The Volvo S90/V90 lease thread

[ilikejam]

hoganscrogan said:

I do use carplay a lot in the golf. Most BBC iPlayer app and internet radio, good to know I can do it if I miss it.

You can get TuneIn and Spotify for Sensus. Don't think there's iPlayer Radio though. Suppose there's always Bluetooth or AUX direct from your phone, but they seem so old fashioned these days!

[hoganscrogan]

Cheers, Sensus looks OK, only iPlayer not a native app so probably no need for CarPlay. Such an expensive option for a 'software' switch clicking too! Just started reading beginning of this thread and noticed my CarPlay equity was answered on page 4! Sorry for the re-ask.

Edited by hoganscrogan on Tuesday 29th May 11:28

[wibbaboo]

S90 R Design with Winter Pack

£408 per month (23 +1) 20K miles p.a.

So… I’ve only covered a few hundred miles in the S90 and thought I’d replay my experience

---

Background:
I had never seen a R Design in the flesh – or driven any S90 – so my choice of car was solely what deals were on offer with lease companies. My only criteria was that I needed a good motorway cruiser – my previous lease was a Bluemotion Passat 2.0D which was a good choice at the time – standard spec which included adaptive cruise – which I liked.
My ideal car would have been a BMW 520d (I have had one before and couldn’t fault it) but the cost was prohibitive (by far) and no-one had any offers on them. In the end the choice was:

1. Skoda Superb
2. Another Passat
3. Volvo S90
4. VW Tiguan – some good deals at the moment.

I didn’t like the Superb (unless it was the top spec which pushed the budget too high), the Tiguan was spacious but not the saloon I was looking for – Passat would have been the safe choice - so I gambled on the YouTube reviews and went for the S90 R Design with winter pack.

Styling:
The R Design is an excellent trim level and its exterior looks do raise it to executive car status (Audi A6 / BMW 5 Series) The “bright silver” was not my choice and I would recommend a darker colour as this car shows up every squashed summer bug and mud splatter! The wheels look good but immediately collect a layer of brake dust… I know I am going to kerb those alloys - very little rubber of the tyres to protect them.

Inside – beautiful, those seats have got to be THE most comfortable on the market

I tried out the heated steering wheel – gonna be useful in a few months I’m sure.

The Sensus has the illusion of being intuitive, I have had to reference the manual on a couple of occasions,which, by the way, I found easier to download to my tablet – and not using the in-built Sensus manual.

---

The Drive:
Nice and quiet – so much so …I was concentrating on the tyre noise more than engine noise.
Not great feedback through the steering wheel – but acceptable for this type of car.
More power than my previous Passat and closer in speed and torque levels to a 520d, however, at higher speeds I found the feedback through the steering wheel not as re-assuring as its German opposition.
I use Pilot Assist with my hands on the wheel and every now and again testing the resistance slightly – this avoids the warning messages. I’m not sure of its true advantage over the active cruise control but I’ll have a better view after a few more miles
Gearbox silky smooth – but a bit slow off the mark at junctions (maybe because I’m using Eco mode?)

Great Sensus things:
Spotify App is good- (I wasn’t expecting to use this)
Great sound from the standard Amp & Speakers
Connection (WiFi & Bluetooth) works well

Annoying Sensus things:
You cannot specify a starting driving mode – It will always start in comfort and you have to change it every time (to Eco in my case). Unless anyone else has found a way of doing this?
Turning of FM TA announcements (hidden in menu items)
Difficult to keep clean (finger print marks)

Maintenance Costs:
This is the only thing that concerns me at the moment – I will use Halfords Autocentre as my go to garage to keep the costs down – not sure how many visits I’ll need.

