In-depth reviews

Volvo XC90 SUV (2003-2014): owner reviews

"The Volvo XC90 helped define the modern, family oriented 4x4 when it was launched in 2002, and even today it's still a very appealing car."

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by Richard Ingram

27 Mar 2015

.polaris__post-meta--date { display: none; } .polaris__post-meta--date.no-script { display: block; padding-left: 45px } 27 Mar 2015

Carbuyer Rating

2.4 out of 5

Owners Rating

4.2 out of 5

Reviews

Owner Reviews

5 out of 5
4 out of 5
3 out of 5
2 out of 5
1 out of 5

60%of people would recommend this car to a friend

Common Problems

Other (8 cases)
Engine (3 cases)
Brakes (2 cases)
Brakes, Electrics (3 cases)
Electrics (4 cases)
Brakes, Electrics, Other (2 cases)
Brakes, Electrics, Suspension, Other (1 case)
Gearbox / clutch (2 cases)
Engine, Gearbox / clutch, Suspension (1 case)
Engine, Suspension (1 case)
Electrics, Engine, Gearbox / clutch, Other (1 case)

Review 1 of 77

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Tell us what you think about your car?

No problems to report

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Tell us what you think about your car?

Not been as reliable as I would have expected from a Volvo but could have been worse. Because it shares a lot of parts with smaller Volvo's some of these parts are not up to the job in such a big car as the XC90 and have worn prematurely.

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

No Red thumbs down

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

No Red thumbs down

Tell us what you think about your car?

No problems at all since new

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Tell us what you think about your car?

A great all rounder, practical with style. slightly thirsty but at is a big car.

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Tell us what you think about your car?

A recent purchase but we are very happy with it. Running costs are higher than the car it replaced but reasonable considering the size and weight of the xc90.

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Tell us what you think about your car?

Disappointing although on a long run on a motorway the car is excellent. Shame it is so cumbersome elsewhere. Too many significant faults have marred our ownership of it.

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

No Red thumbs down

Tell us what you think about your car?

Love it!!

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Tell us what you think about your car?

Apart from poorer than expected fuel consumption, i am satisfied with the vehicle.

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

No Red thumbs down

Tell us what you think about your car?

Safe and durable, reliable and extremely comfortable. The xc90 is a good workhorse and is very competent in snow and blizzard conditions, the manual feature of geartronic box is a godsend on 1 in 3 and 4 hills in north east yorkshire and has enabled travel in sometimes treturious conditions when ferrying nhs staff. The vehicle is an ideal choice for our living in the north york moors but also suitable long distance travel as we found out in 2010 when we took a 4000mile excursion to warsaw via berlin. Cruising on german autobahns at a modest 85mph and travel on the more modest polish road network gave an impressive average mpg of 40.7, which is better than our uk average of 36mpg. Having said that the current snow and icy conditions has reduced the mpg to an average of 34.3. This is pretty darned good for a 2 ton (ish) 4x4. The reliability, feel good factor and general satisfaction of having vehicle that will take you virtually anywhere in complete safety is reassuring in this day and age and is reminiscent of the big volvo's of yesteryear. Besides owning volvo in the past, i have also owned a number of german built mercedes and bmw all of which have been enjoyable, however the volvo xc90 is a more discrete form of safe reliable travel in comfort and is the best vehicle that i have ever owned in 47 years of driving.

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Tell us what you think about your car?

No major problems

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Tell us what you think about your car?

No problem severe enough to cause breakdown. Electrics/comms system are periodically troublesome.

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

No Red thumbs down

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Tell us what you think about your car?

Faultless

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Tell us what you think about your car?

Excellent for flexibility, seating carrying goods etc, excellent handling, very expensive to run and maintain.

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

No Red thumbs down

Tell us what you think about your car?

Safe and practical family transport

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Tell us what you think about your car?

Reliable, but main dealer servicing is out, due to the very high cost. Bought this to tow our 24ft single axle caravan, which it does very well.

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

No Red thumbs down

Tell us what you think about your car?

A big comfortable car to drive, very relaxed but when thing go wrong the nightmare begins. The radio/cd system has failed and due to the fibre optic system used by volvo it will cost over £1,100 to replace!!

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

No Red thumbs down

Tell us what you think about your car?

Great - much more reliable than my previous discovery 3

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Tell us what you think about your car?

Very comfortable, extremely practical, comes into it's own so often in terms of space, practicality and load capacity. A practical 4 x4 without the agressive nature and overtones of a bmw x5 or range rover sport.

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Tell us what you think about your car?

Previously owned bmw's and audis from new but wanted a 4 x 4 and have been pleasantly surprised by volvo quality and performance

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

No Red thumbs down

Tell us what you think about your car?

Turning circle and fuel economy could be better.

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

No Red thumbs down

Tell us what you think about your car?

An excellent premium product, comfortable and easy to drive with suprising performance and economy

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Tell us what you think about your car?

Absolutely awesome. Talk about doing what it says on the box. I have never ever been so pleased with the car. Stuff the cost!

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Tell us what you think about your car?

Never had a problems with it

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Tell us what you think about your car?

Starts when needed. Tows large single-axle caravan-no problem.

