The Volvo XC90 Sport is a great-driving car. (Once again, as with all small SUV's this this is really a car. Period.) Handling was outstanding for a heavy brute, visibility was excellent, interior was top-notch, comfort was A++. The engine is a V8 with 311 horsepower and 325 lb-ft of torque. It goes, and goes well. The V8 will make it expensive to feed, though, and it still only seats 7. No more than my minivan, and the XC90 only gets about 19 mpg on the highway. My Sienna gets 24. And doesn't start out at almost $50,000.
It's a Volvo, folks, so it's comfy, safe, and refined. It is easy and fun to drive, and can tow a whopping 4900 pounds--my Sienna is rated at 3500. Customer reviews on websites such as Edmunds, however, have been mixed. Some people love the thing, and will never buy another vehicle. Some people hate the thing, and will never buy another one. Volvo has been having some reliability problems, and it shows in the owner satisfaction (or lack thereof) ratings.
Some kid-hauling inconveniences revealed themselves to me on the test drive, too. The third row is hard to get to. I'm not sure why, but this seems to be a recurring issue with these mini-SUV's. They're trying to cram too much in, and you sacrifice third row (and in some cases second row) comfort and accessibility. Three car seats will not fit in the middle row. The middle row of seats does have the integrated booster in the middle seating position, which seems a convenient space-saver, but my 4-year-old fit the size criteria and I was not happy with how she fit into it. The seatbelt still cut across her neck, and she didn't seem either secure or comfortable. Getting the big Britax car seat installed was another chore. An impossibility, really. The XC90 headrests, a la' Volvo's safety theme, cannot be removed. They can only be raised, and not raised enough to accommodate the high back of the Britax Marathon. I couldn't get the back side of the car seat to rest flat against the seat back; the top of the car seat was pitched forward, due to the fact that the Volvo headrest pitches forward a bit, and doesn't go up very high.
That said, this is where I tell you my Volvo headrest safety story. My husband, then a teenager, and his sister were riding in the back of the family car, a 1970's-era Volvo (I forget which model/year exactly), when their parked Volvo was rear-ended by a teenage girl in a lifted full-size Chevy pick-up truck going 40 miles an hour. The police who investigated said that if they had not been in a Volvo (which had head rests and crumple zones during an era when American cars did not) my husband and his sister would have been decapitated.
Volvo is still a leader in vehicle safety, and their commercials and brochures really make you feel like a bad parent if you're driving your offspring around in a non-Volvo!
In summation, this is a really nice-feeling car which may exhibit some reliability issues. The price tag is a bit much for hit-or-miss quality, in my opinion. If you can afford to take your car in to the dealer every time a warning light goes on, and/or all your children are in boosters or old enough to ride without them, this is an interesting candidate. If you are looking to haul 7 people comfortably and get good gas mileage at the same time, try something else.
The XC90 is rumored to be discontinued in 2012, and Volvo may (or may not) be redesigning it for 2009. Rising gas prices have probably contributed to its possible demise. If you want to test drive one, go for it. It's a great drive...for free.
Thanks to discount Volvo parts.com for the photo.
6 comments:
This is a great review! It pretty much stays in line with every other review I've read about this car... it's too bad it has such mixed reviews. Oh well...
You really have a knack for this- with your love of cars and knack for telling people how it is in a non-offensive way. Good Job!
I have an 08 xc90 and LOVE it! I easily fir a Britax Decathlon and a Britax Frontier in it. My 9 year old nephew crawled in the back and sat comfortably in both the middle booster and the 3rd row hen I sat in the backseat between the two car seats.
It drives nice and the Volvo safety features can't be beat. The car seats take time to put in, as they do in all vehicles.. so I suggest stopping at a car seat installation place for help if you can't get a good fit. We got 2 Britax to fit and by pushing the seats back and the middle up slightly will be able to get a Recaro in too! Also had them checked by our local police department and got an A+ for fit!
HIGHLY recommend this vehcile. I love this mom car! Oh.. and my double stroller easily fits in the back will TONS of room left for groceries and the other mom/kid car nonsense!
Best car our family has purchased. You cannot beat the safety equipment. As for the car seat trouble noted in the review; no car seat fits in all cars but many will fit safely and comfortably in the XC90. We do in fact have 3 fitting across the middle row, we just researched and found ones that would fit. The third row is simple to access, if you know how to operate the second row fold and slide mechanism. With a lift of a handle, the seat at the door folds forward and will slide up giving a lot of entry space to the third row. We recently returned from a 3 week, cross country, Disneyland road trip with 4 adults, 2 children, and 1 infant. All were in great comfort and the only issues we had with third row access were when grandma tried to move the seats as she just would not learn to do it right.
This has been very versatile for our expanding family and after 2 trouble free years, we have never had a regret spending the extra money for a nice vehicle.
Could the last person who commented tell me what kind of carseats you found to fit in the 2nd row fo the XC90? I love this car and want to buy it, but worried that the 3rd row is inaccessible due to installed car seats. Thanks!
Great review, I'm trying to help my girlfriend find a new car and Volvo has stood out as reliable and stylish. My only concern is whether or not volvo parts are expensive,...she is not the safest driver.
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