There’s just something about a Volvo wagon that feels right. They usually aren’t the fastest or most opulent or most efficient or most gadget-rich cars on the road, but they usually have a certain mix of style, practicality, and comfort that’s hard to resist. The modern V90 is still an absolutely stunning machine with huge presence and a gorgeous interior, which explains its fairly strong resale value. Want an R-Design model in Bursting Blue? Be prepared to pay. Fortunately, I recently learned that there is a way of getting a largely similar car for much less cash: Buy one with cladding.
Nearly three decades ago, Volvo looked at what Subaru was doing with the Outback and thought “I’ll have what they’re having.” The result was the V70 XC, the latter two letters standing for “Cross Country.” This raised-up plastic-clad wagon was an instant hit, so it’s no surprise that the Cross Country lineage has continued through to models like the V90 Cross Country. It’s been raised by 2.3 inches over the standard V90, fitted with chunky fender flares, skirts and valences to shrug off stone chips and brambles, but is otherwise the same car as its low-slung brother.
This means you get those razor-sharp Thor’s Hammer headlights, an optional Bowers & Wilkins sound system that remains the benchmark for OEM premium audio setups, 53.9 cu.-ft. of cargo space with the rear seats folded down, and front seats that can fix your life, never mind your posture. Admittedly, I’m still not crazy about the screen-heavy tablet-style infotainment system, but at least it supports Apple CarPlay and Android Auto so you can plug your phone in and forget about much of the native interface. Beyond that, every switch is nicely damped, and every material from the open-pore wood to the silky leather feels quality, which makes a second-hand V90 Cross Country seem like a lot of car for less than $20,000.
Oh yes, while that sort of pricing does only get you an early model, you aren’t exclusively looking at examples with moon mileage. Check out this brown-over-blonde 2017 V90 Cross Country T6 up for sale in Massachusetts with all the toys you could really want. The phenomenal Bowers & Wilkins sound system, massaging seats, rear side window blinds, enhanced parking assistance, and the 316-horsepower twin-charged engine. All this for $18,500 with a clean history report. Even the mileage isn’t crazy for a near-decade-old car, with 121,373 miles on the clock working out to roughly the standard of 13,000 a year. Nice.
If mileage is more of a concern than cleanly blasting “Weird Fishes” so loudly that the neighbors get concerned, something like this 2018 V90 Cross Country T5 is probably more in your wheelhouse. It skips the supercharger to produce 250 horsepower from a two-liter turbocharged inline-four, has 92,674 miles on the clock, and is up for sale in Nashville, Tenn. for $17,896. Again, a lot of car for the money.
If you don’t care much about mileage and just want to ball on a budget, this particular 2017 V90 Cross Country T6 is diabolically cheap. To be specific, $10,699, and it even has the Bowers & Wilkins sound system specced. Why so cheap? Well, it’s a one-two punch of damage history and a whopping 193,792 miles on the clock. Still, if you’re feeling brave, make your way down to East Windsor, Connecticut, where this raised wagon is up for sale.
By now you’re probably wondering what the catch is here. After all, heavily depreciated European luxury cars are often diabolically expensive to run. Right you are, as these early V90 Cross Country examples sometimes suffered teething issues. That T6 twincharged engine doesn’t have the most robust supercharger on the planet, for example. A complete replacement kit with a new supercharger, gaskets, and an alignment tool currently costs $1,684.06 plus a $250 core charge from FCP Euro. Rarer but still known enough to be noteworthy is the air-con evaporator core. Some owners have reported it failing, and this is a properly expensive job as the whole dashboard needs to come out. The part itself is only $700, but the sheer time required to replace it can push labor costs into the thousands. On a more minor note, there’s a $68 coolant line that can go brittle with time, a $102 updated sunroof seal can stop annoying air leaks, and while the LED taillights are known for water ingress, aftermarket replacements are available at significantly lower cost.
Okay, so the Volvo V90 Cross Country isn’t the most reliable second-hand luxury car you can buy, but when it comes to large, luxurious wagons, it’s still rather tempting. Well-judged ride quality meets plenty of passenger space, a usable cargo hold, and sumptuous design inside and out. It’s relaxing to drive, exceptionally comfortable, and just a lovely object to live with every day. So long as you’re willing to take the brave pill and have a few grand set aside in case the air conditioning evaporator leaks, this is still a ton of car for the money. Didn’t know they were getting this cheap? Now you do.
