Discussion
I know someone who has one. Refined drive especially while on electric power, petrol engine is only noticeable at higher revs. Decent performance too. While towing economy is poor (16ish mpg) but that's to be expected. Apparently the overall mpg is about 40, and depends mainly on how much you charge the battery/do short journeys. Had one major issue after about a year where the electric motor needed replacing (it completely failed), which was covered under warranty.
I’ve done 7k miles in mine since March - it really is quite an impressive engine: to be fair, I spend most of my time commuting in electric mode, which is very peaceful and pleasant, although it could reasonably be called under-powered with just the motor to call on, as it struggles to accelerate up inclines with much gusto, but is fine for trundling around.
With just the normal petrol unit running, it is surprisingly capable - I did a couple of thousand miles across Europe in the summer in this mode, and it handled everything very nicely, including making some rather rapid progress on the autobahn.... One thing that surprised me was how refined it is at cruising speeds, it was a fair bit quieter than my previous 4.4 TDV8 Range Rover, which I was not expecting.
Power mode - which gives you petrol and electric combined, for around 400 bhp, is very impressive. The instant shove from the electric motor makes it so responsive and very rapid. I’ve owned a number of quick cars, and the way it surges up the road still surprises me. Having said that, it is not an engine that inspires you to rev it, as the noise is mundane at best, with no nice 6 or 8 melody coming though, so you just make use of the torque. Works better this way, as all the power seems to be in the mid range, so not much benefit to revving towards the red line.
A friend of mine has just had his T8 upgraded with the Polestar chip, which apparently is rather fun!
Happy to answer any questions you might have.
With just the normal petrol unit running, it is surprisingly capable - I did a couple of thousand miles across Europe in the summer in this mode, and it handled everything very nicely, including making some rather rapid progress on the autobahn.... One thing that surprised me was how refined it is at cruising speeds, it was a fair bit quieter than my previous 4.4 TDV8 Range Rover, which I was not expecting.
Power mode - which gives you petrol and electric combined, for around 400 bhp, is very impressive. The instant shove from the electric motor makes it so responsive and very rapid. I’ve owned a number of quick cars, and the way it surges up the road still surprises me. Having said that, it is not an engine that inspires you to rev it, as the noise is mundane at best, with no nice 6 or 8 melody coming though, so you just make use of the torque. Works better this way, as all the power seems to be in the mid range, so not much benefit to revving towards the red line.
A friend of mine has just had his T8 upgraded with the Polestar chip, which apparently is rather fun!
Happy to answer any questions you might have.
Thanks for the replies, I test drove a D5 XC90 last week just to get the feel for the car and I have a 3 day demo in the T8 booked for end of month.
The D5 (Inscription spec) was a good drive although a little wallowy in corners (as expected), comfy, plenty of gadgets etc so I'm interested to see how the T8 fairs. It sounds like it might fit the bill for my commute (35 mile each way, mix of m-way/A/B/C roads) if i can use battery most of the way, especially as I can charge at work for free using the energy generated from the PV cell on the roof
I'm getting about 480 miles / 770km from a 12.5 gallon / 55 litre tank at the moment (so 39mpg / 14km per litre) - would expect to beat that equivalent.
As it will be a company car, the low Co2 level means it's a tax saving over the current car despite the higher list price.
The D5 (Inscription spec) was a good drive although a little wallowy in corners (as expected), comfy, plenty of gadgets etc so I'm interested to see how the T8 fairs. It sounds like it might fit the bill for my commute (35 mile each way, mix of m-way/A/B/C roads) if i can use battery most of the way, especially as I can charge at work for free using the energy generated from the PV cell on the roof
I'm getting about 480 miles / 770km from a 12.5 gallon / 55 litre tank at the moment (so 39mpg / 14km per litre) - would expect to beat that equivalent.
As it will be a company car, the low Co2 level means it's a tax saving over the current car despite the higher list price.
Another T8 owner here - R-Design, Passion Red (marmite colour for some, but we love it), Family Pack + Towing + BLIS and Apple Play.
Great tow car, great on motorways, the general fit and finish is good, tons of place/ground clearance etc etc.... we moved up from the original XC90 so everything better really.
