Volvo XC90
Considering changing tow car this year. I have always admired the look and stance of the Volvo XC90. As I have never owned or driven a Volvo I was wondering what they are like especially with regards to reliability, performance, petrol/diesel, servicing costs etc. Also has anyone got experience of towing with any large Volvo in particular the XC90?
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Hi, not got experience of the XC90, but currently use a XC70, and prior to that had a V70 D5 R-design for 5yrs.
The V70 performance was more than adequate, (215bhp/440Nm), and the fuel consumption was 40mpg in town & just below 30mpg when towing, Never had any breakdowns in it, although it did require a sensor changing after 4yrs, sensor cost £20, labour cost close to £400!! Normal servicing costs I didn't think too bad for a main dealer, usually around £250, and that included breakdown cover for the next 12 months & the cost of an MOT once the car got to 3yrs. You'll obviously get cheaper servicing from a non-franchise dealer,
The XC70 is a D4 - 181bhp/420Nm, fuel consumption is just below the V70, due to the AWD & being a heavier car, but performance is again more than adequate. So far running costs on a par with the V70. Not got any experience of the petrol engines, but I would check the torque figures if that is the way you are considering going.
Both were/are excellent tow cars.
Paul.
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We had an XC90 (2007 model 184bhp diesel) for 10 years, changed to VW Touareg last year.
We have had only Volvos since 1971, so it was the natural choice for us.
As a towcar it was very good, but I think we got a lemon as we had a lot of trouble with it, more trouble than all our other 10 Volvos put together. Some, like a new auto box and an ECU plus wiring, was under warranty, but we must have spent about £2k on other faults.
The last straw was an intermittent fault that nobody could find out what the cause was, so we decided to jump ship when we found a pre reg Touareg at a very good price, only 14 miles on the clock.
So far I cannot fault the Touareg, but it is early days yet. Just hoping we have not gone from the frying pan to the fire!
The new XC90 will of course be quite different from our old one, but our experience with ours certainly put us off buying a new XC90, that and the price!
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The current XC90 is, I believe, build entirely in China but the examples I have seen look very good. I'm using a 2011 XC70 D5 auto and we are very pleased with it but at less than 60,000miles I don't suppose it can be considered to be run in yet.
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I tow a Swift Elegance 580 with a diesel Volvo XC90 2017 model. Previously had a 2011 (old style) one. The new XC90 is a good car and towcar. It is roomy, reasonably economical and (so far) reliable. I would recommend one unreservedly. I bought new with 3 years servicing extra which was good value although can't remember exactly what I paid! The factory fitted automatic towball is expensive (about £1000) but oh so good so would recommend that as well. CAMC do give a discount so if buying new be sure to mention it to your dealer who will know all about it.
Oh, and by the way, I am pretty sure it is made in Sweden!
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The 2nd gen XC90 is built in Sweden & Malaysia. Volvo moved the 1st gen XC90 to China, where I believe it is still built as the XC90 classic. The S90 I believe is wholly built in China.
The new XC60 & V90 are built in Sweden, and the majority of the 40 & 60 series cars are currently built in Belgium.
It is thought that 1 in 3 Volvo will be built in China in the future
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I`ve had an XC90 for 3 years. It`s a 2010 D5 2.4 185bhp and makes a great tow car. Being a Volvo it is heavy and so is very stable when towing. It returns around 27mpg when towing. It currently tows an Elddis 554 2018 model with no problems. Previously it pulled an Avondale Dart 525-4 again with no issues. The Elddis is a slightly heavier van. I`ve also used the Volvo to tow classic cars on trailers. Normal driving around town it returns typically 32mpg, on a run it should be higher.
Last year I somehow managed to put petrol in it by mistake. It still drove and managed to tow the van home 60 miles with the wrong fuel in it. Unbelievable really. I drained the fuel system and had to replace some of the fuel sensors. Silly mistake but the car looked after us. Car Tax is a bit pricey at nearly £300 per year though.Like all cars the XC90 has its own common faults so do your research like you would with any car before you buy. I do my own repairs and servicing which keeps costs down.
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I tow with a D5 V90 cross country, this is my 4th Volvo, all have been good towbars and very reliable. The V90 seems to average 28mpg with an Elddis Affinity on the back and about 40mpg solo. Can’t fault it so far.
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After having a large number of tow cars over 30 years of towing, the last 4 have been Volvos, a V70, a 2wd XC60, a 4wd XC60 and now a V90 D5 Cross Country 4 WD. I have no issues with any of them covering about 250k miles in total with them.
The V90 is very good, tows at 25-29 mpg, about 40 mpg solo with a mix of roads.
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Apparently no one has ever died in one, as a driver or as a passenger 😞
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yes due to the autonomous emergency braking system which could become compulsory on all cars.
We have it on our car and I would like to test it but remember what happened to the top gear test?
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You could always pretend to be in a Starsky & Hutch chase scene & drive it towards a pile of cardboard boxes 😂😂
I don't have it on my car ..... not sure whether I'm missing out or not. I used to hate the basic traction control on my last car poking its nose in when I didn't want it.
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One of the main reasons we drove only Volvos for about 44 years was their good safety record.
I was in a head on crash in small Volvo, unfortunately the other car was a larger Volvo, so I came off worst. The other driver was to blame, he was on the wrong side of the road.
The Volvo reliability was also an important factor, but they let us down on that on our XC 90.........very disappointing.
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"The last straw was an intermittent fault that nobody could find out what the cause was, so we decided to jump ship when we found a pre reg Touareg at a very good price, only 14 miles on the clock.
So far I cannot fault the Touareg, but it is early days yet. Just hoping we have not gone from the frying pan to the fire!"
KjellNN - I also switched to the Touareg after driving Discos for many years and got fed up with reliability issues. I am on my second Treg now and in five years neither of them have been back to a garage for other than servicing.
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or the cardboard boxes from that Fr Ted episode?
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