Volvo XC90 2008-2010 -Experience with this vehicle?

[cbond3318]

Any one own currently or previously the Volvo XC90 specifically the 3.2 V6 AWD? At initial search it looks to have everything we like about our Jeep Grand Cherokee plus 3rd row seating plus.

Our small family is looking to upgrade from the Jeep but will not finance a new vehicle. Any experience with other vehicles in this class is appreciated as well.

[Woodchuck]

Nothing horrible comes to mind. Just keep in mind that normal maintenance on that rig will be more expensive than on your Jeep. Some repairs will also need to go to a dealer as Volvo is not good with releasing programming info. 
My advice on used stuff is to have it checked by a 3rd party shop with no axe to grind before purchase. It may cost you $100 or so but may save you $1000's in the process.

[Timberstalker]

No experience with the Volvo, however my brother has a Hyundai Santa Fe.  It is a newer one, however it's been a good rig.

[cbond3318]

No experience with the Volvo, however my brother has a Hyundai Santa Fe.  It is a newer one, however it's been a good rig.

Do those have 3rd row, I didn't think they did? This is a must for the family, only thing that is keeping us away from another Jeep.

[Timberstalker]

No experience with the Volvo, however my brother has a Hyundai Santa Fe.  It is a newer one, however it's been a good rig.

Do those have 3rd row, I didn't think they did? This is a must for the family, only thing that is keeping us away from another Jeep.

In fact they do.  Pretty roomy too.

[cbond3318]

Nothing horrible comes to mind. Just keep in mind that normal maintenance on that rig will be more expensive than on your Jeep. Some repairs will also need to go to a dealer as Volvo is not good with releasing programming info. 
My advice on used stuff is to have it checked by a 3rd party shop with no axe to grind before purchase. It may cost you $100 or so but may save you $1000's in the process.

That has been my hang up on these type of vehicles and has kept me leery from buying one, if I had it my way I would buy a Land Rover Lr3, but between nightmare stories, gas mileage and maintenance costs its out.
I have done the 3rd party thing once before and it worked out good. I am by no means a mechanic by have a particular knack for fixing my wife's broken car, a strange motivation always come over me.... If I cant find info on the web or a quality youtube video, I am SOL... Most reviews I read is they are fairly reliable but I take those with a grain of salt, with every car I buy I wonder if this will be "the lemon"....

[cbond3318]

No experience with the Volvo, however my brother has a Hyundai Santa Fe.  It is a newer one, however it's been a good rig.

Do those have 3rd row, I didn't think they did? This is a must for the family, only thing that is keeping us away from another Jeep.

In fact they do.  Pretty roomy too.

Thanks, we'll have to take a look at these too. The funny thing is when you start adding up all the small family necessities, gas mileage, safety, price , reliability.... it all points to a dang mini van, lucky for me the wife is against one.

[jackelope]

Are you opposed to another Jeep? The Commander has the same drivetrain as your Jeep and has 3 rows. Not sure how new you're looking for. I feel like they quit making them in 2010. Can't recall for sure.

We were looking hard at the Kia Sorento before we bought our Explorer. 2 friends of ours have them and love them. 3 rows of seats, and they're relatively inexpensive.

I'm terrified of Volvo's, Land Rovers, Audi, etc. All too expensive to fix and too much dealer only stuff. Pass.

[cbond3318]

Are you opposed to another Jeep? The Commander has the same drivetrain as your Jeep and has 3 rows. Not sure how new you're looking for. I feel like they quit making them in 2010. Can't recall for sure.

We were looking hard at the Kia Sorento before we bought our Explorer. 2 friends of ours have them and love them. 3 rows of seats, and they're relatively inexpensive.

I'm terrified of Volvo's, Land Rovers, Audi, etc. All too expensive to fix and too much dealer only stuff. Pass.

Not at all, the Commander is our slam dunk rig having owned/made repairs on a Jeep for 5 years. Seemed the MPG was comparable or the same to our GC. It just seemed I  was having a hard time finding them within my not over 100,000 mile mark. Not to say one wont appear though....

[cbond3318]

Actually now that you have me thinking Jeep again, what is the consensus on the 5.7L HEMI motor, good / bad. Lists MPG at 14-16/city and 18-20HWY? which is what I believe is on the low end of what we get with the GC...