Power is impressive (more so in sport), but as EdR said you won't really feelthe urge to hit the paddles and ride the revs... the engine noise is not bad, but very annonymous. In Sport Mode, in a straight line to 60, it is stonking.... beats lots of stuff off the lights and holds out in front for a while....
We see ~ 18-20 miles electic range on pure electric in mixed driving including some dual carriageway; on country roads only that stretches a little.
My only criticism at all is the range whilst towing is impacted, because the fuel tank is a little smaller to accomidate rear motors etc; so you can't get to cornwall from reading for example quite on a one stop like you could with say the D5. But hey, we go there what once twice a year, the rest of the time we enjoy the benefits of electric (all school runs, shopping runs, town etc are close enough to do only on leccy!) so it's a fair compromise.
Great tow car, great on motorways, the general fit and finish is good, tons of place/ground clearance etc etc.... we moved up from the original XC90 so everything better really.
Power is impressive (more so in sport), but as EdR said you won't really feelthe urge to hit the paddles and ride the revs... the engine noise is not bad, but very annonymous. In Sport Mode, in a straight line to 60, it is stonking.... beats lots of stuff off the lights and holds out in front for a while....
We see ~ 18-20 miles electic range on pure electric in mixed driving including some dual carriageway; on country roads only that stretches a little.
My only criticism at all is the range whilst towing is impacted, because the fuel tank is a little smaller to accomidate rear motors etc; so you can't get to cornwall from reading for example quite on a one stop like you could with say the D5. But hey, we go there what once twice a year, the rest of the time we enjoy the benefits of electric (all school runs, shopping runs, town etc are close enough to do only on leccy!) so it's a fair compromise.
Just got shot of mine, after 12 months, and 12k on the clock. All in all, car is good! Extremely comfortable driving position, mine had air con and heated seats with massage! Which was nice. Interior has ample space, and unlike some “E” rivals, the rear row of seats remain! We also run an Audi Q7 V6, which tho slower, is so much smoother. When on reasonably pace, the 2.0 engine on the Volvo is quite noisy with the turbo and supercharger working, tho it is very fast considering its size and weight! I left quite a few “ quick “ cars wondering what just happened when a rather standard looking Volvo left them standing. My only gripes were! 6 days in, car broke down saying there was petrol in it, when in fact it had run out ( i know a fellow XC90 owner with a Diesel that did/does the same! ) the i pad type centre console as well as the electronic dash routinely turned itself off whilst driving! And would literally “ Reboot! “ as i was driving! Which took the heating, dials, Nav off! My car was very good at driving in the North Sea!!!!!! As on more than one occasion the sat nav thought i was a boat! It got lost A LOT! I reverted to my I phone on more than one occasion! So all in all! When it all works, its great! But mine certainly had a few gremlins! I also think that the i pad type centre console is very off putting whilst driving! Whilst you will be seated in what is commonly regarded as one of the safest cars to have an accident in! It may well be you causing the crash!!!!! Hope this helps!
911cck said:
Just got shot of mine, after 12 months, and 12k on the clock. All in all, car is good! Extremely comfortable driving position, mine had air con and heated seats with massage! Which was nice. Interior has ample space, and unlike some “E” rivals, the rear row of seats remain! We also run an Audi Q7 V6, which tho slower, is so much smoother. When on reasonably pace, the 2.0 engine on the Volvo is quite noisy with the turbo and supercharger working, tho it is very fast considering its size and weight! I left quite a few “ quick “ cars wondering what just happened when a rather standard looking Volvo left them standing. My only gripes were! 6 days in, car broke down saying there was petrol in it, when in fact it had run out ( i know a fellow XC90 owner with a Diesel that did/does the same! ) the i pad type centre console as well as the electronic dash routinely turned itself off whilst driving! And would literally “ Reboot! “ as i was driving! Which took the heating, dials, Nav off! My car was very good at driving in the North Sea!!!!!! As on more than one occasion the sat nav thought i was a boat! It got lost A LOT! I reverted to my I phone on more than one occasion! So all in all! When it all works, its great! But mine certainly had a few gremlins! I also think that the i pad type centre console is very off putting whilst driving! Whilst you will be seated in what is commonly regarded as one of the safest cars to have an accident in! It may well be you causing the crash!!!!! Hope this helps!
