XC90, petrol T6 or diesel D5

I am lucky enough to be considering buying the Volvo XC90
diesel or petrol models.

Was in the dealership today and was impressed by the quality of build and
interior, we have arranged to test drive the car on Friday. Most
importantly the space inside is massive - needed for the family and dog.

The car we will drive on Friday is a D5 diesel, there is no T6 petrol
demonstrator (although might be a possibility of a short drive in a car they
are currently holding in stock).

Main concern is the apparent sluggishness (on paper) of the diesel and
reviews which suggest its over-taking power is sadly lacking. This pushes
me more towards T6 model, which I will have little opportunity to test and
manages an average 15 mpg? I know a 2 tonne vehicle is not going to be
'fast', but I would value good in-gear acceleration to overtake traffic on
busy roads.

The total additional cost to me of the T6 over the D5 is about about another
£100 per month - worth it?

Would welcome opinions and experiences of either model from owners /
drivers.

Note : we do not really need a 4x4 and will not be off-roading - I have to
own up to just liking the car, the way it looks and the space inside!

Many thanks

Jim


---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.542 / Virus Database: 336 - Release Date: 18/11/2003

I'd go with the diesel. Not a volvo driver myself, but diesels are cheaper
to fuel and go fine. I have an Isuzu bighorn and it overtakes fine, about
300 Kg and 70Kw less than the Volvo specs IIRC giving the volvo better power
to weight.

You should be fine.

rhys

"YourDaddy" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I am lucky enough to be considering buying the Volvo XC90
> diesel or petrol models.
>
> Was in the dealership today and was impressed by the quality of build and
> interior, we have arranged to test drive the car on Friday. Most
> importantly the space inside is massive - needed for the family and dog.
>
> The car we will drive on Friday is a D5 diesel, there is no T6 petrol
> demonstrator (although might be a possibility of a short drive in a car
they
> are currently holding in stock).
>
> Main concern is the apparent sluggishness (on paper) of the diesel and
> reviews which suggest its over-taking power is sadly lacking. This pushes
> me more towards T6 model, which I will have little opportunity to test and
> manages an average 15 mpg? I know a 2 tonne vehicle is not going to be
> 'fast', but I would value good in-gear acceleration to overtake traffic on
> busy roads.
>
> The total additional cost to me of the T6 over the D5 is about about
another
> £100 per month - worth it?
>
> Would welcome opinions and experiences of either model from owners /
> drivers.
>
> Note : we do not really need a 4x4 and will not be off-roading - I have to
> own up to just liking the car, the way it looks and the space inside!
>
> Many thanks
>
> Jim
>
>
> ---
> Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
> Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
> Version: 6.0.542 / Virus Database: 336 - Release Date: 18/11/2003
>
>

Although be careful when posting to a UK group. IIRC NZL diesel is about
30% cheaper than petrol (I'm happy to be put right on this!). In the UK
diesel cost about 5% more than petrol.
I think it depends on your driving style. My Land Cruiser 90 has a 3
litre diesel and goes fine as far as I'm concerned. Enough oomph for me!
My father thinks it's gutless. But he's used to supercharged Merc petrol
engines in lighter cars. If I think I can't got fast enough to overtake
safely I just don't. I doesn't seem to take me any longer to get places
than anyone else I know.

rnf2 wrote:
>
> I'd go with the diesel. Not a volvo driver myself, but diesels are cheaper
> to fuel and go fine. I have an Isuzu bighorn and it overtakes fine, about
> 300 Kg and 70Kw less than the Volvo specs IIRC giving the volvo better power
> to weight.
>
> You should be fine.
>
> rhys
>
> "YourDaddy" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > I am lucky enough to be considering buying the Volvo XC90
> > diesel or petrol models.
> >
> > Was in the dealership today and was impressed by the quality of build and
> > interior, we have arranged to test drive the car on Friday. Most
> > importantly the space inside is massive - needed for the family and dog.
> >
> > The car we will drive on Friday is a D5 diesel, there is no T6 petrol
> > demonstrator (although might be a possibility of a short drive in a car
> they
> > are currently holding in stock).
> >
> > Main concern is the apparent sluggishness (on paper) of the diesel and
> > reviews which suggest its over-taking power is sadly lacking. This pushes
> > me more towards T6 model, which I will have little opportunity to test and
> > manages an average 15 mpg? I know a 2 tonne vehicle is not going to be
> > 'fast', but I would value good in-gear acceleration to overtake traffic on
> > busy roads.
> >
> > The total additional cost to me of the T6 over the D5 is about about
> another
> > £100 per month - worth it?
> >
> > Would welcome opinions and experiences of either model from owners /
> > drivers.
> >
> > Note : we do not really need a 4x4 and will not be off-roading - I have to
> > own up to just liking the car, the way it looks and the space inside!
> >
> > Many thanks
> >
> > Jim
> >
> >
> > ---
> > Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
> > Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
> > Version: 6.0.542 / Virus Database: 336 - Release Date: 18/11/2003
> >
> >

