Volvo XC90 - Why you love yours!

Turbo_Boss · Post by **Turbo_Boss** » 08 Sep 2015, 22:26

I am happy with my 2008 XC90 3.2L AWD but there is only one thing I HATE about this car and is that it have the worst steering turning radius/turning circle.

To park this car, I need to back and fwd several times until I can acomodate the car in a parking lot. If I want to make a U turn.............. O God

Belive me, I know how to park a car in reverse, I have also a 2008 SUV Toyota Prado and this car is a piece of cake to park it.

THX,

Isaac

XC90Exec · Post by **XC90Exec** » 19 Oct 2015, 12:35

I bought a 2006 Volvo V50 T5 AWD with AUTO trans and that car made me a beleiver in the brand.
The car lived its life in a very northern area with tons of snow, bad roads, salt, construction etc, and the chassis managed to remain rust free and clean of defects and wear even though the car had 130k on the odometer when purchased.

Now a year later the need for bigger car came up as life changes, and so it was obvious to look for an SUV and what better then an XC90, now i considered all the engine configurations and did my research but for some reason i thought it would be a great idea to have a V8 in a 5000lb SUV as that would make for a fun car for whatever I do with it.

So with that I found a 2008 Executive Edition XC90 with V8 and all available options minus the Bixenons or the BLIS.

So what I like about that car???

1. Fun to drive, endless torque, amazing passing power.
2. Seating or Driving position, I find it to be perfect, not obscured by fat A-Pillars and in general great for when in traffic.
3. The space inside is awesome, did a long trip with 7 passengers and full trunk and hitch basket of load, no problem, no one complained about ride comfort etc.
4. MPG, I have been averaging around 21mpg per tank calculated, with mix of traffic, city and highway.
Strictly highway I have seen upwards of 24mpg.

Now what I dont like...
1. The turning diameter is somewhat terrible, it took a long time to get used to it.
2. I hate the NAV system, and the back up camera, when you go to back out of a spot the bloody thing takes 10 or more seconds to come out of the dash before it can show you what is behind.
3. The halogen headlights are not the greatest thing out there.

Post by **songzunhuang** » 19 Oct 2015, 14:24

Turbo_Boss wrote:I am happy with my 2008 XC90 3.2L AWD but there is only one thing I HATE about this car and is that it have the worst steering turning radius/turning circle.

To park this car, I need to back and fwd several times until I can acomodate the car in a parking lot. If I want to make a U turn.............. O God

Belive me, I know how to park a car in reverse, I have also a 2008 SUV Toyota Prado and this car is a piece of cake to park it.

THX,

Isaac

I thought if this post as I maneuvered my car out of a tight San Francisco parking garage. I must have gone back and forth half a dozen times. I don't don't know if it was just the turning radius or also the crazy tight space, but it took a while to get out.

nascenta · Post by **nascenta** » 02 Nov 2015, 11:36

My wife had an '06 V70R GT. It got stolen and totalled in a police chase. RIP. The replacement vehicle is an '06 xc90 v8. She loves it. You don't know what a large turning radius is until you drive a VR! She loves the tighter turning circle, the immediacy of the throttle response (as opposed to waiting for the turbo to spool up), sitting up higher, seating 7 adults, more storage capacity, folding side mirrors. Finally, much less road noise. Best of all it was half the price of the VR.

alexpa · Post by **alexpa** » 07 Dec 2015, 04:43

Currently enjoying two of them, both MY2013 XC90 2.5T (yes,we still get those) and S60 T6.
What I love:
1.Nice generous wave of midrange torque for brisk gentle progress.
2.Excellent sound system for long trips, traffic and any time you fancy music, It nearly matches the quality of my B&O Hi-Fi system at home.
3.The inmense space for anything you'd like to move, be it a mattress, furniture or car parts.
4.The timeless design.
5.The sheer size of the vehicle for those safety minded ones.

PeteB · Post by **PeteB** » 27 Dec 2015, 21:54

I notice mention of transmission problems and it reminds me of this article that
suggests fluid should be changed every year or 12K miles:
https://web.archive.org/web/20070127102 ... /p_m20.htm

PeteB · Post by **PeteB** » 27 Dec 2015, 22:11

I notice mention of transmission problems and it reminds me of this article that
suggests fluid should be changed every year or 12K miles:
https://web.archive.org/web/20070127102 ... /p_m20.htm

They talk about replacing all the fluid, I'd probably just do a drain and fill every
year. Might also add the better oil filter and a larger cooler.

Post by **abscate** » 04 Jan 2016, 05:12

Every year is way too much. These articles are usually written by people selling snake oil or AT coolers and have little good engineering content.

Post by **FLXC90** » 04 Jan 2016, 14:00

+1 to Abscate, also the article recommends auxiliary cooling for transmissions that are worked hard, which the AWD XC90s have. Also, the drain and fill is a known here, and part of realistic periodic maintenance, DESPITE mfg claims of "lifetime" fluid. No miracles, just sound principles that apply to all cars really.

Post by **xHeart** » 28 Jul 2016, 07:22

I recently came across a 2007 3.2 V6 FWD with 3rd row. Looks great with 112,000 miles.
Anyone out there with this configuration?

Thank you.

Volvo XC90 - Why you love yours!

Re: Volvo XC90 - Why you love yours!