Yep, we had the same gremlins with the centre console playing sill beggars.... they have been pushing out updates to solve these and *touch wood* the last lot around June time seems to have done the trick.one thing to bear in mind maybe is that the petrol engine (320 bhp) drives the front wheels only and the electric motor (80) drives rears only. May not be important to you but I wondered if it might feel front wheel drive - and depending on what you want it for (eg towing up slippery slopes) it might not work well. I didn’t get one for various reasons two years ago (including hideous road noise - to my ears). I am going to look at again next year when the i3 goes back
arfursleep said:
Thanks for the extra detail. Sounds like a good car with a couple downsides.
I'll report back once I've driven at the end of the month. I've been looking at numbers and think i'll actually buy a 12 month old rather than new, the depreciation is substantial.
I purchased new at around £62k, sold at 12 mths ( and 2 weeks! Lol ) for £47.5k . Car was still immaculate to be fair, no interior marks at all, inc leather on chairs. My purchase included 3 year service plan. I agree with other post, tge gremlins did get better everytime it went in for software upgrade. I'll report back once I've driven at the end of the month. I've been looking at numbers and think i'll actually buy a 12 month old rather than new, the depreciation is substantial.
Mine was a company purchase, and we received a rebate of approx £8k at end of term. So not too much lost for me in a years ownership.
Now im onto an i8!!! And to think i used to bang on about my aircooled 911 on here! What on earth has happened to me!!!! 😂😂😂
I demo’d one for a week. Was ‘ok’ I guess.
Fine on electric but the 4cyl petrol engine is a nail in this application....just feels out of place in whats supposed to be an 80k car with all the spec.
The thing kept glitching the whole time I had it too which didnt inspire me as a long term proposition. That and it would struggle bettering 25mpg once it had spanked all its electric (which didnt take long)
Fine on electric but the 4cyl petrol engine is a nail in this application....just feels out of place in whats supposed to be an 80k car with all the spec.
The thing kept glitching the whole time I had it too which didnt inspire me as a long term proposition. That and it would struggle bettering 25mpg once it had spanked all its electric (which didnt take long)
oop north said:
one thing to bear in mind maybe is that the petrol engine (320 bhp) drives the front wheels only and the electric motor (80) drives rears only. May not be important to you but I wondered if it might feel front wheel drive - and depending on what you want it for (eg towing up slippery slopes) it might not work well. I didn’t get one for various reasons two years ago (including hideous road noise - to my ears). I am going to look at again next year when the i3 goes back
in practice, when you need AWD it's there ... it's an awesome tow vehicle and we've taken ours up and down steep inclines (mud/scree)?with no issues.Don't understand the road noise comment ... get some decent tyres and it's fine?
Re the awd thing, I saw a post by someone with a Range Rover who said that going up a steep drive they had no problem with in the Range Rover but the T8 scrabbled
Re the noise - there is a massive thread on Volvo forums tying noise to 20” wheels in particular (couldn’t find it just now but been running for months and months) - tyre changes have helped some but not others. I am abnormal though - had a 330d on loan and it gave me headaches from tyre noise but most passengers had no idea what I was going on about. The xc90 I test drove had unacceptable tyre noise from about 15mph
Re the noise - there is a massive thread on Volvo forums tying noise to 20” wheels in particular (couldn’t find it just now but been running for months and months) - tyre changes have helped some but not others. I am abnormal though - had a 330d on loan and it gave me headaches from tyre noise but most passengers had no idea what I was going on about. The xc90 I test drove had unacceptable tyre noise from about 15mph
oop north said:
Re the awd thing, I saw a post by someone with a Range Rover who said that going up a steep drive they had no problem with in the Range Rover but the T8 scrabbled
Re the noise - there is a massive thread on Volvo forums tying noise to 20” wheels in particular (couldn’t find it just now but been running for months and months) - tyre changes have helped some but not others. I am abnormal though - had a 330d on loan and it gave me headaches from tyre noise but most passengers had no idea what I was going on about. The xc90 I test drove had unacceptable tyre noise from about 15mph
On the first - certainly not our experience.Re the noise - there is a massive thread on Volvo forums tying noise to 20” wheels in particular (couldn’t find it just now but been running for months and months) - tyre changes have helped some but not others. I am abnormal though - had a 330d on loan and it gave me headaches from tyre noise but most passengers had no idea what I was going on about. The xc90 I test drove had unacceptable tyre noise from about 15mph
On the second - we have 20" wheels - sure it wasn't the 22"? honestly not an issue we've noticed.