5% more??? Geeze, yeah I better be careful. But anyway diesel engines are a
bit more economical. 40L of Diesel will take me further in the 2.8 Turbo
than 55L of petrol in the 2L sedan. and thats with a much larger and
heavier body on the Isuzu.
you should still come out better off with a diesel since they rev slower for
the same power, using less fuel. to be large enough to produce enough power
low enough down the rev curve as a diesel, a petrol engine would consume
enough fuel to negate the advantage of lower revs.

Petrol here was 109.8 cents per litre for 91 octane when I last filled up.
while diesel was 64.9c per litre.

about 33p and 20p respectively after the exhange rate is taken into account.
thanks for the correction on prices

rhys

"Rob" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Although be careful when posting to a UK group. IIRC NZL diesel is about
> 30% cheaper than petrol (I'm happy to be put right on this!). In the UK
> diesel cost about 5% more than petrol.
> I think it depends on your driving style. My Land Cruiser 90 has a 3
> litre diesel and goes fine as far as I'm concerned. Enough oomph for me!
> My father thinks it's gutless. But he's used to supercharged Merc petrol
> engines in lighter cars. If I think I can't got fast enough to overtake
> safely I just don't. I doesn't seem to take me any longer to get places
> than anyone else I know.
>
> rnf2 wrote:
> >
> > I'd go with the diesel. Not a volvo driver myself, but diesels are
cheaper
> > to fuel and go fine. I have an Isuzu bighorn and it overtakes fine,
about
> > 300 Kg and 70Kw less than the Volvo specs IIRC giving the volvo better
power
> > to weight.
> >
> > You should be fine.
> >
> > rhys
> >
> > "YourDaddy" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> > news:[email protected]...
> > > I am lucky enough to be considering buying the Volvo XC90
> > > diesel or petrol models.
> > >
> > > Was in the dealership today and was impressed by the quality of build
and
> > > interior, we have arranged to test drive the car on Friday. Most
> > > importantly the space inside is massive - needed for the family and
dog.
> > >
> > > The car we will drive on Friday is a D5 diesel, there is no T6 petrol
> > > demonstrator (although might be a possibility of a short drive in a
car
> > they
> > > are currently holding in stock).
> > >
> > > Main concern is the apparent sluggishness (on paper) of the diesel and
> > > reviews which suggest its over-taking power is sadly lacking. This
pushes
> > > me more towards T6 model, which I will have little opportunity to test
and
> > > manages an average 15 mpg? I know a 2 tonne vehicle is not going to
be
> > > 'fast', but I would value good in-gear acceleration to overtake
traffic on
> > > busy roads.
> > >
> > > The total additional cost to me of the T6 over the D5 is about about
> > another
> > > £100 per month - worth it?
> > >
> > > Would welcome opinions and experiences of either model from owners /
> > > drivers.
> > >
> > > Note : we do not really need a 4x4 and will not be off-roading - I
have to
> > > own up to just liking the car, the way it looks and the space inside!
> > >
> > > Many thanks
> > >
> > > Jim
> > >
> > >
> > > ---
> > > Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
> > > Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
> > > Version: 6.0.542 / Virus Database: 336 - Release Date: 18/11/2003
> > >
> > >

Thu, 27 Nov 2003 14:27:48 +0000 (UTC) Rob <[email protected]>
kirjoitti seuraavaa:

> Although be careful when posting to a UK group. IIRC NZL diesel is about
> 30% cheaper than petrol (I'm happy to be put right on this!). In the UK
> diesel cost about 5% more than petrol.

For comparison: in Finland diesel is about 21% cheaper
than 95 octane petrol (95 is about 1 euro per litre).

On the other hand, owning a diesel car/van/pickup/
lorry(truck) means you have to pay extra tax for that
on yearly basis.

Tax rate depends on vehicle class and gross weigh of
vehicle. Cars (and all 4x4's except vans and pickups)
form the most taxed class. Generally you have to
drive something like at least 20000 kilometers per
year to get an average diesel passenger car to become
cheaper to drive than a pertol one. After that you
start saving your money because of the 21% difference
in fuel prices. Diesel tax for cars is about 25 euros
per every 100 kilograms of total weigh.

Diesel tax for vans, pickups and trucks is 4,56 euros
per every 100 kilograms of total weigh. Adding a
trailer hitch to a truck doubles its diesel tax rate.
Vans and pickups have no such trailer hitch tax.

--
Jukka