Top graphic image: Autotrader seller
When this generation of v90 and the s90 sedan came out I happened to be in the market for a new car. They were even offering that pick it up in Europe and drive around on vacation before we ship it home to you included with the purchase. I emailed and asked if I picked it up over the pond could I get that European transmission (stick shift). They were nice enough to email me back explaining how expensive it was to crash test a manual transmission model stateside for about 2 people to buy it. I went in another direction and bought a toyobaru. They still look good when I see them on the road.
That’s funny. I did the exact same thing by contacting them, and got the exact same response. I ended up buying a used 2008 Saab 9-3 sportcombi with a stick shift. That was a great car.
I really liked my V90 for all 110K trouble free miles. Fun fact – shoving a water bottle in the steering wheel will trick the driver assistance into thinking you have your hands on the wheel. Dont do that – unless you’re driving through Kansas at 2am. Sold it to buy my wife a Jeep Gladiator. That was not a good decision.
“The Volvo V90 Cross Country Is Getting Tantalizingly Cheap”
I have to think there’s a reason for that.
I’d get in the mindset that the $18,000 purchase price is the down payment with regular installments to follow. If you end up pleasantly surprised, that’s better than expecting the opposite and getting cold-clocked by the first big repair.
When my kids were little I bought a silver 1999 V70 from the people who lived across the street for a few thousand dollars. That was the down payment, and I was soon on a first name basis with the mechanics at the local independent Volvo shop, I think I put their kids through college. Every year we owned it there was at least one four-digit repair bill.
My dad always says, ‘would you rather a four-digit bill annually or $600-$800 per month’? Put it that way, if you’ve got the cash on hand then it’s the price to pay for driving a car you like.
A close friend has purchased multiple modern Volvos new. He said he couldn’t recommend a used one in good conscience, regardless how good they are.
When I was a kid, my friend’s parents had a Volvo 240. I have always wanted a Volvo but couldn’t afford them years ago and these days, the nice older ones are just too old to justify owning. Modern ones are Ipads from Geeley. I just met a former Volvo tech and he confirmed that modern ones are basically crap as far as long term reliability. Such a shame since wagons are great.
I guess if you can afford to spend $50k on a car 20k for a 10 year old volvo seems like a good alternative. But if 20k is ALL your money hell nah fam.
I’d like a V90 from 1997. Last of the RWD wagons [sob].
I had a ’93 965. A good car, but not a great car. That engine has some issues that were never fully resolved. And those last S/V90s got independent rear suspension, but a goofy too-soft design with zero aftermarket support – they actually handle worse than the live-axle cars. And a detuned engine that makes them a bit more gutless than you would expect.
I’ve always thought the perfect RWD Volvo would be a ’91 940SE wagon with the AW 30/40 transmission from the 965 fitted (or a stick, which was never offered in the US). That was a 940 with a turbo 4, as the I6 wasn’t ready until ’92. Buddy of mine had one that he tuned up to the moon and back. Fun! I owned a couple of turbo wagons, the AW71 slushbox was my main gripe. Why Volvo never managed to fit a lockup converter transmission behind the turbo motors baffles me. Not like they put out any astonishing amount of power. The ZF4hp22 as used with some of the n/a 8Vs was put in cars with WAAY more power!
Last year I visited some friends at their place in Summit county CO and they have a V90 Ocean Race edition as their winter car for going to the slopes. It was spectacularly good hauler for 4 people and their stuff in the winter.
Out of warranty, I’d probably still go for an E class estate though.
Why are they cheap? Well have a look at this IDoCars engine teardown to get an idea why these are cheap:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XFbqXmeEm8
I had every intention of opening that to save to watch later and watched it completely through right away. Thanks for sharing!
Now I have a large rabbit hole of videos to watch. Thanks for that. Good stuff.
Watch the FCA/Stellantis Ecodiesel teardown and you’ll never want to own one…. LOL
The teardown of the 3rd generation Fit made me feel good since I own one.
Trouble is, you can buy a Mercedes E350 wagon for the same money and it’s a MUCH better car.
And a big warning for the DIY’er interested in any modern Volvo is that they are hard-linked to Mother Volvo for anything and everything electronic second only to a John Deere product. And for all that, they really aren’t great to drive. Comfortable yes, but also rather numb and a bit unrefined with the 4-banger engine. Mercedes does this rather better.
Maybe. Sounds like another car that’s going to cost $5,000 to fix the seat warmers or something.
