Love all the little things you listed. I wanted to +1 on two of the items you listed.xc90driver wrote: ↑Wed Jan 08, 2020 12:11 pm So much we love about this car.
I love the height of the loading bay, and the fact that you can comfortably lie down flat in the car when the back seats are folded, without having the impression that you're lying on the floor of a trunk - it's very snug. Our youngest was delighted to "camp" in the car this way. The small ledge when opening the rear is also very useful for either picnic or changing shoes. When I pick up the kids from sports, I have them take off their muddy shoes on that ledge, then crawl through to the back seats with just their socks on.
We feel safe and comfortable on long trips, ready to confront all weather conditions especially with the new Michelin CrossClimate tyres. This comfort extends to the third row, which are more than just jump seats.
Changing (front) lightbulbs is a pleasure, no tools needed ! With our previous car, we literally had to go to a garage to get this done because of the poor design. Smart design choices like this have made the car pretty repairable as well, on the few occasions where this was needed. For example, the plastic cover next to the driver's seat controls tends to crack. It was almost effortless to order this spare part and install it. Moreover, you could see that Volvo had adapted the design of this part (adding a few internal ribs) so that the replacement wouldn't crack so easily. The car oozes quality all-round.
There's also a range of less attractive aspects of our car, but somehow she's managed to steal our hearts and I still my find myself smiling when I drive her.
That little tailgate / seat is awesome. We've had a picnic on that while the upper tailgate was open and providing us shade. I've used it for changing shoes and staging luggage and much more! It's such a useful feature.
Also wanted to +1 the changing of headlight bulbs. I can't believe how difficult other cars are. In my Honda S2000, the factory manual says that you have to take off the whole front bumper assembly to reach the bulb! That is just ridiculous. I found a way to go in from the wheel well by pulling back the splash guard. But when I called the dealer, they wanted several hundred dollars - to change a bulb! I am so impressed by how easy Volvo made the bulb changes on the XC.
On, one last thing. I have found Firestone Destination tires to be really quiet and long lasting. I had started with some Michelins, but they were much more droning and noisy. I'm on my 2nd set of Firestone Desination tires now, but maybe I'll look into the Michelins CrosssClimate next time.