Thanks for the review mmarshal. I don't find the S90 impressive nor do I have any desire to really consider it. Exterior styling is decent, interior is nothing special, engine is a major sore spot.

I was sitting in the XC90 at last year's Toronto Autoshow. Someone had switched on the radio at a rather loud volume and the salesman standing by the door asked me to turn down the volume. I tried swiping all over the touch-screen of the central display to no effect; finally someone in the passenger seat turned the volume ****, which is down very low on the centre stack. I would never have found it if someone had not pointed it out.

I remarked to the salesman that it was not a very intuitive interface. He told me that head-up displays are the thing now but I told him that it was not head-up but head-down trying to figure out what you are doing on the screen. I believe that touch-screen is dangerous. Oh, that interior has a nice spartan, Swedish look to it but that touch-screen interface is definitely a head-down, eyes-off-the-road thing.

Saw one sitting outside a Volvo dealer today. IMHO it's one of the best looking sedans on the market.

I like it, though I was surprised at how large they seem in person.

Very nice looking sedan. Understated yet beautiful.

Drove a fully loaded light blue S90 recently, I thought it was just beautifull inside & out, drove nicely, thou a little stiff with the 21" wheels & tires. I had know idea it was a 4-cylinder engine.

Did you test-drive it? Or just look?

No I just saw it driving by.

I haven't formally test-driven one (perhaps I should, with the number of comments here). But, from what I've read from road-tests on it, give it some RPMs and you'll definitely know it was a 4-cylinder. CR (Consumer Reports), in the latest issue, echoed that finding. They also echoed the stiff ride.


Don't get me wrong, though...there are definitely some nice features on the car.....and, as a Volvo flagship, it has one of the best safety-packages this side of a Mercedes S-Class.

As long as there not teethering problems such as leaking pano drains, or random electrical gremlins like the first MY of the XC90, it should be an overall good car.

However if your in the market, let the first MY pass. Then pick one up.

[QUOTE=mmarshall;9737576]I haven't formally test-driven one (perhaps I should, with the number of comments here). But, from what I've read from road-tests on it, give it some RPMs and you'll definitely know it was a 4-cylinder. CR (Consumer Reports), in the latest issue, echoed that finding. They also echoed the stiff ride.


I definitely gave it some RPM's !

That used to be the case, especially with American-designed vehicles, but is much less so today. Fortunately, most automakers on longer use the public to complete the production-testing of their vehicles. Today, in most cases, one can lease or purchase even first-year models with a reasonable amount of confidence. My first-year Lexus IS300 and Buick Verano, for example, were both very reliable, though both had been sold overseas before being introduced to the American market......the IS300 as the Toyota Altezza, and the Verano as the Opel/Vauxhall Astra.

Very true. We had an '03 FX35, '06 M45, '08 G37 and '13 GS350 that were flawless. The FX35 and GS350 we kept for almost 3 years with no issues. But then, they were Japanese cars.

That maybe true of certain vehicles and mfgs etc. However I suggest peaking over to the Swedespeed forum, and/or ask a couple of current XC90 owners. The 17s which is the 2nd MY has been more or less been reduced to a couple minor issues, however the first editioners and 16s were having leaking pano drains, electrical gremlins, where mid cruise dashboard went blank, radios further linked to bad control units were causing random issues, botched software updates, and overall an unpleasant ownership experience. Coupled with Volvo dealerships who have little to no experience in dealing with such issues (the Launch of the XC90 platform basically accelerated their aged platforms onto a 21st century SPA) it was basically a not so great experience. Now nothing stays stuck in time, and dealerships are getting familiar with the systems architecture of the SPA platform coupled with more investments in the dealerships its better.

However to be safe, and since Rome wasnt built in a day, take the 2nd MY for at least the Volvo brand.

All this, of course, will be a moot point if Volvo decides to pull out of the American market. I didn't go into that subject much in the review (except to say that the company would not have a display at the D.C. show) because I didn't want to open up a can of worms. But the XC90 seems to be about its only U.S.-market vehicle that is selling, and one can't just rely on one model to survive. Volvo seems to be in at least a little better shape than Mitsubishi here, but not much.