No $70K+ car is ever going to be cheap to fix. But Mercedes in my experience (I’ve owned three wagons) are actually quite reasonable as long as you stay away from the stupid high-performance wallet-melter models and avoid the dealership as much as humanly possible.
Or you can get a Lexus and it’ll just run for 500,000 miles
And that’s on the original oil and brakes.
Unless you’re good with a IS300 Sportcross (and good luck finding one today that isn’t trashed), Lexus isn’t offering much for the wagon fans out there.
Except this thing isn’t really a wagon. It’s like all the other quote” wagons that more or less are an SUV is form
Volvo also made the V90 wagon in non-ruined, non-Outback’d form. As wagony as wagons get, just like an E350 wagon. Of course, because ‘Murica, the regular V90 was mostly special-order only (my local dealer in Maine DID stock them, but that’s a New England peculiarity), and Mercedes eventually ruined thier wagon by giving it the Outback treatment too. Though today you can get the regular one again, albeit only as an AMG. Cue my comments about the stupid versions of their cars.
LOL – I have friends and family who own them. You will spend a *shit ton* of money to run one of those for 500K too. Are they a little more reliable than the non-stupid Mercedes models? Yup, they are. They are every bit as expensive to fix when the time comes though, and it does. There is not nearly as much in it as you think there is. Again, as long as you stay away from nonsense like V-12 S-classes and whatnot.
And they haven’t made a wagon in ages, and the one they did make kind of sucked.
I have 2 friends with Volvos and they both seem to “reliably” need something major done to them around 2 times a year. The old Volvo is at this point another brand that lost whatever unique DNA it had and is now just another similarly unreliable European car brand complete with the annoying baggage it comes with. So… I’m probably not getting one anytime soon.
I don’t “Get” this brand anymore when better and more reliable, better built vehicles exist. Same goes for BMW, Mercedes, Audi and gawd- Land Rover. Why any of those? Just get a Lexus. The end.
Very much agreed about Volvo, and that goes for ALL FWD Volvos from 1993 onwards – the RWD cars were great, I’ve owned 12 of them. But they were also *crude*, and not even remotely in the same class as the Germans. Realistically, agree about all of them *today*. And that includes Lexus, which I find equally terrible today, even if they might cost slightly less to run.
But 15+ years ago, if you care about driving, the Germans are just better and worth the extra money. Lexus “fancy Camry” ambiance does absolutely nothing for me. If you don’t care about the drive, get a Lexus, nobody ever went too far wrong with a Toyota. But don’t think you are driving an LS 500K miles with nothing but oil changes and tires. And some seriously wallet-melting repairs along the way.
I guess I sort of don’t care about driving because I work from home and barely drive. For 20 years before that I had a awful commute. Cars for me are just a thing you get in and get somewhere. But that said, what you can get in the form of new cars, even in the form of more pedestrian brands, is pretty decent.
I’m visiting my folks and mom has a newer Camry hybrid. Handles reasonably enough, has a million features including heated and cooled seats and its pretty quick. Sure. Not the same cache as a BMW but whatever. It’ll probably go 300,000 with maybe some oil changes and regular maintenance type stuff.
I feel most cars are similar now. Most brands now offer something pretty comfortable and confident even in some of the lower trims. Not as much of a huge difference between the luxury and pedestrian brands.
As I have long said, if you don’t get the difference between a BMW and a Camry, just buy the Camry.
I’ve worked from home for 20 years, when I get behind the wheel, I want to be entertained by the drive. If you aren’t into driving, perfectly fine. Different strokes for different folks.
I guess I just don’t get the desire to blow 50, 60, 70k or more dollars .. on a car that’s going to instantly depreciate. I personally feel my old Tacoma is pretty fun to drive as it’s a stick. Also owned that for over 30 years. So it’s sort of “bonded” to me. I’m 49 now but aiming to retire by 55. Part of that is possible because I’ve never had a car payment other than the truck which was paid off 25 years ago. By now 30 years would’ve equalled… 3-4 BMWs at an average of 50k+ each for around $200k in cars versus the same amount accumulating in various investments. That’s just the way I look at it. Lost investment potential.