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

No Red thumbs down

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

No Red thumbs down

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Tell us what you think about your car?

Parking brake kept needing adjusting Won't hold properly on hill when going into reverse wants to roll forward all the tome

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

No Red thumbs down

Tell us what you think about your car?

Never had an issue with the car. Confident that everything will work as expected.

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Tell us what you think about your car?

Faultless to date

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Tell us what you think about your car?

On the plus side: 7 seater, it is a safe fairly comfortable car which works well on long trips, and cheaper to buy than rivals. But so many cons: it feels like a tractor to drive, engine pick up is slow, gearbox unrefined, turning circle a joke. It is so dated now

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

No Red thumbs down

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

No Red thumbs down

Tell us what you think about your car?

I wish i could afford the newer model, simply to lift me out of the £425.00 road tax band. The road tax is my biggest beef, especialy when i see slightly older models than mine, but with the same engine paying much less tax. Why can't volvo tweak my engine to bring my co2 emission down? The newer models have the same d5 engine but emit slightly less co2

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Tell us what you think about your car?

All round brilliant car. Does exactly what i need to do (ferry two small kids and can even get adults in the third row of seats if needed albeit a bit of a squeeze).

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

No Red thumbs down

Tell us what you think about your car?

A supremely comfortable and practical family cruiser

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Tell us what you think about your car?

I have to say that i love it, it is a practical comfortable workhorse and i feel safe driving it.

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

No Red thumbs down

Tell us what you think about your car?

Very comfy, practical and a pleasure to own and drive

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Tell us what you think about your car?

Brilliant family car but quite pricey and build quality not as high as expected

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

No Red thumbs down

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Tell us what you think about your car?

Car has a problem with the auto gearbox slipping.

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

No Red thumbs down

Tell us what you think about your car?

Problem this year with ignition lock that jammed

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

No Red thumbs down

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

No Red thumbs down

Tell us what you think about your car?

Overall a compentent car, build quality not to normal volvo standards, running costs high (beware very expensive servicing but £300 for 3 years/54,000 miles service package well worth having).

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

No Red thumbs down

Tell us what you think about your car?

Best family car available, 7 real seats and not a van.

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Tell us what you think about your car?

Absolutely excellent - exceeded my expectations. The thirst for fuel is a disappointment but all other aspects of the vehicle have been excellent.. The one item acknowledged in 'problems with the car' was a cracked and mis-fitted fuel filter cap. This was caused by the dealer during a routine service and could not be attributed to the design or build of the car itself. Nevertheless it brought the vehicle to a complete standstill on two occasions, not having been successfully repaired the first time.

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Tell us what you think about your car?

Looks good, rides well, not eco any more!

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

No Red thumbs down

Tell us what you think about your car?

Immensely practical family vehicle with the ability to go just about anywhere and carry just about anything. Cruises at motorway speeds quietly and is pretty efficient on a combined run. Easy to live with and surprisingly good.

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Tell us what you think about your car?

Excellent; especially ideal for long european tours with lots of baggage

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Tell us what you think about your car?

Practical tank

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

No Red thumbs down

Tell us what you think about your car?

A good all rounder as long as you are prepared to put up with expensive repair bills on the odd occasion that something does go wrong. It shares a lot of components with the '70' series of volvo's, which is its weak point as these components should have been beefed up for the xc90 and not surprisingly it is these components that tend to fail. Good looks, praticality and resaonable fuel consumption (averaged 30mpg since bought - 45000 miles approx) more than make up for its running costs and odd repair bills.

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

No Red thumbs down

Tell us what you think about your car?

Very good all rounder.

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Tell us what you think about your car?

A really good car, but should be a really great car!

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

No Red thumbs down

Tell us what you think about your car?

Still too new to rate reliability wise but very happy with it so far. Great practicality and great to drive. Its no sports car but then again it does not pretend to be.

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Tell us what you think about your car?

No issues.

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Tell us what you think about your car?

Solid and robust

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Tell us what you think about your car?

Nothing gone wrong yet

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

No Red thumbs down

Tell us what you think about your car?

Very comfortable, practical, reliable and safe.

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Tell us what you think about your car?

Engine swirl control arm broke (59,000miles); internet suggested some problems with this re euro 4 compliant engine mods; volvo part paid repair. Track rod end worn (62,000miles); required replacing.

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

No Red thumbs down

Tell us what you think about your car?

Poor quality control and unreliable electrics

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

No Red thumbs down

Tell us what you think about your car?

Fantastic. Only a minor trim rattle and a sticky seat mechanism have been negative points. Also turning circle very poor, otherwise excellent.

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Tell us what you think about your car?

Practical family car

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Tell us what you think about your car?

Pound for pound, there is not a better value and quality 7 seat 4x4 on the market. It undercuts many standard estates + 5 or 7 seat people carriers on price and yet out does all in practicality. All round, an ideal family car.

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

No Red thumbs down

Tell us what you think about your car?

Poor quality control and lack of proper pdi have marred a good car. I have had 5 volvox but this xc90 has the build quality of a 1970s vauxhall, ie terrible. This is the worst car i have owned.

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

No Red thumbs down

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