Options I would add:
Front Parking sensors – let’s face it I need a captain’s licence for this barge!
Volvo On Call (disappointed this wasn’t on this 2018 model) really would like this !
Built-in Modem (I bought a PAYG MiFi Router that I have plugged into the USB port for Internet access) works well but a little untidy
Options I wouldn't miss:
Paddles on Steering Wheel

---

Overall:

This car is amazing value (if you can get one of the lease deals) I doubt I will be able to get anything as good for the same money when this ends in 2 years.
It’s a rare car – I’ve seen a handful of V90s but only one S90 in the last 3 weeks – compare that to the fleet of A6/BMW/Mercs on the road and this does seem exclusive.
It’s a really handsome car – I find myself looking back over my shoulder after I’ve locked it just to admire its looks. I’m pretty sure I’ve made a good choice with this one.

[soupdragon1]

You have to save your profile in sensus which isn't really made clear. You can start it in any drive mode once it's saved to your profile, even dynamic. I have a few bits n bobs saved. E.g., temp outside is less that 8 degrees the heated seats come on automatically, and that type of thing.

[225]

wibbaboo said:

=S90 R Design with Winter Pack =

£408 per month (23 +1) 20K miles p.a.

So… I’ve only covered a few hundred miles in the S90 and thought I’d replay my experience

---

Background:
I had never seen a R Design in the flesh – or driven any S90 – so my choice of car was solely what deals were on offer with lease companies. My only criteria was that I needed a good motorway cruiser – my previous lease was a Bluemotion Passat 2.0D which was a good choice at the time – standard spec which included adaptive cruise – which I liked.
My ideal car would have been a BMW 520d (I have had one before and couldn’t fault it) but the cost was prohibitive (by far) and no-one had any offers on them. In the end the choice was:

1. Skoda Superb
2. Another Passat
3. Volvo S90
4. VW Tiguan – some good deals at the moment.

I didn’t like the Superb (unless it was the top spec which pushed the budget too high), the Tiguan was spacious but not the saloon I was looking for – Passat would have been the safe choice - so I gambled on the YouTube reviews and went for the S90 R Design with winter pack.

Styling:
The R Design is an excellent trim level and its exterior looks do raise it to executive car status (Audi A6 / BMW 5 Series) The “bright silver” was not my choice and I would recommend a darker colour as this car shows up every squashed summer bug and mud splatter! The wheels look good but immediately collect a layer of brake dust… I know I am going to kerb those alloys - very little rubber of the tyres to protect them.

Inside – beautiful, those seats have got to be THE most comfortable on the market

I tried out the heated steering wheel – gonna be useful in a few months I’m sure.

The Sensus has the illusion of being intuitive, I have had to reference the manual on a couple of occasions,which, by the way, I found easier to download to my tablet – and not using the in-built Sensus manual.

---

The Drive:
Nice and quiet – so much so …I was concentrating on the tyre noise more than engine noise.
Not great feedback through the steering wheel – but acceptable for this type of car.
More power than my previous Passat and closer in speed and torque levels to a 520d, however, at higher speeds I found the feedback through the steering wheel not as re-assuring as its German opposition.
I use Pilot Assist with my hands on the wheel and every now and again testing the resistance slightly – this avoids the warning messages. I’m not sure of its true advantage over the active cruise control but I’ll have a better view after a few more miles
Gearbox silky smooth – but a bit slow off the mark at junctions (maybe because I’m using Eco mode?)

Great Sensus things:
Spotify App is good- (I wasn’t expecting to use this)
Great sound from the standard Amp & Speakers
Connection (WiFi & Bluetooth) works well

Annoying Sensus things:
You cannot specify a starting driving mode – It will always start in comfort and you have to change it every time (to Eco in my case). Unless anyone else has found a way of doing this?
Turning of FM TA announcements (hidden in menu items)
Difficult to keep clean (finger print marks)

Maintenance Costs:
This is the only thing that concerns me at the moment – I will use Halfords Autocentre as my go to garage to keep the costs down – not sure how many visits I’ll need.

Options I would add:
Front Parking sensors – let’s face it I need a captain’s licence for this barge!
Volvo On Call (disappointed this wasn’t on this 2018 model) really would like this !
Built-in Modem (I bought a PAYG MiFi Router that I have plugged into the USB port for Internet access) works well but a little untidy
Options I wouldn't miss:
Paddles on Steering Wheel

---

Overall:

This car is amazing value (if you can get one of the lease deals) I doubt I will be able to get anything as good for the same money when this ends in 2 years.
It’s a rare car – I’ve seen a handful of V90s but only one S90 in the last 3 weeks – compare that to the fleet of A6/BMW/Mercs on the road and this does seem exclusive.
It’s a really handsome car – I find myself looking back over my shoulder after I’ve locked it just to admire its looks. I’m pretty sure I’ve made a good choice with this one.