I do get the differences in handling. One of my friends has a Tesla model 3 with dual motors. Holy shit the car almost leaves the pavement. I hate Elon and the car looks lame but I can’t deny it’s a hoot to drive
Depreciation is irrelevant if you never sell the thing. I am still extremely happily driving my 2011 BMW that I ordered new and took delivery of at the factory in Munich. I fully expect to still be driving it in another 15-20 years. I have owned my Triumph Spitfire for 30… There is something to be said for treating cars as a utility payment, though my cheapskate self can’t see doing that with premium cars either. But nobody says you HAVE to buy a new one every 3-4 years.
Cars do not go to zero, the cost is merely the difference between the current one and the previous one. And if you keep them long enough, they appreciate. My Spitfire is worth 3X what I paid for it, and my BMW has stopped depreciating at about half what I paid for it. Buying the RIGHT one and not driving the wheels off it is the key to that, of course. You will need a crystal ball to determine what the right one is – nobody wanted RWD 6spd wagons in the states new (hence only ~500 sold in seven model years of the e91), but there are enough people who want them NOW to keep values sky-high. And if I had ordered mine with the M-Sport package ($4K at the time), it would be worth $10K+ more today. Sigh.
Retirement is overrated. I have technically been able to “retire” for some years now – zero interest in it, I would be bored out of my tree. I love what I do. The ability to retire is what is key. The car payments I have had have made zero real difference in that. But as I keep saying – if you aren’t into cars, spend the money on something that floats your boat. I don’t smoke, drink, play the ponies, do hookers or blow, own a boat or an airplane, no kids or trophy spouses/exes. I own multiple homes, but the value of them adds up to rather less than the median home cost today. I can afford to buy new cars if I want to (which I don’t anymore, so there’s that). It was a ton of fun while it lasted, but then cars went stupid.
I’ve been so far at around 12-14 different companies in and around Silicon Valley and a few more after that. Many of those changes were not because I wanted to but because the company was bought, sold, restructured or went under. Tech is a brutal place to work. It wasn’t always that way and for a time between the late 90’s-2010’s it was VERY fun. The pay is phenomenal and that’s why I did it for so long. So I feel like I’ve lived 5 careers. It gets tiresome.
My father was diagnosed with a serious form of cancer some months ago. That along with my weariness of “the career” has shifted some gears in my head dramatically.
And one of those thoughts is that making products to make some other company money when time and time again- you put in the work, you work hard and in the end it really doesn’t matter because the billionaires who own the company won’t bat an eye laying off 50,000 people… is silly.
When I mentioned retire, I meant to indicate- retire from corporate America. Meaning do my own thing which might involve opening up my own business restoring vintage audio, stereo, record player and other forms of vacuum tube powered stuff.
I DO have a few older cars. I’m a cheap ass so none of them are “amazing”. One is a 1955 Mercury Monterey 4 door. But…. I re-did the suspension, brakes, and steering and get that on the freeway and its like a floating living room on wheels. I also have a 1949 Plymouth that’s slow as fuck but still a hoot. Top speed is oh… 60?
I get very attached to my vehicles so despite it being the stripper eco model, the Tacoma stays with me for life. 30 years. I was a kid when I bought it. On top of that I appreciate well-done engineering. I respect the engineering and the quality of it in this Tacoma. I’ve Owned it since day one. Its way past the 350k mark now. I replaced the original valve cover last year. It had never been cracked. I checked the compression and valve clearances. All still at nearly perfect factory specs. I know many people with these trucks, including some other sort of well to do yet cheap guys who love these and some had well past 500,000 miles. I would not bat an eye driving this truck across the US back and again. Its a object of mechanical perfection when it comes to actual quality engineering because they are seemingly not all that affected by an insane amount of miles.
Anyway, I know a few people who retired younger. They did not regret that decision. I will hopefully head that way someday soon-ish. We will see…
That’s a very different tech world than the one I am in. I have been at the same tech company for 20 years, and plan to retire from here. If that doesn’t happen, oh well. I got my taste of “big corp” with my first professional job 30-odd years ago. Never again. Second job was a decade at a company that was too small, this one has been the Goldilocks fit.
I seem to keep cars either forever or for a relatively short time, with only a few in-between. Just sold my Mercedes wagon actually. Four years, so a bit of a “tweener”. Bringing my BMW wagon to Florida, so it’s surplus to requirements now.
Sounds like you have a life plan that is a good fit for you – hope it works out as you hope. Old American cars are cool, just not my jam, LOL. Sounds like a fun pair! Speed isn’t everything, and most times it’s not anything at all.
