carplay/android auto but neither get used...we have a USB stick with all music on, and the inbuilt sat nav is fine.
Heated wheel, seats and windscreen are very nice to have. Towbar essential for me (retractable).
We only have the rear camera...a front one would actually be more useful as rear visibility is more straightforward than the front. The 360deg camera would be handy at times.
Autopark is a waste of time. Pilot assist is useful-ish - radar cruise control is the most handy if you spend time in contraflows.
2nd row booster seat is useful for us, but if your kids are older it's not essential.
Mudguards useful but aftermarket are cheap and fit well.
I think they all come with the bigger instrument pack now (glad ours has it).
I'd avoid bigger wheels than 20".
I had a quick look at the configurator a few months ago (was sent "unmissable deals" by Volvo which ended up anything but) and noticed that Volvo seem to have become highly irritating in the way options are spec'd....the really useful stuff is scattered across "packs" full of useless stuff. there didn't seem any cost effective way of specifying things (which I guess is the point from their side). They also seem much more limited on colourways and interior finishes now than they were 3-4yrs ago.
We've had two XC90s now (a mk1 and mk2). They're great cars. I would recommend keeping your eye out on dealer stock cars. They're usually well optioned, low miles and you can save a decent chunk for the sake of a few thousand miles. (Ours was a highly spec'd Momentum...impossible to replicate now sadly. But on the upside it means it will get run to 100k miles in all likelihood before chopping it in. Then we should be onto our last 7 seater An electric XC90 may be on the cards, though the kids are keen on a Tesla Model X...).
If you do sub-50 mile round trips and plug it in I suspect that would change markedly, otherwise you will never get the additional purchase premium back IMO.
The standard car rides well without air suspension (all of these bits "IMO" of course
).Pano roof is key for adding brightness into the car. For the same reason I'd recommend the blond interior - it stands dirt quite well and looks good (I have a 5yr and 8 yr old and the car is regularly used in 7 seat mode, getting a proper hammering). For an improved quality feeling to the interior, get the nappa leather option.
Standard stereo is fine. Ours has carplay/android auto but neither get used...we have a USB stick with all music on, and the inbuilt sat nav is fine.
Heated wheel, seats and windscreen are very nice to have. Towbar essential for me (retractable).
We only have the rear camera...a front one would actually be more useful as rear visibility is more straightforward than the front. The 360deg camera would be handy at times.
Autopark is a waste of time. Pilot assist is useful-ish - radar cruise control is the most handy if you spend time in contraflows.
2nd row booster seat is useful for us, but if your kids are older it's not essential.
Mudguards useful but aftermarket are cheap and fit well.
I think they all come with the bigger instrument pack now (glad ours has it).
I'd avoid bigger wheels than 20".
I had a quick look at the configurator a few months ago (was sent "unmissable deals" by Volvo which ended up anything but) and noticed that Volvo seem to have become highly irritating in the way options are spec'd....the really useful stuff is scattered across "packs" full of useless stuff. there didn't seem any cost effective way of specifying things (which I guess is the point from their side). They also seem much more limited on colourways and interior finishes now than they were 3-4yrs ago.
We've had two XC90s now (a mk1 and mk2). They're great cars. I would recommend keeping your eye out on dealer stock cars. They're usually well optioned, low miles and you can save a decent chunk for the sake of a few thousand miles. (Ours was a highly spec'd Momentum...impossible to replicate now sadly. But on the upside it means it will get run to 100k miles in all likelihood before chopping it in. Then we should be onto our last 7 seater
An electric XC90 may be on the cards, though the kids are keen on a Tesla Model X...). 
Just because I did a longish journey today, here is the journal entry from the Volvo app.
The battery is something like 11kw and was at about 8.5kw when we left.
It was a mostly an A road drive, with plenty of roundabouts, hence the high level of recharge. But still note the MPG on a 100 mile journey on just under a 75%ish charge.
djone101 said:
Murph7355 said:
Every review I've read makes me think that fuel economy on these is barely any better than the D5 I ended up buying (and have now done 50k miles in).
As a comparison this is a long run in our 2018 D5
Across very mixed driving I think we're getting around 32mpg.
When we bought it I was keen to get a T8. But the premium was something like £20k and at best we'd have matched the fuel economy.
Unlikely to need to replace this one for 3-5yrs, by which time the full electric one should be out so will see what gives then.
OP - they're very good cars. I'd recommend one over all the competition.
I have had mine for almost a year now... fuel consumption on a 1600miles trip to France returned 27mpg, which disappointing given it was about the same as the X5 I owned 10years ago.
I don’t think it is screwed together as well as the german equivalent, lots of rattling noise around the car.
That being said, it’s one of the best looking SUVs still out there (I have an inscription), a true 7 seaters (I considered a 7 seaters RRS and it was a joke) and is about 20% cheaper than its closest competitors.
If I had to buy a new 7 seaters today, I would prob buy the same car. If you’re opened to buy a used car, the 2018-2019 GLS looks awesome and is very good overall
I don’t think it is screwed together as well as the german equivalent, lots of rattling noise around the car.
That being said, it’s one of the best looking SUVs still out there (I have an inscription), a true 7 seaters (I considered a 7 seaters RRS and it was a joke) and is about 20% cheaper than its closest competitors.
If I had to buy a new 7 seaters today, I would prob buy the same car. If you’re opened to buy a used car, the 2018-2019 GLS looks awesome and is very good overall
The GLS is nice enough but it's seriously more expensive...comparing used with new is pointless to a degree. A used XC90 is much less than a used GLS.
I also experienced complete apathy from dealers when looking, which always makes me wonder how they would handle the after sales experience.
Agree on Range Rovers. The Discovery Sport was actually much more accommodating than the rest of their range. (If you need something more wieldy then a well specified one of these might work).
The Audi Q7 was up there in terms of practicality, but also much more expensive for an equivalently spec'd car and not as nice to look at/sit in IMO.
Ours is actually well screwed together. Road noise is the worst aspect...but we came from a mk1 and it's a league ahead of that
I also experienced complete apathy from dealers when looking, which always makes me wonder how they would handle the after sales experience.
Agree on Range Rovers. The Discovery Sport was actually much more accommodating than the rest of their range. (If you need something more wieldy then a well specified one of these might work).
The Audi Q7 was up there in terms of practicality, but also much more expensive for an equivalently spec'd car and not as nice to look at/sit in IMO.
Ours is actually well screwed together. Road noise is the worst aspect...but we came from a mk1 and it's a league ahead of that
Gassing Station | Volvo & Polestar | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff