Best smoker barges 1-5 large [vol11]

[CharlesdeGaulle]

harrykul said:

I'm ordering a v90 today for Mrs Kul:

Harry would you consider marrying me?

[Krikkit]

CharlesdeGaulle said:

harrykul said:

I'm ordering a v90 today for Mrs Kul:

Harry would you consider marrying me?

I'd even let you consider looking after the Volvo for me while I get demoted into the 550...

Joking apart, spec is everything! I'm hoping for blue with a light interior, we need more of them in the world.

[tobinen]

r129sl said:

How much was the E430 being offered at? It must have gone quick as it didn't show up in my saved search for "Mercedes E430". All it needs is integrated child seats in the rear bench.

£2,350 - pretty good value I think

[PaulJC84]

phil_cardiff said:

Krikkit said:

CharlesdeGaulle said:

Krikkit said:

... that Volvo is magnificent but seems toppy for such an unloved brand.

I suspect that Volvo as a brand has more love and loyalty than most. A lot of owners become serial buyers and even the old ones have quite a following.

My first Volvo was a tax-free purchase before a move to Germany. Before ordering it I had a play with a friend's car and he said to me that the only down-side with buying a Volvo was that you'd never change to another make. That hasn't really been the case for me and I'm a bit of a car butterfly, but even I have bought half a dozen of the damned things over the years.

Not much love in the market though - considering that 960 is probably the apex for uncomplicated, classy motoring it's still sub 5 bags, and seems toppy at that. How much does a minty S124 in posh spec go for? Double?

FWIW I'm a big Volvo fan, keep seeing the handsome new S90/V90 at work and hoping they'll depreciate like a stone!

I'd personally prefer a 960 over an S124 so I had a real 'moment' when looking at that Volvo. £5k seems cheap to me for what you get.

I really like that shape of Volvo. It must be the box styling. I see an old style v90 near me in dark green and it looks great with the pizza pan style wheels.

[harrykul]

W00DY said:

Great work!


What's the spec? Such fantastic looking motors.

Mrs Kul has determined the spec tbh, though I did get a bit of input on the interior colour/trim.

V90 D4 Inscription Pro
Dark Grey
Amber Nappa heated/ventilated leather
Birch wood trim
Panoramic roof
20" wheels (std and great looking, but think I'll be getting a set of 18" pronto)
NO TINTS!

Interestingly, I had to pay £100 for a CD player, which is located in the centre armrest.

[anonymous-user]

harrykul said:

W00DY said:

Great work!


What's the spec? Such fantastic looking motors.

Mrs Kul has determined the spec tbh, though I did get a bit of input on the interior colour/trim.

V90 D4 Inscription Pro
Dark Grey
Amber Nappa heated/ventilated leather
Birch wood trim
Panoramic roof
20" wheels (std and great looking, but think I'll be getting a set of 18" pronto)
NO TINTS!

Interestingly, I had to pay £100 for a CD player, which is located in the centre armrest.

Superb spec, it's disappointing how many you see with the grey plastic/aluminium trim and black seats. What does "Inscription Pro" add over "Inscription (amateur)"??

[W00DY]

harrykul said:

Mrs Kul has determined the spec tbh, though I did get a bit of input on the interior colour/trim.

V90 D4 Inscription Pro
Dark Grey
Amber Nappa heated/ventilated leather
Birch wood trim
Panoramic roof
20" wheels (std and great looking, but think I'll be getting a set of 18" pronto)
NO TINTS!

Interestingly, I had to pay £100 for a CD player, which is located in the centre armrest.

That sounds lovely. I'm off to the configurator to dream a little.


I don't know many other people who buy CDs anymore. It's a shame, I love the the 6CD changer in the 528i.

[Krikkit]

dme123 said:

Superb spec, it's disappointing how many you see with the grey plastic/aluminium trim and black seats. What does "Inscription Pro" add over "Inscription (amateur)"??

A few more options on top of the Inscription:

Ovlov said:

active bending headlights, a tailored instrument panel, heated front windscreen, heated steering wheel, headlight cleaning system, Volvo On Call, Nappa perforated/ventilated leather and front seat backrest massage. The exterior is further enhanced with 20” alloy wheels.

Dibs on it Harry, keep it about 15 years and sell it for a tuppence, yeah?

[W00DY]

Now to find £61375.


At 3 large at least the stereo upgrade came within thread budget!

[Balmoral]

Mods, change the thread title please, to "Best potential smoker barges 1-5 large in 15 years time"

[SpeckledJim]

Great stuff this is. I'd say the V90 is the nicest car-divided-by-price on sale at the moment.

A really really really nice thing. And great barge fodder in 7 or 8 years time.

[jke11y]

The new Volvos really are cracking. I am making mrs ke11y wait until first edition XC90s shed a bit (lot) more value before changing the family car for one. Love them.

[Lowtimer]

SpeckledJim said:

Great stuff this is. I'd say the V90 is the nicest car-divided-by-price on sale at the moment.

A really really really nice thing. And great barge fodder in 7 or 8 years time.

It looks nice but it's only available with a four-pot diesel or a four-pot diesel. This is unbargelike.
If the forthcoming petrol/electric version is any good that might qualify.

[SpeckledJim]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Granted - but it's that nice, I just don't mind.

I honestly think its 200% more desirable than an equivalent 5-Series, A6 or E-Class.

Clearly it's not 200% better. It might not even be 90% as good. But I WANT ONE.

[dscam]

Krikkit said:

CharlesdeGaulle said:

Krikkit said:

FWIW I'm a big Volvo fan, keep seeing the handsome new S90/V90 at work and hoping they'll depreciate like a stone!

They are terrific cars. Devil's fuel though.