I spent 22-23 years in ” Enterprise tech”- the big boys. It was totally by accident as before then I was at a number of small dot-coms back then they still called it that. My experience has been that these companies themselves become easily vulnerable once latest trends in the tech world can in turn impact an established company’s entire stack. The companies that survive are the ones that can quickly pivot but that usually means lots of layoffs and then restructuring to adapt to the latest thing. In between that all a lot of us jumped from one place to another. I was at one of the biggest of these companies off and on for 8 years. And the atmosphere was pretty toxic. Over the years I got to know quite a few people and eventually a lot of us somehow all wound up at another tech co that was GREAT. As in- fantastic culture, great leadership, sticky products, generous bonuses, etc. And then a company that looked and smelled like the one I had escaped from years ago came along and bought it.
This constant state of change and flux has made me both bitter and jaded and I view a job as a mere transactional experience. I am nice and friendly with my co-workers and we get along great. Its also a company where apparently people stay 10-20-30+ years at a time. But I simply don’t trust any company. That’s why we’ve been socking it away for decades- so we can “remove” that risk and just be retired. Or at least out of the fire and into something way more manageable.
If… I really was all about the cars and wanted to get my dream car it’d probably be either a 1989 Toyota Supra or one very big extreme- a Toyota Century, which is perhaps one of the world’s most sumptuous, luxurious car. Except its never going to need to ever go to the shop- because its a Toyota on steroids with everything engineered to the absolute max.
These are… for some reason very cheap as used. It would be problematic to get one here in California. But that’s my dream car.
Agreed. You can also get a similar vintage 330i wagon with a much more durable driveline for a similar price.
Yeah, despite being a multiple BMW owner, I don’t tend to think about those (there’s a reason I have an E350, not an F31 328i/330i). But I would absolutely 150% take an F31 over one of these Volvos. But technically, the F31 really competes more with the V60 than the V90.
My e91 will be pried from my cold, dead fingers. 😉
Six months ago, there was a factory manual, F31 340i on sale on PistonHeads and I sat there and gave it a long and hard think about importing it. Currency conversion made it too pricey in the end, but man it was tempting.
I always ignore the 328 as the B46 in the 330 is far superior.
You must be in Canada? Too new to import to the Land of the Free, and nowadays the Idiot in Chief’s tariffs make importing anything automotive a ridiculous proposition.
But that would be a fun car indeed – basically my M235i in wagon form. Wheeee!
Australia, so the RHD part of it being a UK car is the most important part. 1GBP = 1.9AUD though which hurts a lot.
Exactly my thought, it would be the family car version of the M235i I owned in the US.
I don’t dare look at what the exchange rate to the dollar is at the moment. I used to be able to buy Alfa parts MUCH more reasonably from the UK than from the US vendors (they all knew what they had). Though I suppose Brexit has done about as much of a number on the pound as Trump has on the dollar, so there is that. But his idiotic tariffs are the real killer.
The 90 series is too much car for what I need but I went in on a 19 S60 T6 earlier this year and I love it. Mine is an R Design with Bowers and Wilkins and the Polestar enhanced tune so probably the one to get. Even with the tune, it’s no sports car but it’s an extremely comfortable, smooth, quiet, daily cruiser with a surprising amount of power. That supercharger may not be big but it does a lot on the low end.
From what I understand, a lot of the T6 kinks were worked out by then and the pre-Google everything Sensus infotainment works well enough for what it is. Mine had about 55k on it when I bought it and in the 7k miles I’ve driven so far, I’ve had no issues at all. This is my first dip into the depreciated European luxury car world (my first European car in general) so we’ll see how the longer term goes but as it stands, I don’t regret buying it one bit.
I still like the V90 a lot, just not that hideous CC variant.
I have a 2014 XC70 and, while it’s starting to give me problems, it’s so darn practical I can’t convince myself or my wife to swap it out.
How bad of an idea is a 2014 Mercedes E350 wagon?
It’s the real thing.
The Volvos…. almost never add up for me. You’re getting all the German downsides, but not most of the German upsides.
I own one of that year, it’s been fine over the four years and 30K I have owned it. Extremely comfortable, smooth and rapid, and surprisingly fuel efficient. Hauls a TON of stuff effortlessly with the rear air suspension load leveling. The one big hit was the Denso A/C compressor clutch went (shared with a million Toyotas\Lexi, but not cheap). This is a fairly common issue. They don’t sell the clutch separately, so a whole new compressor was required. $2500 at my local indie shop for that, and I had them do some PM while there were in there to the tune of about $4K all-in. The Denso radiator also started leaking at about 90K, that was only $155 for one in a Denso box, and a fairly easy DIY job to replace it. Otherwise rock solid, now at 102K with several FL-ME round trips under it’s wheels. Other than the A/C compressor, I have done all the maintenance myself. Very easy to work on.
