Oppo - School Me on the XC90

"Jcarr" (jcarr) 08/24/2015 at 10:25 • Filed to: None

0

20

My wife and I were talking a bit over the weekend about what we may want to move to when we trade in our current stable of vehicles in the next few years.

She wants 3 rows of seating (6 or 7 passengers is fine), reliable, and safe.

I’m not interested in a minivan, want something with AWD, and at least moderately attractive/Jalopish.

I did some poking around and found a few 2010-2012 XC90s that are in our projected price range ($20-24k), but I know very little about them.

What can you tell me? Good/bad? Trouble areas?

bob and john > Jcarr 08/24/2015 at 10:29

0

nice cars. very comfy. reliable IF MAINTAINED. if you see clouded/yellow headlights, run. run far

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > Jcarr 08/24/2015 at 10:30

0

What’s more Jalop than an AWD 7 seater with a HEMI?

(sorry I’m useless on the Volvo, just here to cause a fuss)

Jcarr > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner 08/24/2015 at 10:32

1

Oh trust me, the Durango is #1 on my list, but it’s proving quite hard to find many good ones under $26k.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Jcarr 08/24/2015 at 10:38

0

Mini-vans are plenty jalop! As long as it doesn't reek like diapers inside, I think minivans are great places to spend time on the road. You could always look at something like the Transit Connect if you want a van that is less soccer mom shaped.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > Jcarr 08/24/2015 at 10:44

0

Damn.

Out of the box a little more.

Jeep Commander with a Hemi, ours looks so freaking cool lifted now (It’s my wife’s DD, 2 inch lift)

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > Jcarr 08/24/2015 at 10:45

1

I can tell you it was one of Clarkson’s all time favorite cars, in fact he bought one for his wife. I don’t know if his opinions carry any weight with you but he’s notoriously nitpicky so the fact that he had no criticisms of the car means something.

Jcarr > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner 08/24/2015 at 10:51

0

Interesting idea, I’ll have to add that to my list to check out.

LongbowMkII > Jcarr 08/24/2015 at 10:57

0

Horrible transmission on Commanders. Looked into one a couple years back and the transmission was..iffy. some research revealed that they are a real weak point.

LongbowMkII > Jcarr 08/24/2015 at 10:59

0

Avoid the 4speed auto (GM4L60E) and the yamaha V8 for best reliability.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > LongbowMkII 08/24/2015 at 11:01

0

For which level Commander?

Wondering if I should keep an eye on ours...

The drivelines change pretty drastically depending on engine and 4x4 system. We have the Commander Sport with the 3.7L.

Jcarr > LongbowMkII 08/24/2015 at 11:01

0

That’s interesting, didn’t know they used a GM transmission. I’ve had two vehicles with a 4L60E (‘94 S10 Blazer and ‘04 Envoy) and haven’t had a whiff of trouble. I must be lucky.

Anyway, all of the XCs i’ve looked at have been 3.2s with the 6-speed.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > Jcarr 08/24/2015 at 11:02

0

We love ours, it’s been pretty solid so far (*knocks on wood*)

Only thing we complain about is that we should have ponied up the cash for the V8.

The 3.7L is unbearably slow. If you can only get the 3.7, you should probably just pass on it. Driving back from SC to MI we were in the mountains in WV and I just had the thing FLOORED going, wow, there’s nothing left power wise is there....maybe I’ll pass that guy....some day.

MultiplaOrgasms > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 08/24/2015 at 11:06

0

Well actually he did have a number of criticisms, for example that the 2.4D is terrible (given that my dad has owned several D5 engined Volvos including an XC90 over the years I can’t quite confirm that statement but we all know Clarksons aversion to diesel engines) and that it didn’t handle worth a damn, but he very much praised its practicality to the moon.

LongbowMkII > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner 08/24/2015 at 11:15

0

the 4.7 limited I believe. it was 7 passenger so one of the v8s at least. It was in rough shape all around, but I was worried about being stranded on the test drive.

I wound up with the Murano and it’s infamous CVT. So I’m a bit hypocritical with regards to purchasing notorious transmissions. (to be fair, I figured that if the CVT wasn’t acting up by 150k miles it’d probably be alright, for 35k miles I’ve been right) That reminds me to save for my Mazda5 fund.

LongbowMkII > Jcarr 08/24/2015 at 11:22

0

The 4L60E just didnt work well in the volvo application, otherwise it’s pretty legendary.

MultiplaOrgasms > Jcarr 08/24/2015 at 11:27

0

While my dad used to have an XC90 a couple of years ago, I am not going be much help because:

1) It was an early 2007 FL model with the Diesel engine.

2) It was bought brand new and sold again after just 11 months and 27k miles (this includes a lap around the Nürburgring and some off-roading), so I can’t tell you jack shit about long term reliability.

3) Get a damn Minivan/Transit Connect already if you really need 6-7 seats, the third row is almost useless and so is the fifth seat, effectively making the XC90 a 4+3 seater.

Jcarr > MultiplaOrgasms 08/24/2015 at 11:30

0

I’m not entirely sure why my wife wants so many seats since we only have 1 kid now and will be adding 1-2 max. I think she wants to be able to haul the kids and their friends around, so that capacity won’t always be needed. Even when it will, it’ll just be kids who can climb their way in.

505 - morphine not found > Jcarr 08/24/2015 at 11:55

1

I read a used test the other day about a D5 auto. Cannot vouch if it’s true for all of them, but it says the plastic bits and the mechanical bits hold their ground even at high-mileage, but the “leather” Volvo uses can get iffy with miles and usage. Not just the seats, but the shift boot in that one looked like someone scraped it with a knife.... So there’s that. Otherwise nothing gets produced longer than a decade if it’s shit, so I would say the XC90 is a safe bet.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > LongbowMkII 08/24/2015 at 11:57

0

Haha.

Well, our Commander has about 70k miles on it, it’s an 08, 5 passenger, we actually didn’t want the 3rd row seat. And it’s been good for a little over 2 years now.

ArmadaExpress drives a turbo outback > Jcarr 08/24/2015 at 13:32

0

Might want to look at an Acura MDX also. We just traded in me 2009 BMW (E60) 535 towards it. It’s just slightly above that price range fully loaded, but I really like the car. Handles well, decent power (3.7 V-6), great transmission, and very comfortable to drive for long durations. It does have 3 rows and the third row isn’t bad at all. I’d stay away from the Infiniti FX60 (A.K.A. JX35) unless you want to be bored to death.