[toothfangclaw]

Check out Sweedspeed.com I have a 06 s60 and so far can't say anything bad about reliability. The back seat room is stupid. But other then that. Everything ok. There are a lot of after market support for volvo "ipd is in portland" and I think the price of parts are "fair". There are also many shops and normal people who can access the software on these cars. It's not difficult, just different then domestic cars. I would love to own a xc90. Good luck!

[jackelope]

Actually now that you have me thinking Jeep again, what is the consensus on the 5.7L HEMI motor, good / bad. Lists MPG at 14-16/city and 18-20HWY? which is what I believe is on the low end of what we get with the GC...

Hemi is a decent engine. 16 spark plugs that are due out every 30k miles so tune ups are a little more expensive. The newest ones may be running platinum plugs now, I've been out of the Jeep loop for a few years now. They do the 4cyl/8cyl eco mode thing based on engine load. For this system to work correctly you have to use 5w20 engine oil which is not a big deal. Exhaust manifolds leak on them at times and that can be on the pricey side. Not sure what year your current Jeep is, but the newer ones are a lot better as far as differentials and the other "common" issues they had.

[Woodchuck]

The couple of new body Explorers I have driven sure seemed like nice rigs. Not sure about 3rd row seating. 

[cbond3318]

Actually now that you have me thinking Jeep again, what is the consensus on the 5.7L HEMI motor, good / bad. Lists MPG at 14-16/city and 18-20HWY? which is what I believe is on the low end of what we get with the GC...

Hemi is a decent engine. 16 spark plugs that are due out every 30k miles so tune ups are a little more expensive. The newest ones may be running platinum plugs now, I've been out of the Jeep loop for a few years now. They do the 4cyl/8cyl eco mode thing based on engine load. For this system to work correctly you have to use 5w20 engine oil which is not a big deal. Exhaust manifolds leak on them at times and that can be on the pricey side. Not sure what year your current Jeep is, but the newer ones are a lot better as far as differentials and the other "common" issues they had.

Ours is a 2001 GC Limited, I bought it with 148,000 on it and currently have 228,000. Outside of routine maintenance I replaced the radiator, brake calipers, rotors, power window motor and alternator. other than that which sounds harder / more expensive than it actually was, the jeep has been great to us. At 228,000 miles and the occasional drop of transmission fluid under it or starting to burn through more oil service to service, I feel it is telling me to get out. We are wanting to dump the jeep private sale then cash out the balance for a different rig... looking in the 8-12K range...

[Sumpnneedskillin]

Not knowing Volvo's real well I don't know the difference between a XC70 or XC90.  I had a Volvo as a rental, I believe it was a XC70.  Couple of things from my experience. 

I liked the car and it got great gas mileage.  It had lots of storage room in the back for our bags.

I'm a big guy (6'5" and hefty).  Getting in and out of the car was a pain.  The way the door and seat was caused me to twist around and hit my head/shoulder getting in and out.  My head also rubbed against the roof.  One bump we hit I cracked my head on the sunroof.  In order to get front seat leg room the back seat wound up with none.  Trying to fit 4 adults and an infant car seat in the car was a challenge.

[cbond3318]

The couple of new body Explorers I have driven sure seemed like nice rigs. Not sure about 3rd row seating. 

They are and that is actually what we wanted originally but then refocused onto buying a house finally and hate the idea of financing as well as paying that much. As I told Jackelope, looking in the 8-12k range in order to leave with the title in hand.

[cbond3318]

Not knowing Volvo's real well I don't know the difference between a XC70 or XC90.  I had a Volvo as a rental, I believe it was a XC70.  Couple of things from my experience. 

I liked the car and it got great gas mileage.  It had lots of storage room in the back for our bags.

I'm a big guy (6'5" and hefty).  Getting in and out of the car was a pain.  The way the door and seat was caused me to twist around and hit my head/shoulder getting in and out.  My head also rubbed against the roof.  One bump we hit I cracked my head on the sunroof.  In order to get front seat leg room the back seat wound up with none.  Trying to fit 4 adults and an infant car seat in the car was a challenge.

