Topic: Test Drive: 2016 Volvo XC90 T6 Drive-E Momentum

[Autos_Editor]

Anyone can wield this hammer.
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[JohnnyMac]

Sounds like an excellent SUV.  The old XC90 was a very good vehicle when it first came out and seeing as they took their sweet time replacing it I'm not surprised they nailed it.  The glitches with the infotainment system will definitely have to be addressed with updates and the broken strap/handle for the second row is a bit troubling.  But this is a very new vehicle and there is always teething issues with the first of any new vehicle.

[tpl]

I guess the new Audi Q7 is a direct competitor as well.

[Noto]

Now this is a proper mommymobile!  I love it, and apparently, so, too, does Jacob!

A different set of classical music played in my head every time I walked towards the 2016 Volvo XC90. Sometimes, it was the “da-da-daaahh” of Toccata and Fugue in D-Minor. Sometimes it was “Fate Knocking” from Symphony No.5. Sometimes, if it was hidden around a corner and I was walking toward it very slowly, I’d hear Also sprach Zarathustra (aka: that bit from 2001: A Space Odyssey).

While I love the reference to classical music, was this a little jab at me for the CUV comparo where after one loop I was listening to 96.3, then after another I was rocking out to Metallica on 97.7?    Good times.

...and great music references!

Some say they hired the guy from South Park who liked to cross-breed weird animals,

Dr. Alphonse Mephesto

Not me. Because nothing bad has ever happened to me before when I went off the beaten path in a Volvo crossover… I drove up to the lowest of the kerbs, got out to make sure I had enough clearance, then drove up and over, across the muddy, grassy hill and plodded down the other kerb and out the driveway, leaving my fellow child-dropping friends in my wake. I think that makes me an urban off-road warrior – only instead of bouncing about in my seat I was calm and unruffled.

  Nice, Jacob.  Nice.

I remember one year when the street I live on (a court) had a blocked drain during a heavy rainfall - four houses were completely closed off.  One "heroic" Touareg drove into the 'pond' with a hockey stick to unplug the drain.  The driver aborted when the interior carpets became wet.  Then, another with an XC90 made his attempt, albeit successfully.

...until I threw on a chest wader and just walked right in. (it was October -not time for splishy splashy bathing suit time).

Still, an impressive feat for the Volvo.

Which brings me to another point – at $68,325 as tested this Volvo is by no means cheap, but it feels like it should cost more.Which brings me to another point – at $68,325 as tested this Volvo is by no means cheap, but it feels like it should cost more.

Cue James comparing this to his Acura MDX...

...or the Santa Fe XL at $20,000 cheaper

[Scaerio]

Sounds like a promising first step in Volvo's re-birth.  Can't wait to see the new cars -- hopefully we will get the new V40...

[evil_twin]

I really like the looks (and reviews) of this rig.

I just wish they offered a more traditional V6 or V8 engine option.   A 4 cylinder with both a supercharger and turbocharger might be the cat's a$$ when new, but I would worry for longer term ownership...rightly or wrongly....

[bluelines]

VW put their "twincharger" engine in the Golf and Polo a few years ago. They were able to get 170hp from a 1.4 litre four cylinder. I don't think it was particularly unreliable, but it would be interesting to know how they're holding up. I think they ditched it because it was too expensive to produce rather than because of reliability concerns.

I really like the looks (and reviews) of this rig.

I just wish they offered a more traditional V6 or V8 engine option.   A 4 cylinder with both a supercharger and turbocharger might be the cat's a$$ when new, but I would worry for longer term ownership...rightly or wrongly....

[evil_twin]

VW put their "twincharger" engine in the Golf and Polo a few years ago. They were able to get 170hp from a 1.4 litre four cylinder. I don't think it was particularly unreliable, but it would be interesting to know how they're holding up. I think they ditched it because it was too expensive to produce rather than because of reliability concerns.

I really like the looks (and reviews) of this rig.

I just wish they offered a more traditional V6 or V8 engine option.   A 4 cylinder with both a supercharger and turbocharger might be the cat's a$$ when new, but I would worry for longer term ownership...rightly or wrongly....

Well time will tell.  Maybe I'm just being a traditionalist wanting bigger displacement in a big SUV.

It's also the use case of this vehicle class.  For me (family of 4), if I bought a big hauler like this, I'd want to keep it for a 7+ years.  Let it soak up the battle scars of kids on the inside and let the mechanicals live through various road trips, ski/cottage weekends, cold winter starts, etc.   Again, I'd feel much more comfortable doing so with naturally aspirated 6 or 8 cylinder displacement.

[mmret]

VW put their "twincharger" engine in the Golf and Polo a few years ago. They were able to get 170hp from a 1.4 litre four cylinder. I don't think it was particularly unreliable, but it would be interesting to know how they're holding up. I think they ditched it because it was too expensive to produce rather than because of reliability concerns.

I really like the looks (and reviews) of this rig.

I just wish they offered a more traditional V6 or V8 engine option.   A 4 cylinder with both a supercharger and turbocharger might be the cat's a$$ when new, but I would worry for longer term ownership...rightly or wrongly....

Well time will tell.  Maybe I'm just being a traditionalist wanting bigger displacement in a big SUV.

It's also the use case of this vehicle class.  For me (family of 4), if I bought a big hauler like this, I'd want to keep it for a 7+ years.  Let it soak up the battle scars of kids on the inside and let the mechanicals live through various road trips, ski/cottage weekends, cold winter starts, etc.   Again, I'd feel much more comfortable doing so with naturally aspirated 6 or 8 cylinder displacement.

