RE: Volvo V90 D5 PowerPulse AWD R-Design: Driven
Discussion
Motormatt said:
The 5cyl engine in the V70 you drove was a much nicer one than you'd get in your £56K V90. As I said, it's not about outright performance or 'booting it', it's not that kind of car, its about refinement at the lower rev ranges and part throttle openings which is precisely what this car should excel at.
As for the engine not mattering, might I politely suggest that this might not be the forum for you?
If number of cylinders is essential, might I suggest that a diesel Volvo estate isn't the car for you? If £56k is "6 cylinder BMW territory" guess what you can do? I'm sure Volvo know their market better than the PH know it all's.As for the engine not mattering, might I politely suggest that this might not be the forum for you?
Tuvra said:
DoubleD said:
Which sells more, the BMW or the Volvo? That will tell you who knows the market better.
I said Volvo know THEIR market better than the PH know it all's, not Volvo knows the market better than BMW knows THE market? 
DoubleD said:
Tuvra said:
DoubleD said:
Which sells more, the BMW or the Volvo? That will tell you who knows the market better.
I said Volvo know THEIR market better than the PH know it all's, not Volvo knows the market better than BMW knows THE market? 
Went to a Volvo dealer for the first time in my life last year when this was launched as I thought it looked great.
Could not believe it only came as a 4 pot oil burner.
I would have snapped one up with a six or even the carismatic five they used to do but at the price point I would not want to listen to a four.
Shame as apart from the engine I liked everything else!
Could not believe it only came as a 4 pot oil burner.
I would have snapped one up with a six or even the carismatic five they used to do but at the price point I would not want to listen to a four.
Shame as apart from the engine I liked everything else!
BeirutTaxi said:
Powerpulse 2.0tdi. Just doesn't seem right to say both in the same sentence.
The power pulse concept is pretty clever and works well in practice. The air driven compressor does a good job to reduce lag on what is a fairly boosty engine in the lower gears. I'm sure the electrically driven compressor in the Audi SQ7 is "better" but it requires a complicated 48V electrical system and adds extra weight, something neither car really wants. I would like to see the power pulse concept on a high performance petrol turbo hatchback as it would go some way to improving throttle response.I really want to like these but:-
"In short? Meet the new big Volvo estate car, very much the same as the old big Volvo estate car. With added luxury. And the added benefit of not being German."
What has changed? except it has lost the 5cyl warble and it is not eye wateringly expensive.
Whatever you think about international politics a specced one of these or a 530d in a lower spec? its not a toughy.
"In short? Meet the new big Volvo estate car, very much the same as the old big Volvo estate car. With added luxury. And the added benefit of not being German."
What has changed? except it has lost the 5cyl warble and it is not eye wateringly expensive.
Whatever you think about international politics a specced one of these or a 530d in a lower spec? its not a toughy.
ORD said:
What does the £16k over £40k get you? I just cannot see how they even begin to justify the pricing.
It is no different to the Audi/Merc/BMW option lists that are full of expensive options that nobody really needs and nearly always seem to be fitted to the press cars:£44,865 (As tested £56,085 comprising:
£3,000 for Sensus connect with premium sound by Bowers & Wilkins
£2,000 for Xenium pack [power glass tilt and slide sunroof, parking camera 360 degree view and park assist pilot]
£1,000 for premium metallic
£750 for laminated side windows
£600 for Blind spot information system with cross traffic alert and rear collision mitigation plus auto dimming exterior mirrors
£620 for r-Design carbon fibre inlays
that's nearly £8k of options you could live without.