Disappointments with it are that the interior materials quality are not great. I have a section of the MBTex driver’s seat bottom that is disintegrating, and the cushion is NLA from Mercedes. ALL of them suffer from the wood trim fading to gray, it was actually subject to a recall, but the replacements do it too eventually. Not enough UV protectant in the finish. The Florida sun has caused the plastics to go a bit brittle too, I have broken one of the rear seatback release levers. Mine is very basic US spec, but you can find them with vented seats, keyless go, pano sunroof, etc. Mine also has not-great paint, but that is due to it never having been garaged in Florida it’s whole life. A bit of faded clearcoat on the “forehead” and the clearcoat is flaking a little on the plastic bumpers. Thankfully it’s silver-blue, so that doesn’t show up too badly. I’ll take the paint issues over the inevitable rust and seized fasteners on a northern car.
Overall, having owned a relatively modern Volvo, I would go Mercedes every time. And the Mercedes is a better DIY proposition, modern Volvos are second only to John Deere in being locked to the $tealer$hip. The laptop setup you need to do electronic things to the Mercedes isn’t cheap, but at least it’s readily available and no “software downloads” from the Mothership are needed once you have it, unlike Volvos (and I expect these are even MORE locked down than the older one I had). I have the setup for Volvo, but you still have to pay Volvo to do anything beyond the very basics. The Volvo ends up being as or more expensive to run, but rather less good to drive, and I would infinitely rather have an n/a 3.5 V6 with 302hp than the craziness that Volvo is using in the newer cars. It’s a GREAT motor with no particular dilemmas.
Thanks. One just showed up on a used lot I drive past every day and I can’t stop staring at it.
The ’14-’16 facelift models are really the ones to get. Lots of improvements to the point they are nearly a new generation as much as a facelift.
Good perspective and info on a car I admire. Handsome traditional wagons, it’s a shame they didn’t sell more of them.
I like the idea of Volvos a lot, but then I read about the ownership experience and get less enthusiastic about it. Seem like another “nice to lease” brand.
Stay away from the supercharger, get a post 2018 T5, super reliable, comfortable if you can afford it go for the new Android OS. We have a 2002 V60CC, it’s fantastic. Look at the sedans either the 60 or 90 they depreciate like crazy, get a certified one and relax.
The twincharger ones are scary (to me). Pop the hood and OMG! There’s SO much plumbing under there that it looks like it was engineered by Rube Goldberg and MC Escher.
That silver one does tempt a bit for the modest ask, but I don’t need another project. 🙂
That silver one looks great. I do miss a good Volvo seat too.
Volvo might be the OEM with the most handsome lineup all around, but I kinda fell out of love with them when Geely bought them. They may still technically be headquarted in Gothenburg, but I just don’t feel the same about them anymore.
I agree 100%.
I love (and own) old Volvos (pre-Geely) but I’m really not tempted by anything they currently offer.
That sure sound like Saab post GM. As much as I miss my 900 Convertible, I don’t miss my 900 Convertible. Though a fascination with a 240 series Wagon still haunts me. Does it come in orange? If it does I’m fucked.
Given that it was sold from the ’70s to the ’90s, I’m sure there must have been an orange paint choice at some point. Are you in/near LA? If so, you could have a look at mine (silver unfortunately).
LA? Nope, Midwest Milwaukee where the idea of a Volvo Wagon with winter tires seems appropriate to its’ origins.
Very lovely to look at, but even as a Volvo guy with two of them in his driveway, I’ll probably never buy one. Even the base ones seem iffy with all that recent Chinese ownership/software/heavy tech, and the twincharger ones just give me the absolute heebie-jeebies when I contemplate long-term ownership.
If Volvo had put a relatively simple, over-engineered/under-stressed 5 or 6 cylinder naturally aspirated, chain driven, port injected, non-interference engine in these wagons instead of a little four with up to two different kinds of forced induction, they’d be like luxurious 245s and much more desirable (to me).