Thanks that is very useful.
Like you I ordered a V90 due to the lease and not the car. Coming from a 340i touring I never thought I'd A, go back to derv, especially a 4 pot and B, ever drive a Volvo! The deals were too good though and managed to bag a D5 R design when they were cheap.

Having now sat in one I am looking forward to that cabin as it really is smart and a cut above the F31 BMW as you would expect being newer and class above. It will not have anywhere near the poke of the 340 (had a tuning box on it as well) but for the amount I will be using it should be fine for a couple of years. Good times!

[wibbaboo]

soupdragon1 said:

You have to save your profile in sensus which isn't really made clear. You can start it in any drive mode once it's saved to your profile, even dynamic. I have a few bits n bobs saved. E.g., temp outside is less that 8 degrees the heated seats come on automatically, and that type of thing.

Thanks Soupdragon - I had a tinker trying to get this to work... I managed to change my profile name - and it does remember most settings - but the only settings I can change relating to Drive Mode is the Dynamic - which I have setup - but still it resets to comfort everytime the car is started... I must be missing something !
Cheers

[whoami]

wibbaboo said:

Thanks Soupdragon - I had a tinker trying to get this to work... I managed to change my profile name - and it does remember most settings - but the only settings I can change relating to Drive Mode is the Dynamic - which I have setup - but still it resets to comfort everytime the car is started... I must be missing something !
Cheers

Mine does that too.

[rufmeister]

Argh! Gutted that the 18MY V90 doesn't have on call and it cant be retro-fitted. Was really looking forward to the functions of that, remote heat/cool etc.

[soupdragon1]

whoami said:

wibbaboo said:

Thanks Soupdragon - I had a tinker trying to get this to work... I managed to change my profile name - and it does remember most settings - but the only settings I can change relating to Drive Mode is the Dynamic - which I have setup - but still it resets to comfort everytime the car is started... I must be missing something !
Cheers

Mine does that too.

I'll have a look at mine again and try and figure out how to do it and then report back.

[Guy-j88un]

I seem to have configured my V90 under the Guest profile.. anyway to save this to the "Profile 1" slot?

[anonymous-user]

I went from an Alltrack to V90 Inscription. The inside of the Volvo is lovely, really lovely, however as a tool to drive it's poor. The gearbox is not as smooth or intuitive as, for example, the ZF8 as BMW do it. The steering and suspension feel like they were developed by people who never met. It wallows and rolls like a pair of fat birds on a waterbed.

[COLONEL_SMITH]

I picked my V90 R Design up on tuesday and love it. Only took a few miles of driving to get used to the size of thing, parking needs a bit more concentration than it did in the mini but it will soon feel like a normal size car.

I am having issues with connectivity, my phone will connect via bluetooth when I get in the car but it only seems to connect to calls. When you go into the menu that lists phones connected only the handset one is lit. I played around with it and got music to work but when I finally got the messages to work the music icon was not lit. Played around again and got the music back but then no messages. I had a quick attempt at getting online but it could not find my home wifi despite being parked next to the house so tried with bluetooth. Eventually got it to connect but could not get any apps to work.
In the options everything is ticked for connectivity so not sure why it does not connect to all of the options.
Any advice to fix this?

Thanks

[ilikejam]

wibbaboo said:

Looks really good in the silver! (like I thought it would) Still slightly annoyed that circumstances led me away from the S and in to the V.

Mine's arriving tomorrow morning - love new car day!

[soupdragon1]

soupdragon1 said:

whoami said:

wibbaboo said:

Thanks Soupdragon - I had a tinker trying to get this to work... I managed to change my profile name - and it does remember most settings - but the only settings I can change relating to Drive Mode is the Dynamic - which I have setup - but still it resets to comfort everytime the car is started... I must be missing something !
Cheers

Mine does that too.

