Mrs CFH has opined* that a seven seat car may be required to replace the current V70. The extra seats would only be for very occasional use and should be able to take a human being with legs longer than a dachshund’s, but a nice to have thing. Also, should make a good bike lugging car, I’d imagine.

So, is there any reason NOT to get a Volvo XC90?

* As in decreed!

You can get v70s converted to 7 seats you know although the back row are facing backwards

Mercedes E Class estate with the optional seats in the boot.

New version or original?
We had an XC90 for 12 years (I was a very early adopter and had a V70 for a while at the same time) – great car for large families.
Loads of space, decent drive and feels very solid (as you’ll already know if you’ve got a V70).
Not the sportiest thing out there but you can’t have everything!

Thanks, momo and pop, was in the middle of editing the original post! The problem with those boot-seats (Used to have a 9 series Volvo with them) is that they’re only good enough for a very small range of sizes, and certainly not for adults. Ideally, would like to be able to use the extra bank for adults, if only occasionally, as the children will be in car seats for a while!

^^WIN!^^

😀

Depending on where you live ie in a town or not the turning circle was appalling, presumably because of the silly wide wheels. Thirsty beast as well, or at least a 2012 plate 2.4 was anyway. Other than that very nice.

No worries, S-Max is nice, brother in law has one as does my boss, only problem being that the boot is tiny with the rear row of seats up. Seats all fold flat into the floor, which means that bikes will wheel in and you can sleep in there with the bike if that takes your fancy.

If you go for an XC90 then how are you intending to carry the bikes? If via a roof rack then, unless you’re tall, stretching up to get the bikes on the roof is a bit of a PITA – not too bad for the bikes on the outside, but if more than 2 bikes then getting the inboard bikes on is tricky. I’ve got an SMax and ditched my inboard roof bike racks in favour of a tow bar and tow bar carrier. I only use the roof racks when i’m out on my own.

Regarding 7 seats, an aspect that is at least as important as leg room is the height of the seat off the floor. In my SMax the 6th and 7th seats are quite low to the floor. Fine for kids, not too comfy for adults with long legs (or even average length legs) as the knee’s tend to be up high. The Galaxy is effectively the same car but has more headroom in the rear thanks to a boxier rear end, so the 6th & 7th seats are higher off the floor and better for adults. Not sure what the XC90 would be like, I suspect like the SMax as I assume the floor will be quite high due to the 4wd? Worth checking out in any case.

But the extra 2 seats are definitely worth it. I don’t use them a huge amount but they are great on the few occasions I do use them. They often avoid the need for 2 cars if we’re out and about with other people.

CFH – the only negatives against the XC90 (I drive one and love it) are fuel economy (30-38mpg) and tyre wear (15k for fronts, max 20k)

As a long distance cruiser they are lovely – the seats are very comfy.

As a bike carrier, we got 9 full sussers inside it for a trip to the Alps! I tend to use a towbar rack these days, but it does swallow my 29er whole for a quick solo trip somewhere.

As the Dacia Lodgy isn’t sold in the UK AFAIK it has to be a a Renault Grand Scenic. I’m not saying they are huge in the back but at 1m74 I found the last row of seats fine.

Edit: TCE petrol obviously.

Another XC90 owner here until 3 moths ago when it went in for an XC60. Had it for 26mths.

Most XC90’s are/have been second cars, kids seats in the back and normally serviced on time. Stretch to £15k and you’ll get a decent SE (I got £16k PX on mine) and if I were you steer clear of the R Design as it runs on lower profile tyres/bigger wheels and the ride is chalk and cheese away from the SE.

As for interiors, well mine was only used by us two most of the time, great for swallowing bikes/boards and occasional towing. The rear folding seats were ace and easy, 30 second job. The baby seats in the back fold out easy, I did mine a couple of times a year or so ago and I recall it being easy too.

Great for ride height, hop In/On rather than hunker down and in, if you get my drift. Easy to park despite the size of the thing as they are slim and overhangs not a problem if you’ve been used to a V70. Mine had the rear camera and side warning thingy camera in the mirror which was great for parking alongside kerbs. Its an option so try to seek one out. Sat Nav, mine didn’t have it as Std so I used a Garmin stuck to the dash in the middle, fine no problems at all.

Thirsty buggers though. 25-35 was about all I got. Occasionally I’d hit 40 but that was just the optimistic nature of the on board computer. As was it wasn’t an issue for me and I’d get roughly 500 miles out of a tank if I took it easy, 350-430 more often than not.

Nothing went wrong, trouble free, Volvo serviced and a blinking great car.

Sold for an XC60 SE as I wanted a smaller car and decided 7 seats were too much for me and not required. I could add more about the 60′ but it’s only got 5 seats, so no point.

In the longstanding proud tradition of recommend what you own,

… a Peugeot 5008

IT’S GOT A FRICKEN’ HEAD-UP DISPLAY, BABY !!!!!!

(- and hasn’t had a catastrophic electrical failure in over 3 years of ownership 😳 )

dantsw13 – Member
CFH – the only negatives against the XC90 (I drive one and love it) are fuel economy (30-38mpg) and tyre wear (15k for fronts, max 20k)

Mpg and tyre wear sound fine to me. (A dream, in fact…)

Just get the chauffeur to take it easy occasionally!

Averaged 30mpg in ours…. the 185 engine may be better.

Not sure what the XC90 would be like, I suspect like the SMax as I assume the floor will be quite high due to the 4wd?

Nope they’re a proper height.

Only 7 seater we’ve had is a Kia Carens, which I really like driving.

A new Sharan is out which looks huge inside, and soon the identical Alhambra.

Tesla Model S ?

Citroen DS23 estate.

Thanks (most of you!)

To answer a few..
dantsw13 – Thanks. Those numbers don’t worry me at all! Current V70 is a 4WD, manual gearbox turbo-vagen! Bit of a q-car! MPG and tyre wear are well within the acceptable range. Also, re bike carrying, that’s good to know. I tend to carry my bike(s) inside the car for weekends away. Usually three of us per car, and from what I can see, the XC90 boot will be a little bigger that way than the V70, so that’s good.

Edukator-

As the Dacia Lodgy isn’t sold in the UK AFAIK it has to be a a Renault Grand Scenic.

Has to be? Really? No. It doesn’t. At all. On either count! Volvo to a Renault? Not even worth the comparison. That said, I saw a new Espace the other day which looked really good. But it’s a French car, so will be shit. So that’s out.

Scaredy – See above! 🙂

Harry The Spider – While I have no doubt that’s a great car (Fords usually are, especially in terms of value for money), I showed it to Mrs CFH and it’s a firm “no”. She’s a lady of discerning taste, and pointed out that it looked like it belonged on http://www.barryboys.co.uk/phpBB2/portal.php 😉

Gotama, am in the country, so turning circle not a problem.

As before, some great feedback and opinion here folks. Thank you.

2 Series 7 seater?
Brand new out, but probably too small for you if you’re considering an XC90

If you’re in the country, then to maintain stereotypes, don’t you have to have a Discovery?

Another happy XC90 owner here

Would agree with all the above comments – car is very comfortable and quite understated compared to Q7/X5 etc.

Only problem I have is that with 4 teenage kids (we usually travel 6 up plus dog) the rearmost seats will soon be a bit too small for two tall teenagers – but not sure what I would replace it with?

Rearmost passengers are a little bit short changed in that the stereo and aircon don’t seem very effective back there

As above fuel economy and tyre wear is quite high but probably not out of the ordinary for a car of this type

Turning circle is an issue (even in the country!) with reversing and parallel parking until you get used to it

I’ve had a Smax for 4 years now, I think they are pretty good at what they do. I test drove a XC90 before we bought it, and I thought they were really nice, but it did feel like a big car to drive (I had to take it to fill up at a petrol station and it felt massive trying to negotiate the pumps).

The XC90 was much cleverer inside than X5 / Tourreg / Q7, and to my mind, doesn’t suffer from the obnoxious image of other 4×4’s.

The seats were really nice, and the car had an air of quality which a lot of modern cars don’t seem to have.

I can’t think there is going to be a better 7 seat match for CFH than an XC90?

oldbloke, am surprised it took so long for someone to mention that! Although I’d love one, am struggling to see the extra value that the extra cost would deliver.

Lodious, thanks. Especially this – “to my mind, doesn’t suffer from the obnoxious image of other 4×4’s.”. I think you’re right. It’s understated, and somehow less of a vankervagen.

As you can see, apart from the Disco, I’m struggling to see why it shouldn’t be an XC90. The Disco is lovely, but is it really worth that much more than the Volvo? Really not sure.

Galaxy here – pretty much the best balance between cost (to buy and to run) and space you can get. Not very exciting though. Considered an XC90 but running costs and purchase prices put us off

As you can see, apart from the Disco, I’m struggling to see why it shouldn’t be an XC90. The Disco is lovely, but is it really worth that much more than the Volvo? Really not sure.

Depends. If you really want 7 seats for bigger people lots of the time, possibly. For occasional small people, probably not. New Disco out soon may see the residuals of older ones decline a little.

T5 Caravelle

Are you talking new or used? I got a great deal in my new xc90 last year (£12k off list) as the new ones were coming out. I guess that has pushed down the value of used ones too. The new one is lovely, but pricey.

T5 Caravelle

The title says cars, not vans.

😉

Re new v used, will be used. New cars are a silly con! New XC90 out now, so prices on used should go down. New Disco, too, which looks very good! (BiL works on developing them, but can’t get a discount. FFS…!)

If you’ve enjoyed your V70, and the third row seat use is occasional, I’d have thought the XC90 is your best choice.
-happy owner of D3 for last ten years.

The title says cars, not vans.

Is an XC90 not an SUV? Not exactly a regular car.
At least with a T5 you can throw all the stuff in the back and wheel your bikes straight in without removing wheels..

somehow less of a vankervagen.

Well, it used to be.

Heated wing mirrors as standard, DD! 😉

More subtle colour schemes are available.

If you try it you’ll end up getting one, drove a new one in Sweden absolutely excellent

Ford Transit Tourneo Grand Connect (some combination of those words)

Not quite at the same snazziness level but incredibly practical (still has a boot with 7 seats in) work has one and its a surprisingly good drive

Face if flashy – it is either a practical Truck or a less practical ‘glamour’ 4×4, nothing else comes close.