These ones are pretty good value from my experience:
£775 for Winter plus pack [active bending lights with adaptive shadow technology, front LED fog lights with cornering function, heated front windscreen, heated washer nozzles, headlight cleaning system]
£300 for Smartphone integration with 2xUSB 1xAUX input - gives you Android Auto and the Apple equilvent
£575 for keyless drive with remote tag plus handsfree tailgate opening/closing
These ones your mileage may vary:
£500 for Volvo on call with app - best thing is the remote start, useful for the winter and is cheaper than buying the secondary heating system
£100 for CD player
£600 for Power driver seat with memory
£400 for power passenger seat
If it was me I'd also get:
£550 for 4-Zone Electronic Climate Control and Cooled Glovebox
£300 for Heated Rear Seats - Outer Positions 2nd Row
The trim upgrades from the default add either a high quality nappa leather or nubuck for the R-Design, both are better than the base pleather from BMW/Merc. The pro versions add larger wheels, something the Volvos do not benefit from, a bunch of other pointless upgrades and air suspension. Personally I do not think the air suspension is worth the money on the Volvo but others may like it. Sweet spot for me is the Inscription trim level with the bigger dash display, nappa leather, mood lighting, leather dash topper, walnut inlays and other upgrades that make the car actually look like the press cars. It is a good £4k over the base momentum however.
Tuvra said:
Motormatt said:
The 5cyl engine in the V70 you drove was a much nicer one than you'd get in your £56K V90. As I said, it's not about outright performance or 'booting it', it's not that kind of car, its about refinement at the lower rev ranges and part throttle openings which is precisely what this car should excel at.
As for the engine not mattering, might I politely suggest that this might not be the forum for you?
If number of cylinders is essential, might I suggest that a diesel Volvo estate isn't the car for you? If £56k is "6 cylinder BMW territory" guess what you can do? I'm sure Volvo know their market better than the PH know it all's.As for the engine not mattering, might I politely suggest that this might not be the forum for you?
"Pistonheads, realistically, why does the engine even matter?"
tankplanker said:
ORD said:
What does the £16k over £40k get you? I just cannot see how they even begin to justify the pricing.
It is no different to the Audi/Merc/BMW option lists that are full of expensive options that nobody really needs and nearly always seem to be fitted to the press cars...ETA: My choices would be (on a D4 Inscription):
Intellisafe (cross-traffic/blind spot stuff) £600
Seat pack (heated/memory/electric) £700
Winter pack (heated windscreen+wheel etc etc) £525
Probably Xenium (auto park, 360° park info, sunroof) £1750
4-zone climate £550
Integrated rear sunblinds for the sprogs £210
Probably premium audio £3k
Total £47k with everything, possibly £43k with the audio and parking thing removed. I'd have to nosey around a demo and see whether they were worth it, although having used the JLR 360° parking thing it's rather useful, especially in a big estate.
Edited by Krikkit on Friday 24th March 10:57
Krikkit said:
I'd agree, although I think I'd be tempted to the premium sound, blind spot, winter pack etc on the test car - if you're spunking £40-50k on a practical car why not have the nice toys to go with it?
The winter pack is in my list of recommended upgrades, I have made use of all of the winter pack upgrades on my XC90 over the winter. Blind spot is a tricky one, for some it would be a benefit but I'm conditioned to looking over my shoulder before I change lanes so it wouldn't be doing something that I don't already do myself. I was really conflicted with the premium audio option for my XC90, it sounds amazing but it is a a lot of money if you aren't going to use it to the full very often. Our XC90 is mostly used when we are all in the car, so we don't have the stereo on and if we do it isn't on loud. If I used the car more by myself then I would be seriously tempted as it is very good.
Other upgrades I went for that I wouldn't bother again are the big sunroof as you sit too far forward in the front to see out of it when looking up (you have to look up and back) and the laminated side windows as they do not offer enough noise reduction (to my ears) to justify their extra price. If I hadn't had those two options then I would have had most of the money for the premium sound, oh hum.
I was disappointed that you couldn't get the front parking sensors without the 360 degree cameras, I would only need one not both of those options.
k engine
Motormatt said:
"Pistonheads, realistically, why does the engine even matter in a car like this?"
EFA 
Plenty of other options out there if you want fast, sporty estates. Volvo used to make them, they obviously dropped them because they were not financially viable or popular.
As long as the power was smooth and the cabin quiet, I wouldn't care what was powering it, then again I am not a dinosaur stuck in the past pretending that adding or decreasing cylinders actually matters as long as a car performs as you expect.
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