Any Volvo XC90 AWD owners here


H

HHGT

Guest
A while back I posted re. recommendations for a 7 passenger, AWD, 20+ MPG, safe, semi-luxury vehicle at a reasonable price. My intentions is to give it to my Son in 2+ years while having a grocery getter. I looked at everything and including the new explorer until I found out it was going to be based on the Flex chassis so occasional towing went out the window.

I have narrowed my search to the Buick Enclave which keeps a strong resale value and the Volvo XC90 which for a 2008 15K mile fully loaded AWD model can be had for approx $25K. It seems like a no brainer as far as safety goes, but anything else I need to pay attention to? Opinions and impressions?
 

dbk

Admin
Staff member
Le Mans 2010 Supporter
Jul 30, 2005
15,248
Metro Detroit
My mom had one and hated it. It was the sport model, can't recall the designation (R?), but it had a CRAZY loud thrum from the engine. Like annoyingly loud. Whatever tuning they did for that exhaust caused the whole cabin to be loud at idle, and it had major road noise. I drove it a few times and was majorly put off by that. She had previously had a non-sport package one, and tht was fine. Goofy AC, but otherwise nice.
 
H

HHGT

Guest
My mom had one and hated it. It was the sport model, can't recall the designation (R?), but it had a CRAZY loud thrum from the engine. Like annoyingly loud. Whatever tuning they did for that exhaust caused the whole cabin to be loud at idle, and it had major road noise. I drove it a few times and was majorly put off by that. She had previously had a non-sport package one, and tht was fine. Goofy AC, but otherwise nice.

It seems that the 2003 thru 2005 were prone to transmission issues and noise. What yr was hers? Also I was told that the window trim in the earlier models disintegrated rapidly!
 

dbk

Admin
Staff member
Le Mans 2010 Supporter
Jul 30, 2005
15,248
Metro Detroit
No, it was brand new. I think it was probably an 09. I looked it up and it was the V8. It wasn't a noise that wasn't there by design. Someone at some point said "let's make this sound tough" and they just went too far. I would assume that problem would not exist with the smaller engine.
 

Specracer

GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Nov 28, 2005
7,166
MA
and the BMW is also on the short list.......
 
H

HHGT

Guest
and the BMW is also on the short list.......

Oh shut up...:wink
 

DanM

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Le Mans 2010 Supporter
Mar 31, 2006
52
Stillwater, MN
buick vs volvo

My wife has an Enclave. Likes the size but hates the large blinds spot between the driver window and front windshield. Has all of the bells and whistles but seats were not as comfortable as her old Navigator. Also Bluetooth seems to have a annoying delay when she answers. We had a few warranty issues with rear power hatch opening randomly and poor acceleration and shifting. Both fixed. Buick is great for middle row tall passengers and has lots of hauling similar to her old Navigator.

I just bought a Volvo XC60 R design. only a 5 seater but has the latest technology while the XC90 seemed dated. BLIS, radar based cruise control, radar based emergency braking for low speed stop and go traffic, and iphone integration. Different chassis based upon S60 and has the T6 engine. The engine is louder with the R design feature but doesn't both me. Has more power than the Buick but weights less.
 

jim gibson

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Dec 13, 2009
199
warren, ohio
My wife has an Enclave and absolutey loves it! I drive an H2 Hummer and would own one the rest of my life, if they still made them. The Enclave is like driving a symphony on wheels!
 

TallCarGuy

GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Oct 2, 2006
456
Santa Ynez, California
Four years ago I bought my girlfriend a new 2005 leftover Volvo XC90. I've made my living investigating catastrophic motor vehicle accidents for the last 28 years. She is not the best driver I've ever seen and the Volvo XC90 specifically is the safest vehicle I was aware of. She has enjoyed the vehicle ever since.

Richard Hille
The GT School
 

Cobrar

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Jun 24, 2006
4,027
Metro Detroit
Four years ago I bought my girlfriend a new 2005 leftover Volvo XC90. I've made my living investigating catastrophic motor vehicle accidents for the last 28 years. She is not the best driver I've ever seen and the Volvo XC90 specifically is the safest vehicle I was aware of. She has enjoyed the vehicle ever since.

Richard Hille
The GT School

Lots of of boron steel in critical areas of the passenger compartment on that vehicle. Pretty tough vehicle to destroy, just ask any firefighter.
 

andymlow

GT Owner
May 17, 2007
287
Sarasota, FL
I have a 2004 T6 with near 100k miles on it. The car was our family beater and now serves as my tow vehicle and rainy day vehicle. There were some early issues with reliability which I think were really caused by the dealer. It seemed that every time I brought it in for one thing something else would break. Now that the car has been around the techs are better. The vehicle systems are extremely sophisticated.

Supposedly the T6 engine is bulletproof but the GM sourced 4 spd auto is not. So far so good for me. The paint and trim look new, but the leather is definitely showing signs of aging.

My wife and I got a big chuckle out of this thread because I just bought a C63 for my everday car and the Volvo has been sitting around. We have contemplated selling it but suspect it will bring less than 10K. My son is 14 and will be driving in less than 2 years and we have decided to keep the car mainly for him as it is the perfect first car. There is no safer vehicle on the road and it is still very luxurious and has a very good stock sound system. I am also a little attached to the car because we did factory delivery and drove it all over Sweden after the factory tour. Find a nice low miles vehicle and get a good inspection and I think you will be happy.

If you don't need 7 passenger capability consider a first generation Caddy SRX.
 

teej

GT Owner
Jan 12, 2010
95
West Los Angeles
we have an 06 xc90. So far it's been fine, 60k miles. I was worried about my wifes habit of taking onramps / offramps fast so the first thing I did was lower it, remove the self leveling shocks in back, and put heavier suspension components - made a huge difference.

I wish I had bought the v8, so i could use it for towing, but gas consumption on the v8 sucks. I dont mind burning plenty of fuel in the GT, but for running around with the kids or up to the ski hills?? forget it.

Out current (tongue in cheek) plan is to keep it, and when my 11 yr old can drive it'll be hers, after I rip out the stereo, and out in a blackbox - none of her friends will want to be seen in it - perfect!
 

andymlow

GT Owner
May 17, 2007
287
Sarasota, FL
Update: My 2004 T6 that I reported on above just suffered a sudden catastrophic tranny failure. Seems the tranny cooler is integral to the coolant radiator and a leak occured between the two with water getting into the tranny. I was initially told by the dealer that it would cost $6500 dollars for a rebuilt tranny. My first idea was to take it to Aamco for repair instead of replacement. I saw a post on the web that said that Volvo was covering these repairs if the car had under 100k on it and I had 91k. I called the 800 number, they contacted the dealer with lots of data to collect and 4 days latter I got a call that they were covering the entire job including a new radiator!!! I would say I am inclined to buy another Volvo in the future. Stay away from the 04 T6 models.
 
H

HHGT

Guest
Update: My 2004 T6 that I reported on above just suffered a sudden catastrophic tranny failure. Seems the tranny cooler is integral to the coolant radiator and a leak occured between the two with water getting into the tranny. I was initially told by the dealer that it would cost $6500 dollars for a rebuilt tranny. My first idea was to take it to Aamco for repair instead of replacement. I saw a post on the web that said that Volvo was covering these repairs if the car had under 100k on it and I had 91k. I called the 800 number, they contacted the dealer with lots of data to collect and 4 days latter I got a call that they were covering the entire job including a new radiator!!! I would say I am inclined to buy another Volvo in the future. Stay away from the 04 T6 models.

This is precisely why Forums work. Well done... BTW, I ended up getting an ML350