Like it or not though, small displacement forced induction is going to get rammed down our throats (outside of niche / specialty cars) for CAFE reasons.

Volvo's case is also due to (very) low volumes and needing a single engine platform that can span many cars and its easier to do that with forced induction I4.

With VW or Toyota its a lot less concerning.

Anyways seems like the car is pretty nice. Shame about the software bugs though. That's gotta get stamped out.

[micha]

VW put their "twincharger" engine in the Golf and Polo a few years ago. They were able to get 170hp from a 1.4 litre four cylinder. I don't think it was particularly unreliable, but it would be interesting to know how they're holding up. I think they ditched it because it was too expensive to produce rather than because of reliability concerns.

I really like the looks (and reviews) of this rig.

I just wish they offered a more traditional V6 or V8 engine option.   A 4 cylinder with both a supercharger and turbocharger might be the cat's a$$ when new, but I would worry for longer term ownership...rightly or wrongly....

VWs 1.4 has issues with the timing chain. That engine is destroying the perception of VW reliability in Germany. Not sure if its just the twincharger version. Also, two years ago Germany had a very cold winter and the 1.4 would not start in -20.

[Noto]

VWs 1.4 has issues with the timing chain. That engine is destroying the perception of VW reliability in Germany. Not sure if its just the twincharger version. Also, two years ago Germany had a very cold winter and the 1.4 would not start in -20.

Likely not an issue with the forced induction set-up, but I'm not a technically knowledgeable to confirm or refute same.

What I can say is this:
I'm sure that engine has had the snot tested out of it.  Volvo invested heavily in this 2.0L plant and sure as sh!t it's not going to let its reputation for reliability and safety go to the sh!tter.  320hp/295lb-ft out of a 2.0L isn't unheard of, either, in production cars.

*cough* CLA/GLA 45AMG; Subaru FA20F (JDM);Hyundai's 2.0T was close; GM's LNF has 290hp out of a 2.0T (with a Stage 1 mod kit, but it was covered under the GM warranty); VW has the 292hp Golf R's 2.0T; Mitsu's Evo 2.0T had 291hp, etc.

Forced induction is not 'new' technology, and twin-charging does not necessarily add a lot of mechanical components that are prone to failure (in theory).

...but I understand the hesitation - you're requiring more load on a smaller engine for a longer time.  Greater engine stress does increase the probability of parts failure.

...I have no concerns with forced induction engines though.

[ktm525]

What can it tow?

If this engine setup proves reliable and the rear legroom is not typically Volvo tiny this may be an interesting used vehicle proposal at 50% MSRP and 3 years old.. I fear it is too fancy for tough weekend stuff though.

I live blocks from a Volvo dealer and my frequent dealer visits with the V70R are a fading memory...

[lebowski]

This XC90 seems like such a home run. All the new engine tech, and it’s a better-looking Range Rover than the current Range Rover, and at 2/3 the price. It's like the head of design finally clued in and told his team, "look, in case you haven't noticed, those bourgeois North Americans can't get enough of our Scandinavian design, so let's turn this thing into a rolling Stieg Larsson/Ikea tribute. Oh, and slap Thor's hammer on the headlights. Grown American men are obsessed with Thor. Yeah, I know, it's weird." 

[OliverD]

This is my favorite of the larger CUVs right now. Seems as though Volvo has done an excellent job with this vehicle. Took them long enough.

[Cadguy]

So Jacob Black thinks the XC90 is "enormous imposing gargantuan large big huge a behemoth". He goes on to mention that he thinks it's huge at least a half a dozen more times  in the rest of the review. Has he ever seen a Tahoe, Yukon, Escalade, Suburban,  Expedition, Navigator or QX80? The GM Lambdas and the Dodge Durango also are larger and heavier. 

[Noto]

So Jacob Black thinks the XC90 is "enormous imposing gargantuan large big huge a behemoth". He goes on to mention that he thinks it's huge at least a half a dozen more times  in the rest of the review. Has he ever seen a Tahoe, Yukon, Escalade, Suburban,  Expedition, Navigator or QX80? The GM Lambdas and the Dodge Durango also are larger and heavier.

He's not comparing it to those.

...he's comparing it to the MDX, etc. - cars of the same class/size.

[JacobBlack]

So Jacob Black thinks the XC90 is "enormous imposing gargantuan large big huge a behemoth". He goes on to mention that he thinks it's huge at least a half a dozen more times  in the rest of the review. Has he ever seen a Tahoe, Yukon, Escalade, Suburban,  Expedition, Navigator or QX80? The GM Lambdas and the Dodge Durango also are larger and heavier.

Are they cars? Who makes them?

[Noto]

So Jacob Black thinks the XC90 is "enormous imposing gargantuan large big huge a behemoth". He goes on to mention that he thinks it's huge at least a half a dozen more times  in the rest of the review. Has he ever seen a Tahoe, Yukon, Escalade, Suburban,  Expedition, Navigator or QX80? The GM Lambdas and the Dodge Durango also are larger and heavier.

Are they cars? Who makes them?

[Cadguy]

The XC90 is about 1 inch longer 2 inches taller and 100lbs heavier than an MDX. Not really deserving all the hyperbole.

[JacobBlack]

The MDX is bloody big too.