5 cylinders available and a DPF to get rid of the smell makes up for it.

Fantastic car and would love to upgrade my V70 once they become more affordable as a used prospect. I was fairly sure that the V90 was tipped to get the T6 petrol and/or the hybrid option. Still hoping these may come but obviously diesel still seen to be what the market here wants. Disappointing as it's the only real negative I can see about the V90.

[phil_cardiff]

I'm normally very much an estate man but I think I prefer the S90 over the V90.

I have no interest (at the moment) in the current E-class or A6 but I do like the new 5 series.

[Lowtimer]

dscam said:

I was fairly sure that the V90 was tipped to get the T6 petrol and/or the hybrid option. Still hoping these may come but obviously diesel still seen to be what the market here wants. Disappointing as it's the only real negative I can see about the V90.

To be honest I think they've screwed the pooch there and been caught out making the wrong investment at the wrong time. Clearly when they were designing and production-engineering the car, which will have been a fair few years ago, the dominant mood was that four-pot diesels would rule for ever and ever in big car design. But the European urban air quality policy crisis, the VW scandal and the rapid march of electrification & hybridisation have caught them out of step with the market. Everything I hear about the new-car market is that the needle of demand is swinging away from diesel towards petrol and petrol-electric at a real rate of knots, faster than manufacturers can adjust production. But at least if you're VW/Audi, Mercedes of BMW you *have* petrol options to ramp up. Volvo is operating in a 2017 market with a 2012 model line-up in my view.

If the petrol-electric hybrid comes quickly, and is more competent against its rivals than the currently available Volvo diesels (which in the current XC90 at least are a bit embarrassing compared to current Merc and BMW offers) then it will be an interesting car. Like others here I very much like the appearance and functionality of the V90 and not many new cars do that for me.

Edited by Lowtimer on Wednesday 22 March 12:41

[anonymous-user]

Lowtimer said:

dscam said:

I was fairly sure that the V90 was tipped to get the T6 petrol and/or the hybrid option. Still hoping these may come but obviously diesel still seen to be what the market here wants. Disappointing as it's the only real negative I can see about the V90.

To be honest I think they've screwed the pooch there and been caught out making the wrong investment at the wrong time. Clearly when they were designing and production-engineering the car, which will have been a fair few years ago, the dominant mood was that four-pot diesels would rule for ever and ever in big car design. But the European urban air quality policy crisis, the VW scandal and the rapid march of electrification & hybridisation have caught them out of step with the market. Everything I hear about the new-car market is that the needle of demand is swinging away from diesel towards petrol and petrol-electric at a real rate of knots, faster than manufacturers can adjust production. But at least if you're VW/Audi, Mercedes of BMW you *have* petrol options to ramp up. Volvo is operating in a 2017 market with a 2012 model line-up in my view.

THey also have a range of slightly more appealing 4 pot petrol engines with turbocharger or twincharger setup. Volvo UK just can't be arsed with them.

Outside of the European market diesels are all but non existent, so while all we see here are 2 litre diesel rattlers the manufacturers all still sell plenty of proper engines to the rest of the world.

I think the challenge may be adjusting the production balance between diesels and petrols if the Euro market shifts, and I have read that the diesel and petrol VEA engines have a lot of commonality so it may not be that big a deal.

I do believe they screwed things up by not keeping a >4 cylinder option though. I'll consider a second hand one in a few years when they are cheap but there is no way I'm spending £40 - £50k on a car with a 4 cylinder engine.

[sly fox]

Lowtimer said:

Volvo is operating in a 2017 market with a 2012 model line-up in my view.

Or should that say - 2012 ENGINE line up? That would be fairer no?

They have a good range of distinctive looking cars - and are slowly lowering the average age of their buyers, certainly the XC60/90 has helped there. I bet all hands are working on hybrid/petrol solutions already - after all some of the Nordic and Scandinavian countries are being the most vocal about banning diesels soon.

[dscam]

Lowtimer said:

dscam said:

I was fairly sure that the V90 was tipped to get the T6 petrol and/or the hybrid option. Still hoping these may come but obviously diesel still seen to be what the market here wants. Disappointing as it's the only real negative I can see about the V90.

To be honest I think they've screwed the pooch there and been caught out making the wrong investment at the wrong time. Clearly when they were designing and production-engineering the car, which will have been a fair few years ago, the dominant mood was that four-pot diesels would rule for ever and ever in big car design. But the European urban air quality policy crisis, the VW scandal and the rapid march of electrification & hybridisation have caught them out of step with the market. Everything I hear about the new-car market is that the needle of demand is swinging away from diesel towards petrol and petrol-electric at a real rate of knots, faster than manufacturers can adjust production. But at least if you're VW/Audi, Mercedes of BMW you *have* petrol options to ramp up. Volvo is operating in a 2017 market with a 2012 model line-up in my view.

If the petrol-electric hybrid comes quickly, and is more competent against its rivals than the currently available Volvo diesels (which in the current XC90 at least are a bit embarrassing compared to current Merc and BMW offers) then it will be an interesting car. Like others here I very much like the appearance and functionality of the V90 and not many new cars do that for me.

Edited by Lowtimer on Wednesday 22 March 12:41

Spot on with that analysis and it would seem accurate that Volvo have been caught out; I really do hope that with their history of innovation and engineering they can deliver a competitive counterpoint to the Germans in terms of power plant.

I've always considered my car history to be reflective of allegiance to BMW and Merecedes in the main, however actually thinking back I've had almost as many Volvo models over the years and fond memories from formative years behind the wheel. One of my first cars was a 440 Turbo - hugely uncool for a young man but remarkably swift with very low insurance which actually gave me the last laugh over peers' warm hatchbacks.