It’s def 20” wheels - see https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=25... for 127 pages of trouble. Many people have found 22” quieter
Interesting on the lack of awd front wheel tug - I must have a drive to see for myself some time
Interesting on the lack of awd front wheel tug - I must have a drive to see for myself some time
Thanks for continued input, not towing at the moment or scrabbling up muddy hills so not a real concern on either of those points.
I had a 10 mile drive in the D5 engine version when arranging the T8 demo and it didn't feel underpowered and very little engine noise came through to the cabin.
Picking up the demo (R Design spec) tomorrow for 48hrs which'll give me chance to compare the drive / road noise etc properly on the commute, the Mrs can have a drive, get the kids in the back etc. The big test is the fuel economy / electric consumption. I can charge at work - albeit via a standard 13A socket for now (would get a high capacity charger at work if purchase - we have 400A coming into the building). Currently getting 39mpg from the Lexus Hybrid so the Volvo equivalent should equal / beat that otherwise it's a big minus point
I hadn't realised that the 100% capital allowance applied to this model, handy if I decide to go new purchase although I was thinking about 12 months old.
Sat in a Tesla for the first time the other day (another potential instead of the XC90) and was a little bit underwhelmed by the size in the back of the car, don't need masses of space but 3 adults in the back looked like it would be a tight squeeze - not so much in the XC90
I had a 10 mile drive in the D5 engine version when arranging the T8 demo and it didn't feel underpowered and very little engine noise came through to the cabin.
Picking up the demo (R Design spec) tomorrow for 48hrs which'll give me chance to compare the drive / road noise etc properly on the commute, the Mrs can have a drive, get the kids in the back etc. The big test is the fuel economy / electric consumption. I can charge at work - albeit via a standard 13A socket for now (would get a high capacity charger at work if purchase - we have 400A coming into the building). Currently getting 39mpg from the Lexus Hybrid so the Volvo equivalent should equal / beat that otherwise it's a big minus point
I hadn't realised that the 100% capital allowance applied to this model, handy if I decide to go new purchase although I was thinking about 12 months old.
Sat in a Tesla for the first time the other day (another potential instead of the XC90) and was a little bit underwhelmed by the size in the back of the car, don't need masses of space but 3 adults in the back looked like it would be a tight squeeze - not so much in the XC90
oop north said:
It’s def 20” wheels - see https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=25... for 127 pages of trouble. Many people have found 22” quieter
Interesting on the lack of awd front wheel tug - I must have a drive to see for myself some time
I meant to reply to this and then completely forgot Interesting on the lack of awd front wheel tug - I must have a drive to see for myself some time
from reading that - extremely long! - thread (thanks by the way) it seems to mostly affect the D5's.... and only then the "earlier" ones. T8's seem less effected, and later builds got better as they swapped rubber/fettled with some of the sound deadening.
So lucky me I guess
24hrs into the test drive and I'm happy with the car.
Consumption average is showing as 39mpg - was higher but I ran out of leccy and pootled around town earlier which has brought it down.
Charged last night and battery was at full capacity this morning. Managed 15 miles of the commute on, at a guess, 95% battery / 5% petrol usage before I depleted the battery fully and moved over to petrol / regen.
Good ride if a little wallowy in the corners (as expected), comfy seats, enjoying the higher up driving position, as quiet as my current Lexus on the road - did a test using a decibel meter on phone which measured same volume on same road at same speed, more room in the car overall although doesn't feel massively bigger on the road - lots of room in the rear seats and boot space is much more useful, full glass roof makes car feel airy despite the black seats/trim.
