Faults:
I had to replace the fuel pump when I bought the car.
At 200,000 miles, I had to replace the O2 sensor, and I had to fix a leak in the exhaust manifold.
Since then, there are no major problems with the car, except for a small squeaking noise when I start accelerating after my car has been sitting for more than two hours.
And, for some reason, the engine steams after I get off the highway (the coolant is fine, and the engine has never overheated on me).
General Comments:
This car has been very reliable to me. All of the problems I mentioned, altogether cost about $400.
Even at 204,000 miles I still have no problem passing or getting on the freeway, although it lacks some power for climbing. I have to stay in the right lane most of the time.
The car is always sure footed, and is more secure than one might think on snow and ice.
I have a set of snow tires that came with the car, and I've never had to use them. The AWD system is excellent.
The hood scoop and alloy rims make the car look aggressive, even though the car is pretty well mannered.
The interior is pretty nice. The seats are very comfortable and the stereo sounds decent.
The dashboard, stereo, and climate control system are simple and easy to use and access, but are very plain.
The heating system and heated seats take a while to warm up, though, but it's not much of a problem.
The cargo space is plentiful and comparable to many SUVs and crossovers, but the suspension gets in the way.
There's plenty of legroom in both front and back, but tall passengers in the back may not think so.
The power windows are REALLY slow.
The brakes are excellent. The brakes never squeak, and don't fade during heavy use.
The car is fun to drive, especially with a manual transmission.
The handling is somewhat responsive, but there's a ton of body roll, due to the soft suspension for offroading.
The car does fine on bumpy, sorta-rocky trails. The ground clearance makes sure that the rocks don't mess up the undercarriage.
The shifter on the manual trans. is very tall, very flimsy, and annoying. I would recommend buying a short shifter to have crisper, more satisfying shifts.
And finally, the car gets good gas mileage.
4th Jun 2013, 16:58
My Volvo XC90 D5 4x4 gets 38 MPG on a run. Now that's fantastic for a big SUV... a superb vehicle!