XC90 Best Petrol Engine/Gearbox Choice

[Dave80s]

Hi, the mother in law wants an XC90 and it has to be a petrol model, she does a small yearly mileage so makes sense to me and I'm not going to argue with her.

As V8s are over her budget we decided to go for the T6, but I have noticed a few 2.5T versions creeping into her price range.

So which is the best engine?

Do all 2.5Ts come with the newer 5 speed auto gearbox, and is this a plus point?

[JimexPL]

If they are similar in price, the 2.5T all day long, unless you like 15mpg and a new gearbox every 20-70,000 miles.

There's not much between the two on the road, and a remapped 2.5T feels better than a standard T6 because of the sensible gearbox ratios.

All 2.5Ts have a pretty decent Volvo specific 5 speed box, whereas the T6 had an already outdated GM sourced box that wasn't up to the job of hauling an XC90 around.

Edited by JimexPL on Thursday 24th June 16:05

[Dave80s]

Thanks for the advice. Have you driven both? What mpg did you get out of the 2.5T?

[JimexPL]

While working for Volvo I had pretty much every derivative of XC90. A T6 averaged 15-16mpg in town (central London) and 20-21mpg on a run. A 2.5T would do 18-20 in town and 22-25mpg on a run.

The T6 would have been a great engine if Volvo had the money to develop a decent gearbox for it. Then the engine would have been rated at about 320hp.