All of these once-pricey Euro luxobarges are cheap to buy when they’re ten years old. An S-Class Mercedes, a 7-Series BMW, or an Audi A7 or A8… they’re all tempting for the 80% depreciated asking price. You sit in them and think: oh, yes, I could get used to this. 🙂 Then you google a bit for common issues and average repair/running costs and decide to take another look at a nice, lightly-used Camry or Avalon instead. 😉
This is reality at its most rational. The underlying reason for that depreciation is twofold: over priced over engineered German and then the operating costs on them post warranty are as serious as a heart attack. In our driveway, it is 3 out of 4 from a prior century.
Volvo has a really good certified program and offers a warranty extension up to 10 years. I think if you buy relatively high on a certified one and check that box you’ll probably come out ahead in the end. While your car will almost certainly not be problem free, at least the big shit will be covered, and you’ll get all the trappings of a luxury dealership experience when it’s down…which as far as I’m aware includes loaners.
IMHO it’s about as good of a way to roll the dice on a depreciated European luxury car as there is, although you’ll have to pay more up front. Is it worth it for peace of mind? That depends on who you are and how much you’re comfortable doing yourself…but for the average buyer I feel comfortable saying it is.
“Luxury dealership experience” is highly variable with Volvo, and loaners are not always an easy part of the service experience—again, depends on the dealer. My parents had two Volvos for a while, now they’re back to zero because of poor service (and lots issues big and small with my mom’s 2015.5 V60, a year that everyone generally agrees should be avoided at all costs).
My understanding is also that Volvo uses proprietary software to an extent that much DIY-ing is basically impossible, too.
Here in Maine the Volvo dealers drive a loaner to your house and swap out the cars. It’s one of the most compelling reasons to consider a Volvo. I live 1.5 hours from a major (by Maine standards) city. Getting warranty service on our Honda is a pain in the ass.
Did Kia just announce a K4 longroof?
Spiritual successor reincarnated from Korea?
N DIVISION PLSSSSSSSSS
I saw one in Toronto last week. Idk if they’re available or if it was a dealer or factory model, but I like it.
Its because they’re not very good cars. Hate to be honest but these are not anywhere close to the old tank-like Volvos of yore. They are more or less right up there with Mercedes, Audi, and BMW in terms of their fussiness and never-ending issues. Friend of mine has a V60 and its in the shop nearly constantly despite having less than 100k on the clock. So yeah. Used ones are cheap because you’re going to probably spend a lot more on top of that keeping them on the road. And most people know it. Same reason why gently used BMW 7 series are so cheap. Same reason.
Isn’t the infotainment a dumpster fire on these too? Looks like they have all the cabin functions in the screen too, so if it’s terrible to use, that’s kind of a dealbreaker.
I mean, most infotainment systems of this age ain’t great. And the newer, Google-based Volvo systems are absolute trash if my experience with Polestar’s applies to Volvo.
I have a ’23 S60, with the Google stack, and it’s been improved with each update. Earlier this year, they gave it the same tech and update as the brand new ones. Improved everything across the board, especially interface, and reducing buried menus.
They just pushed Gemini in, so you have full google search without a phone.(you can also opt out and not use it)
Which Polestar? The 2’s UI has been good to me…
It was an early Polestar 2. The infotainment was super buggy and slow, the backup camera didn’t work at all about 70% of the time, and it sometimes refused to switch driver profiles. Even worse, the infotainment system often wouldn’t boot up at all. It ruined the experience of an otherwise awesome car. Software updates and multiple visits to the dealer never resolved the problems.
I took delivery in late 2020, so it was a very early model, and there was a chip shortage at the time. It’s totally possible that the issues I had were fixed down the line.
Bummer… mine is a 24 and it’s pretty rock solid.
FWIW there is now a computer upgrade for the polestar 2s. Probably worth a look for older p2s
Yeah, it was a real scab on what was otherwise an awesome car. It was brutally quick, handling was unflappable (I had the performance pack) just the right amount of luxury, and a very handsome design overall. Anyway, I have a Mach-E now, so I don’t have to worry about that!
Does Volvo have the best styling of any make right now? These V90s are gorgeous. Even the XCs pictured aren’t egregiously plastic-ky.
I just can’t bring myself to want a depreciated Euro luxury car with the reliability/maintenance costs when compared to a similar Lexus or Acura. Is the driving experience of an automatic Volvo that much better to justify the higher running costs?
It is usually the seats that are superior, but I’ve not done enough Lexus time to compare. Lexi just don’t depreciate, though.
