Drove xc 90s with both engines today and a xc70

[Stu in Oregon]

Our lease on our 01' XC is up in about 10 months and we are in the early stages of determining what to do. As part of that decision process we went to our dealer today and drove both engine versions of the XC 90 and the XC 70. Here is what the seat-of-my-pants communicated to me http://xc70.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/happy.gif

The high pressure turbo T6 was disappointing. It was not as fast as I thought it would be and the torque-band had a narrower width than the low pressure turbo motor. This resulted in a less tractable engine driving around town. Plus, oddly, the transmission "searched" more going uphill at highway speeds than the low pressure motor did. I actually enjoyed the overall feel of the low pressure motor better.

The shifter design for the XC 90's manu-matic feature of the Geartronic has been "gimmicked". Instead of nice simple straight move left to engage the manual shift feature, you must depress the lock-out button and pull pack then over to the left to engage the manual mode. It was not very intuitive feeling. The XC 70 still retains the same design as the 02s and earlier. Much better.

The Haldex did not have much of a different feeling around town, if any at all. But the roads were dry so I could not do much more than turn the wheel and floor it from a stop. The front inside wheel still lost traction and the TRACS pulsed the wheel just as in the viscous set-up. So no real test there. But as I stated above, it felt fairly similar "around town". Someone will have to flog one in some crud for us.

The ride of the XC 90 was more choppy than that of the V70 XC / XC 70. It felt as though it had a shorter wheel base. But the chassis felt more solid and imparted a tighter feeling. You could tell it weighed 700 pounds more in many of the ways it felt. There was much more body-roll in the XC 90 but it still drove much more like a car than truck. Overall, it's road manners will be a hit with people.

That brings me to the new motor in the XC 70. Its nice, but not a huge improvement. More of an incremental one. I'm not sure it is worth leasing or purchasing one over what we have already. If my wife decides she likes the XC 90 better (the 01' is hers), then we will either purchase or lease one of those. If she decides she likes the XC 70 better, then we will most likely purhcase her car at the end of the lease and have no car payments. That is what I am hoping for http://xc70.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/confused.gif Or maybe I can talk her into a V70 R http://xc70.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/devil.gif

[wiz]

Stu, thanks for the interesting report. Your sense of the usable range of torque in the low vs. high pressure has also been noticed by others, the V70 and the V70XC being the context there.

So other than the engine, there wasn't too much difference in your experience betweeen the XC70 '03 & the '02? The ride was about the same? How about those replacement Pirelli tires? Or didn't you notice anything? http://xc70.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/huh2.gif

[Chipshot]

The XC90's Geartronic is probably the same as the one in my S80 T6.  I have had the car for 18 months and still find myself having to pay extra attention when switching from automatic to "manu-matic."  Some people never seem to "get it."  A friend has a V70 T5 but has never pulled his shifter to the left.

My wife would probably appreciate the XC90's elevated seating position.  With all the pickups, SUV's, and minivans around here she likes sitting higher.

Thanks for the report.

[Stu in Oregon]

I did notice the Scorpian STRs. They were quieter than their older counter-parts, but they still did not ride as smooth as the Michelin Synchrones, although they seemed to be improved there as well. However, it has been a while since we have had the old Scorpians, so take that advice with a "grain of salt". I also noticed they look remarkably similar to the Synchrones http://xc70.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/sly.gif Things that make you go Hmmmm!

Speaking of Michelin Synchrones, the 17" optional wheels on the low pressure turbo XC 90 had them. The 16" standard wheels had Continentals and I cannot remember what the the 18" inchers on the T6 had http://xc70.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/confused.gif (But I think they were Pirellis)

As for the XC 90's height, the roof rack was at the top of my head and the lift-over height of the rear cargo hold was pretty high. Plus, getting in and out of the back seat is much harder than in the XC70/V70 XC. But it is a well executed SUV done the "Volvo way". I just don't like how tall it is. That is a major reason we have what we have. But that is also a personal and very subjective taste preference as well.

[Stu in Oregon]

I forgot Wiz,

The ride quality and handling between the V70 XC and the XC 70 are identical. And the only visual difference is the badging on the rear door and the new phone buttons in the dash that are part of the new "on-call type" option (I forget the name of the service). They are where the in-dash pop-out cupholder are on ours. Plus there are fewer colors this year to choose from with no new ones either.

[wiz]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Stu in Oregon @ Nov. 25 2002,08:20)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Plus there are fewer colors this year to choose from with no new ones either.[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
Stu, thanks for the info on the Scorpion STRs. In the US Volvo have added Ruby Red to the color choice available. It&#39;s nice&#33; http://xc70.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[Stu in Oregon]

Wiz,

Is that different from last years red?

[wiz]

Yes it is different from the Venetian Red. &nbsp;See the images below:

[budrichard]

In one of the auto mag tests the XC90 T6 was a little less than 10 seconds to 60 mph, slow which is why they have the twin turbo option. I will wait for an 8 cylinder, no turbo. The transmission searching in the T6 may be due to the fact that they to use 4 speed to handle the torque and power. the XC 90 and XC70 both use a 5 speed. My 03 XC70 is on order scheduled for 01/04/03. -Dick

[Grant]

The T6 is a low pressure engine, if you want a high performance XC90 wait for the 2.5 Litre 300bhp engine from the S60R to be dropped into the XC90&#39;s engine bay.

Or Volvo may use the T5 engine instead.

Grant

[Chipshot]

What, no 4.0L Jaguar V8?

[Stu in Oregon]

The V-8 is coming, in about the third or fourth model year most likely. Maybe someone in here has more concrete info on this. It will be shared with the 05&#39;/06&#39; V90 assuming the V90 is approved by the Board of Directors.