I think the xc70 is the in between of the stationwagon model and the xc90 suv style. Good to know on the size, I am 6'1 and feel a little crammed in the jeep. Gas mileage is what really had me interested along with 3rd row, looks aren't to shabby either...

[jackelope]

The couple of new body Explorers I have driven sure seemed like nice rigs. Not sure about 3rd row seating. 

We just got a 14. It's really nice and the 3rd row is great.
2011 is the newest of that body style.

[runamuk]

Are you opposed to another Jeep? The Commander has the same drivetrain as your Jeep and has 3 rows. Not sure how new you're looking for. I feel like they quit making them in 2010. Can't recall for sure.

We were looking hard at the Kia Sorento before we bought our Explorer. 2 friends of ours have them and love them. 3 rows of seats, and they're relatively inexpensive.

I'm terrified of Volvo's, Land Rovers, Audi, etc. All too expensive to fix and too much dealer only stuff. Pass.

Not at all, the Commander is our slam dunk rig having owned/made repairs on a Jeep for 5 years. Seemed the MPG was comparable or the same to our GC. It just seemed I  was having a hard time finding them within my not over 100,000 mile mark. Not to say one wont appear though....

I had a 2008 commander briefly, I did not have the 3rd seat.  Things I liked (mind you I am a truck/suburban girl) it had lots of space the seating was pretty comfy.  It drove ok was a little van/boxy top heavy feeling but not horrible.  The main dislike I had was it wasn't really a 4x4 I mean it had a shift thingy but wasnt the same as the 4x4 I was used to.  The gas mileage stunk.  Mountain driving weyehauser roads driving capitol forest driving I got 13 mpg    and hwy I maybe got 20.  I did one long trip in it and I might have hit 22 before I hit dirt roads and wrecked the mileage again.  My driving back then I averaged about 16mpg.  oh I also disliked that I could barely crawl under it to change my oil, clearance was not great.

All that said it was an ok rig for a family I think.

[jackelope]

Are you opposed to another Jeep? The Commander has the same drivetrain as your Jeep and has 3 rows. Not sure how new you're looking for. I feel like they quit making them in 2010. Can't recall for sure.

We were looking hard at the Kia Sorento before we bought our Explorer. 2 friends of ours have them and love them. 3 rows of seats, and they're relatively inexpensive.

I'm terrified of Volvo's, Land Rovers, Audi, etc. All too expensive to fix and too much dealer only stuff. Pass.

Not at all, the Commander is our slam dunk rig having owned/made repairs on a Jeep for 5 years. Seemed the MPG was comparable or the same to our GC. It just seemed I  was having a hard time finding them within my not over 100,000 mile mark. Not to say one wont appear though....

I had a 2008 commander briefly, I did not have the 3rd seat.  Things I liked (mind you I am a truck/suburban girl) it had lots of space the seating was pretty comfy.  It drove ok was a little van/boxy top heavy feeling but not horrible.  The main dislike I had was it wasn't really a 4x4 I mean it had a shift thingy but wasnt the same as the 4x4 I was used to.  The gas mileage stunk.  Mountain driving weyehauser roads driving capitol forest driving I got 13 mpg    and hwy I maybe got 20.  I did one long trip in it and I might have hit 22 before I hit dirt roads and wrecked the mileage again.  My driving back then I averaged about 16mpg.  oh I also disliked that I could barely crawl under it to change my oil, clearance was not great.

All that said it was an ok rig for a family I think.

I remember that car. I think I saw it in Bellevue that day you were here. Was it a v6? The hemi Commander or Grand Cherokee for that matter would have a 4 low range selection and the transfer case with that setup is a little more like an actual 4x4. They're actually pretty capable off road. The v6 all wheel drive setup is pretty much like driving a Subaru. Oh and a Commander with a v6 is immensely underpowered.
Do not......get a v6.

[runamuk]

Are you opposed to another Jeep? The Commander has the same drivetrain as your Jeep and has 3 rows. Not sure how new you're looking for. I feel like they quit making them in 2010. Can't recall for sure.

We were looking hard at the Kia Sorento before we bought our Explorer. 2 friends of ours have them and love them. 3 rows of seats, and they're relatively inexpensive.

I'm terrified of Volvo's, Land Rovers, Audi, etc. All too expensive to fix and too much dealer only stuff. Pass.