It's got a good turn of speed for such a big car - despite the 2.0 engine - the Lexus has a n/a 2.5 so is sluggish mid range whereas this positively takes off - had to move over sharpish yesterday when i started an overtake and got a lot closer to the car in front than expected!
Charging now for the drive home. Not going to charge tonight and see what the economy is like on an all petrol commute to work tomorrow - my guess is a lot lower.
toying now with test driving a Tesla for comparison - model s as equivalent model x is near 90k...
Consumption average is showing as 39mpg - was higher but I ran out of leccy and pootled around town earlier which has brought it down.
Charged last night and battery was at full capacity this morning. Managed 15 miles of the commute on, at a guess, 95% battery / 5% petrol usage before I depleted the battery fully and moved over to petrol / regen.
Good ride if a little wallowy in the corners (as expected), comfy seats, enjoying the higher up driving position, as quiet as my current Lexus on the road - did a test using a decibel meter on phone which measured same volume on same road at same speed, more room in the car overall although doesn't feel massively bigger on the road - lots of room in the rear seats and boot space is much more useful, full glass roof makes car feel airy despite the black seats/trim.
It's got a good turn of speed for such a big car - despite the 2.0 engine - the Lexus has a n/a 2.5 so is sluggish mid range whereas this positively takes off - had to move over sharpish yesterday when i started an overtake and got a lot closer to the car in front than expected!
Charging now for the drive home. Not going to charge tonight and see what the economy is like on an all petrol commute to work tomorrow - my guess is a lot lower.
toying now with test driving a Tesla for comparison - model s as equivalent model x is near 90k...
arfursleep said:
24hrs into the test drive and I'm happy with the car.
Consumption average is showing as 39mpg - was higher but I ran out of leccy and pootled around town earlier which has brought it down.
Charged last night and battery was at full capacity this morning. Managed 15 miles of the commute on, at a guess, 95% battery / 5% petrol usage before I depleted the battery fully and moved over to petrol / regen.
Good ride if a little wallowy in the corners (as expected), comfy seats, enjoying the higher up driving position, as quiet as my current Lexus on the road - did a test using a decibel meter on phone which measured same volume on same road at same speed, more room in the car overall although doesn't feel massively bigger on the road - lots of room in the rear seats and boot space is much more useful, full glass roof makes car feel airy despite the black seats/trim.
It's got a good turn of speed for such a big car - despite the 2.0 engine - the Lexus has a n/a 2.5 so is sluggish mid range whereas this positively takes off - had to move over sharpish yesterday when i started an overtake and got a lot closer to the car in front than expected!
Charging now for the drive home. Not going to charge tonight and see what the economy is like on an all petrol commute to work tomorrow - my guess is a lot lower.
toying now with test driving a Tesla for comparison - model s as equivalent model x is near 90k...
Interesting. My worry about the Tesla model X is it will be like buying a 1st gen iphone; i.e. will become very quickly outdated, particularly at around the £100k price point in 2-3 years time. Consumption average is showing as 39mpg - was higher but I ran out of leccy and pootled around town earlier which has brought it down.
Charged last night and battery was at full capacity this morning. Managed 15 miles of the commute on, at a guess, 95% battery / 5% petrol usage before I depleted the battery fully and moved over to petrol / regen.
Good ride if a little wallowy in the corners (as expected), comfy seats, enjoying the higher up driving position, as quiet as my current Lexus on the road - did a test using a decibel meter on phone which measured same volume on same road at same speed, more room in the car overall although doesn't feel massively bigger on the road - lots of room in the rear seats and boot space is much more useful, full glass roof makes car feel airy despite the black seats/trim.
It's got a good turn of speed for such a big car - despite the 2.0 engine - the Lexus has a n/a 2.5 so is sluggish mid range whereas this positively takes off - had to move over sharpish yesterday when i started an overtake and got a lot closer to the car in front than expected!
Charging now for the drive home. Not going to charge tonight and see what the economy is like on an all petrol commute to work tomorrow - my guess is a lot lower.
toying now with test driving a Tesla for comparison - model s as equivalent model x is near 90k...
Did the demonstrator you were trying have the air suspension?
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