Buying at the bottom of the depreciation curve, it doesn’t matter much to me if I buy a Euro for 10k and sell it for 10k or buy a Lexus for 15k and sell it for 15k.
I will absolutely concede on seats. For being the “sportier” choice over a Lexus, I want at least some bolstering in my TL.
Lexus seats are often very, very nice too. I sit in a newer one now and then, and am rarely disappointed.
Find me a similar Lexus or Acura to the 2017 V90.
Aside from the apparently wonky SC, which I have no idea how common that is, the things that Thomas listed can happen to any car from any manufacturer. There’s nothing inherently “haha typical Euro” about an evaporator or coolant line giving up at some point.
If you think Lexus routine maintenance costs are any less than any other luxury automaker, think again. I know someone with an IS350 F sport who had a blowout. Two tires at the dealer was a grand. More than what the 295/40/21’s on my car cost. For a car that, dynamically, excels at nothing. It’s got really good seats though.
The only Acura is the TSX wagon that they refused to put the V6 or a manual in. So close to being a perfect little wagon.
The absence of the V6 and obtrusive wheel wells made me pass. Hot little car, though.
They really don’t do much for me because take away the badge and its another run of the mill suv-ish looking thing like everyone else makes.
Except they run.
Why get the XC when the better-looking normal V90 exists?
And, yet, the market seems to want the XC.
I don’t get it either.
Pretty sure it’s because the non-XC V90 was custom order only, so much less common, and because of this they carry a steep price premium for an equivalent example.
Do they really exist? All I see are the XC.
While I don’t have a v90 or xc90, I do have an S90.
If you can get any variant, I’d recommend one. They are a very grown up way to get around.
While a turbo’d supercharged 2.0 4 cylinder may seem wacky, it is actually quite enjoyable to drive. It doesn’t go for max power, it was seemingly engineered for torque at any time. Nice, easy going, usable torque at pretty much any speed. You’re not going to win drag races, but when you’re out and about, it’s delightful. On the freeway, the driving experience is so relaxed. You can go 80-90 if you wanted and it remains placid. Still plenty of grunt to nip past left lane hogs and keep moving without any drama.
Also, the stereo is sublime. The leather is buttery soft. Its not without flaw, but it is a very nice way to go about.
No major issues at around 60k. Hope it stays that way. I am encouraged that someone took one up to close on 200k.
Apples and oranges sort of, but the once-lovely leather in my XC90 is disturbingly thin and is pretty much effed-up by the time 100Kmiles rolls around, even with a careful single owner.
Not a deal breaker, but I’d rather have had more durable fake leather, or some kind of good thick cloth. The Audi I had in the late 80s had seat leather so thick it felt as though you could make baseball gloves from it. It still looked great 15 years and multiple owners later.
The leather Audi used in my 2018 Allroad was such garbage that I’d rather have leatherette. It was much better in the ’14 A4 I owned and my dad’s ’01 A6. Hell, my 02 Passat had better leather in it than the 2018 A4. Basically, unless you get the high-end Nappa stuff, it’s plastic junk these days. My Porsche Cayenne (2016) with the “natural leather” is the absolute best of all cars I’ve owned to-date.
I’m sure there’s a database online somewhere with user ratings/reviews of which leather is good or bad for which car/year/options. I’d give the ’88 Audi 90 a 7/10 (nor sure if there was more than one leather to choose from back then). My ’04 Volvo XC90 (with what I presume to be ‘standard’ leather, but again, I’m not sure) I’d give a 2/10… I really don’t like it at all.
I’ve had a couple other cars with leather, but didn’t own them long enough to form a statistically valid opinion. 😉
An Autopian story about assorted leather qualities would be a great idea.
I think the leathers in my two BMWs – a 2003 Z4 and a 2011 X3 – were the best of any car I’ve ever owned.
Agreed 100%. Automotive ‘leather’ is so all over the place and most people couldn’t tell the difference between Connolly and MBTex.
My Mustang has the ‘Premium’ package which includes what appear to be leather seats. Looks are deceiving; the front seat leather is ‘seating surfaces’ only – whose total surface area aren’t sufficient for an anorexic supermodel. The back seat is 100% vinyl.
Note that with the T8 Recharge, drag race winning is a real thing.
Counterpoint: E39 Tourings Exist
The Volvo is significantly newer with a lot of newer features most people will want. E39 wagons are awesome, but totally different car. And E39’s have timing chains made out of legos