Not at all, the Commander is our slam dunk rig having owned/made repairs on a Jeep for 5 years. Seemed the MPG was comparable or the same to our GC. It just seemed I  was having a hard time finding them within my not over 100,000 mile mark. Not to say one wont appear though....

I had a 2008 commander briefly, I did not have the 3rd seat.  Things I liked (mind you I am a truck/suburban girl) it had lots of space the seating was pretty comfy.  It drove ok was a little van/boxy top heavy feeling but not horrible.  The main dislike I had was it wasn't really a 4x4 I mean it had a shift thingy but wasnt the same as the 4x4 I was used to.  The gas mileage stunk.  Mountain driving weyehauser roads driving capitol forest driving I got 13 mpg    and hwy I maybe got 20.  I did one long trip in it and I might have hit 22 before I hit dirt roads and wrecked the mileage again.  My driving back then I averaged about 16mpg.  oh I also disliked that I could barely crawl under it to change my oil, clearance was not great.

All that said it was an ok rig for a family I think.

I remember that car. I think I saw it in Bellevue that day you were here. Was it a v6? The hemi Commander or Grand Cherokee for that matter would have a 4 low range selection and the transfer case with that setup is a little more like an actual 4x4. They're actually pretty capable off road. The v6 all wheel drive setup is pretty much like driving a Subaru. Oh and a Commander with a v6 is immensely underpowered.
Do not......get a v6.

Yes you did, and yes it was the v6, and yes it was under powered for my liking.  I prefer too much engine just not the gas bill.  It was an ok vehicle just wasn't what I actually wanted.

[cbond3318]

Are you opposed to another Jeep? The Commander has the same drivetrain as your Jeep and has 3 rows. Not sure how new you're looking for. I feel like they quit making them in 2010. Can't recall for sure.

We were looking hard at the Kia Sorento before we bought our Explorer. 2 friends of ours have them and love them. 3 rows of seats, and they're relatively inexpensive.

I'm terrified of Volvo's, Land Rovers, Audi, etc. All too expensive to fix and too much dealer only stuff. Pass.

Not at all, the Commander is our slam dunk rig having owned/made repairs on a Jeep for 5 years. Seemed the MPG was comparable or the same to our GC. It just seemed I  was having a hard time finding them within my not over 100,000 mile mark. Not to say one wont appear though....

I had a 2008 commander briefly, I did not have the 3rd seat.  Things I liked (mind you I am a truck/suburban girl) it had lots of space the seating was pretty comfy.  It drove ok was a little van/boxy top heavy feeling but not horrible.  The main dislike I had was it wasn't really a 4x4 I mean it had a shift thingy but wasnt the same as the 4x4 I was used to.  The gas mileage stunk.  Mountain driving weyehauser roads driving capitol forest driving I got 13 mpg    and hwy I maybe got 20.  I did one long trip in it and I might have hit 22 before I hit dirt roads and wrecked the mileage again.  My driving back then I averaged about 16mpg.  oh I also disliked that I could barely crawl under it to change my oil, clearance was not great.

All that said it was an ok rig for a family I think.

Thank you! Was the interior narrow? and were there bad blindspots with the design?

[runamuk]

Are you opposed to another Jeep? The Commander has the same drivetrain as your Jeep and has 3 rows. Not sure how new you're looking for. I feel like they quit making them in 2010. Can't recall for sure.

We were looking hard at the Kia Sorento before we bought our Explorer. 2 friends of ours have them and love them. 3 rows of seats, and they're relatively inexpensive.

I'm terrified of Volvo's, Land Rovers, Audi, etc. All too expensive to fix and too much dealer only stuff. Pass.

Not at all, the Commander is our slam dunk rig having owned/made repairs on a Jeep for 5 years. Seemed the MPG was comparable or the same to our GC. It just seemed I  was having a hard time finding them within my not over 100,000 mile mark. Not to say one wont appear though....

