Volvo XC90 Road Test

Volvo XC90

What We Liked

• The overall package, including the 7 seats
• Exterior & interior styling
• Geartronic transmission
• The Telematics system
• Safety equipment
• Overall driving experience

What We Disliked

• Nothing to dislike

What We'd Like To See

• The handling could be a little bit more dynamic

Build Quality

You often hear the statement 'Volvos are built like tanks', we would hope not, we wouldn’t want a car built like a tank. However, Volvo are renowned for their safety and build quality and they have certainly excelled with the XC90. The materials used are of a high quality and in keeping the price tag. We very much doubt that you would spend much time at your local dealership. The warranty covers you for three years or 60,000 miles, which ever comes first.

Value For Money

The Volvo XC90 D5 SE Sport that we drove had a base price of £37,295 but this soon crept up to £42,140 with the added extras. The Satellite Navigation system adds £2,550.

The XC90 is certainly not cheap but when compared to its rivals, it sits comfortably with its peers.

Overall Opinion

We looked back at what we wrote about the Volvo XC90 T6 in our 2004 review and we pretty much have come to the same conclusion and that is that the Volvo XC90 is the perfect family car.

The XC90 SE Sport is better to drive than the XC90 T6 we last drove, it is much sharper and feels more reassuring on the road.

And as we said before, the Land Rover Discovery 3 is a fine machine and no doubt, it is better off road. Both the Mercedes-Benz M-Class and the BMW X5 handle better, but they are not all round as complete as the Volvo - it has the X-Factor.

What we like about the XC90 is that it offers a superb all round package with little comprise combined with class leading safety - we are now left debating if we should change our family car for an XC90.

Volvo XC90