Faults:

Gear box... oh dear! But least it gets you home, even if it is 'officially dead'.. Which is more than can be said for the P38 so Range Rover!!

Rear wiper... But I overloaded it!! Six inches of wet snow didn't do it any favours!

Hand brake... JEZZZ!!! £600.. OUCH. I was very annoyed that something that minor should be so expensive!

General Comments:

What a beautiful and capable car! Although it's essentially an estate car on major steroids, it can cope with some moderately 'troublesome' terrain... A Discovery or any Japanese 'off roader', would be better though. Why Volvo didn't make the XC90 a 'Full Bore' 4x4, beats me... but there you go!

The XC90 offers extreme safety and the boot capacity is enormous... Vastly better than the BMW X5.. The BMW, however, eats the XC90 for breakfast in motorway performance.

For comfort.. the Mighty Volvo is pretty much unsurpassed... except by it's 'better' smaller brother, the XC70.

So why buy an XC90?...It's a lovely bus, it really is! It won't bog down in thick snow as easily as some other, wannabe, 4x4s. The ride height is good, nearly as good as a Range Rover. The ride is soft and comfortable and the stowage... FANTASTIC!!.. When driving the XC90, you don't feel like you're driving a lorry either. It's a lovely car... But I loved my old V70XC More!!! It was fast, easier to park, could haul oddles of 'junk' ignored hills, put a smile on my face whenever I drove it and.. apart from drinking more than Concorde on afterburn... The 'old' Volvo was even more comfortable.

So, the XC90, a lovely car!!.. Big, safe, practical, comfortable but boring... I'd love, my old V70XC back, that was FANTASTIC!!... Apart from the fuel consumption.. which wasn't!

Faults:

Transmission failure, and I suspect this is the second time it has failed, which is not impressive, given I have had the car from new, and it does about 10000 miles a year!

General Comments:

It is a great workhorse of a car, but has some major issues that are symptoms of a new lack of quality and transparency... possibly because Volvo changed ownership?

I think the transmission failed in the first few weeks of the car being delivered new to me, and has just failed again. I am not very impressed, as every other new car I have owned has never ever had a transmission problem.

It also seems that a lot of owners have had this same issue, so why do Volvo not make any mention in their monthly magazine or do a recall?

Faults:

New engine at 50,000kms due to burst coolant hose. $9000.

Transmission failed at 67,000kms, $7500 to repair.

Four new Pirelli tyres per 15,000kms.

That's the main things. Plenty of expensive other stuff, and weird, unexplainable noises and creaks.

General Comments:

Love the car, seating arrangement works well, and the kids all fit in well. Hate the dishonesty and denial of Volvo. And hate that I'm going to have to ditch the car before I have to face yet another transmission fail. I paid $54,000 for the car second hand, and have spent over $17,000 on this car in three years. I can sell it for around $28,000 if I'm lucky.

Car was serviced by Volvo previous to my ownership, but as my best mate is a mechanic; I take it to him. Volvo now have disowned me, as I have not used them for 3 years, and won't help pay for my transmission. I'm in the process of researching what I can do - who will help, legally, fair trading etc. If I find a way, I will post it. Meanwhile, list your issues on the Volvo Facebook page, under Discussions. That's their website, and they should be reading all this info from us re the recurring problem of transmission failure.