I had a 2008 commander briefly, I did not have the 3rd seat.  Things I liked (mind you I am a truck/suburban girl) it had lots of space the seating was pretty comfy.  It drove ok was a little van/boxy top heavy feeling but not horrible.  The main dislike I had was it wasn't really a 4x4 I mean it had a shift thingy but wasnt the same as the 4x4 I was used to.  The gas mileage stunk.  Mountain driving weyehauser roads driving capitol forest driving I got 13 mpg    and hwy I maybe got 20.  I did one long trip in it and I might have hit 22 before I hit dirt roads and wrecked the mileage again.  My driving back then I averaged about 16mpg.  oh I also disliked that I could barely crawl under it to change my oil, clearance was not great.

All that said it was an ok rig for a family I think.

Thank you! Was the interior narrow? and were there bad blindspots with the design?

Actually visibility was pretty good.  The interior wasn't super narrow as I recall.  I could track down a bigger guy who rode in it a couple times and ask his opinion 

[cbond3318]

Are you opposed to another Jeep? The Commander has the same drivetrain as your Jeep and has 3 rows. Not sure how new you're looking for. I feel like they quit making them in 2010. Can't recall for sure.

We were looking hard at the Kia Sorento before we bought our Explorer. 2 friends of ours have them and love them. 3 rows of seats, and they're relatively inexpensive.

I'm terrified of Volvo's, Land Rovers, Audi, etc. All too expensive to fix and too much dealer only stuff. Pass.

Not at all, the Commander is our slam dunk rig having owned/made repairs on a Jeep for 5 years. Seemed the MPG was comparable or the same to our GC. It just seemed I  was having a hard time finding them within my not over 100,000 mile mark. Not to say one wont appear though....

I had a 2008 commander briefly, I did not have the 3rd seat.  Things I liked (mind you I am a truck/suburban girl) it had lots of space the seating was pretty comfy.  It drove ok was a little van/boxy top heavy feeling but not horrible.  The main dislike I had was it wasn't really a 4x4 I mean it had a shift thingy but wasnt the same as the 4x4 I was used to.  The gas mileage stunk.  Mountain driving weyehauser roads driving capitol forest driving I got 13 mpg    and hwy I maybe got 20.  I did one long trip in it and I might have hit 22 before I hit dirt roads and wrecked the mileage again.  My driving back then I averaged about 16mpg.  oh I also disliked that I could barely crawl under it to change my oil, clearance was not great.

All that said it was an ok rig for a family I think.

Thank you! Was the interior narrow? and were there bad blindspots with the design?

Actually visibility was pretty good.  The interior wasn't super narrow as I recall.  I could track down a bigger guy who rode in it a couple times and ask his opinion 

thanks, my wife assumes they are narrow and I have concerns riding shotgun with the Jeepy dash if that makes sense. I should probably just go check a few rigs out but cannot stand being on a car lot....

[runamuk]

I also hate them, car lots, but I have gotten pretty good at dealing with the sales sharks.  You should just go check a few out. I cannot see it being narrower than a volvo 

[Rick]

My sister drives a Commander. IIRC its an '07.  Its got the 4.7 V8.

That thing has been a money pit.  They've rebuilt the rear differential and either the transfer case or transmission.  My brother in law is replacing broken exhaust manifold bolts about every 6 months. 

I drove it from Davenport to Everett last summer. The smaller V8 was working harder than I thought it would with 4 adults in it and a jetski behind it.

It hasn't been a very impressive rig IMO.

[jackelope]

My sister drives a Commander. IIRC its an '07.  Its got the 4.7 V8.

That thing has been a money pit.  They've rebuilt the rear differential and either the transfer case or transmission.  My brother in law is replacing broken exhaust manifold bolts about every 6 months. 

I drove it from Davenport to Everett last summer. The smaller V8 was working harder than I thought it would with 4 adults in it and a jetski behind it.

It hasn't been a very impressive rig IMO.

Some are like that.
I know of a Commander at my old place of employment(that you know) that has had 3 transfer cases, but I've seen all kinds of things like that with lots of different cars.
I've never seen the exhaust manifolds more than once on the same car. I've seen both sides go bad, but that's it.
Now I'm selling them on Fords.

[jackelope]

Note...
Both v8's do exhaust manifolds. 4.7 and 5.7

[Labs07]

I have an 07 S60 AWD and can say anything bad about it other than the maintenance is more expensive.  If treated right you can get a lot of miles on them.  I have 146K on mine.