I'll have a look at mine again and try and figure out how to do it and then report back.

As also mentioned above, I was in guest mode too, as the guy who drove it to the port had set up a guest profile and I simply configured my settings under guest.

Anyway, I went to look at this last night and I'll be damned if I can figure out how to do it - I do remember saving stuff in the guest profile but now I've modified user 1, I can't figure out what I did before. You can definitely configure it to start in eco, or dynamic for example. I only played for a few minutes and there is a sort of workaround which I haven't bothered with yet.

Eg - if its always starting in normal mode - you can actually configure normal mode to behave like eco mode - throttle response etc. Not a great solution and I haven't tried that yet to see if the coasting function of eco mode will work in normal mode with eco settings for example.

I'll not let it defeat me though - if all else fails I'll have to hand in my man card consult the dreaded 'user manual'

[morrisk1]

ilikejam said:

wibbaboo said:

[image]

Looks really good in the silver! (like I thought it would) Still slightly annoyed that circumstances led me away from the S and in to the V.

Mine's arriving tomorrow morning - love new car day!

Also getting mine tomorrow morning, Onyx black V90. Slight overlap with current Skoda due to all being a bit last minute at my end.

Have to say, I'll be sorry to see the Superb going. Its not put a foot wrong so I would definitely recommend one (but that doesn't stop me being excited for my first Volvo experience).

I have booked in rear/boot tints for a couple of weeks. Looking at internet images I do think it looks a lot better, but may change my mind when I see it in person (cost £165+VAT for anyone interested). Car shades is the other option, they do also look good from what I've seen here.

[225]

morrisk1 said:

Also getting mine tomorrow morning, Onyx black V90. Slight overlap with current Skoda due to all being a bit last minute at my end.

Have to say, I'll be sorry to see the Superb going. Its not put a foot wrong so I would definitely recommend one (but that doesn't stop me being excited for my first Volvo experience).

I have booked in rear/boot tints for a couple of weeks. Looking at internet images I do think it looks a lot better, but may change my mind when I see it in person (cost £165+VAT for anyone interested). Car shades is the other option, they do also look good from what I've seen here.

Is that through a main dealer and is yours a lease? I am looking at getting the car blinds to give the tinted look on mine but would prefer the real thing. Obviously being a lease I don't want to fall foul of changes or spend a lot of cash on it.

[morrisk1]

225 said:

morrisk1 said:

Also getting mine tomorrow morning, Onyx black V90. Slight overlap with current Skoda due to all being a bit last minute at my end.

Have to say, I'll be sorry to see the Superb going. Its not put a foot wrong so I would definitely recommend one (but that doesn't stop me being excited for my first Volvo experience).

I have booked in rear/boot tints for a couple of weeks. Looking at internet images I do think it looks a lot better, but may change my mind when I see it in person (cost £165+VAT for anyone interested). Car shades is the other option, they do also look good from what I've seen here.

Is that through a main dealer and is yours a lease? I am looking at getting the car blinds to give the tinted look on mine but would prefer the real thing. Obviously being a lease I don't want to fall foul of changes or spend a lot of cash on it.

Lease. Tints will be as per manufacturers spec but from a local specialist. Paying a bit more for someone reputable as I'm hoping there won't be any comments come 2020. Bit of a risk, I guess, so may wimp out - we'll see!

[Digitalx]

Tints on a wagon like a v90 is a good idea, looks odd without. I know local dealers can do this in house as a retro fit for about 200.

[StamfordB]

Just fisted the Kumquat on a My18 S90 R design Onyx Black with Winter pack from Riverside Volvo
24mnths 9 upfront and £236
Missed out on the V90 so this fits the bill

[rufmeister]

My V90 R Design has just been delivered, it has front sensors...wonder what else it has that it shouldn't?

Unfortunately I had to just grab the keys and dash out to an appointment, stunning looking car, really surprised how smart it is.

Looking forward to having a play later.