’Oh Lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz?’
Apparently not, at least not in SUV form, not for the moment, and not without likely significant extra financial input!
So, off to the other ‘top of the list’ car and a trip to Volvo to test out an XC40.
In my case it was an R Design Pro D3 in thunder grey, and it was very nice indeed. Read on if you’re not bored by all the Volvo reviews lately ?. As so much has already been written (including the comprehensive BionicRusty OP, nice BTW!), I thought I’d just post the things I didn’t already know or that might not be obvious from pictures, followed by a conclusion and what we’ve decided to do. Obviously, the following is an opinion, and thank goodness we all have a different one of those!
– Those 20” alloys look better in real life, and that’s saying something.
– The thunder grey paint was easily my choice prior to going, and rapidly went to the bottom. It’s got a definite bluey tinge to it which none of the family liked.
– Getting in the car was ok for me, but only with the seat pushed right back. For me at 5’10” I could then plonk my bum on the edge and follow with my legs. I couldn’t do it with the seat in my own driving position though. To be fair I think the car would have to be significantly larger to accommodate this, and the seat movement is easy especially when electric. Worth bearing in mind that only inscription pro spec has both front seats electric.
– The seats are very easy to find comfort in. We were out for 2 hrs and I still got out ok. Lumbar support is electric on all front seats and all models, and is really really good. Buttons for seat movement are on the side closest to the door and are easily reached and operated. We found that the nubuck seats (it feels like alcantara) were lovely to look at, great to sit in, but picked up every hair on us! With a dog and three cats this might present a problem with keeping it looking nice. We spent a few minutes picking them off before handing the car back ?.
– The glossy black trim around the centre console and the infotainment screen is just a fingerprint magnet. Ok, it looks pretty when untouched, but as soon as you do it’s smudge city. What’s wrong with a matt finish? Or a tiny bit more leather? I’d give up my free Volvo cleaning cloth for that.
– Ride quality is good over every surface, and could never be described as uncomfortable. I found that I wished it was a fraction less hard.
– Space in the back is great for 2, doubt 3 would like it much.
– The stereo in standard spec is really good. I’m not an audiophile but I like to play my tunes, and I like them loud. I was contemplating the Harmon Kardon upgrade but its not necessary unless you want bleeding ears. Smartphone integration was also on my list and now crossed off, the Bluetooth works really well without it, allowing access to all folders on my iPhone, and it skips forward and back like the phone controls do. I imagine the interface on Apple or Android would be nicer, but not £300 nicer. Also, the car has a great map display on the tft screen behind the steering wheel, and that’s disabled unless you use the Volvo sat nav. The sat nav is pretty good too, nice clear displays, easy to program, quick to respond.
– The controls are all integrated, bar the heated screens and drive modes. This looks awesome, but I so wish they’d left the climate control on buttons. It is impossible to use the touchscreen without looking as there’s no reference points to use to navigate your fingers. You can do it by voice, but that’s not intuitive to me at the moment.
– I really didn’t like the checkered flag design aluminium trim of the R Design, but loved the driftwood design on the Inscription (can you see where this is going!). The R design trim looked a bit cheap.
– The D3 engine isn’t one on my list, the AP is prohibitive, but just in case any of you are interested, the engine is punchy around town, initial acceleration is strong, but it gets laboured quite quickly. Joining the motorway wasn’t as comfortable an experience as I’d want with my own car. Once up to speed it was quiet and refined. Activating the ‘dynamic’ drive mode just made it noisier when holding the gear longer, it didn’t provide much extra punch. Being a diesel, I guess all of these traits are normal.
So, we arrived back at the dealer with mixed feelings. Most of the car we loved, but there were definitely some niggles that might prove very annoying over 3 yrs, and we said as such. The dealer then played his trump and showed us his stock of already purchased cars waiting for delivery. And there it was, an Inscription Pro B4P in Glacier Silver, with a red oxide leather interior. Yep, that’s all the boxes having a tick then. It just looked right, the alloys aren’t as massive but they look great, and nicer in real life than photos, the chrome trim on the windows and grille melt into the colour of the car, and that colour! As BionicRusty says in his OP, it just pops out at you. Combine that with non hairy leather seats (oh that red is so nice), both front seats powered, front and rear parking sensors, and a rear view camera, and it’s a done deal. We go back next Wednesday to place the order, no deposit needed, delivery forecast to be mid to late October based on ordering next week. No discount at all though, and not a sniff that any would be forthcoming. I’m ok with that though, it’s a great deal when compared to other scheme cars anyway. All I have to do now is persuade Mrs Bowly that she does like red seats, and that black is boring. Interestingly, the black and cream seats come with cream coloured headlining, whereas the red and amber have a charcoal liner. Strange but true.
Finally, I had the opportunity to see both MY20 and MY21 models right next to each other. It’s fair to say that Volvo haven’t improved the specifications. The new models are electronically limited to 112mph (now I’m not allowed I want to do 113!), miss off the model script on the rear upper panel, the badges denoting model on the boot, the exhaust trim, the r design badge on the steering wheel, the model script on the seats, the flappy paddle shifters on auto models, the little plastic ticket holder on the windscreen, and a second proper key. This last one is bizarre, you get a main key, a service key which is orange, and a sports band type key. The latter two don’t work with the driver profile set ups, which is disappointing if you have power seats. I’ve never heard of a manufacturer only giving one proper key! Still, as I know about it pre decision, I know I can live with it.
I’m sure there’s loads I’ve left out, so please ask away and I’ll try and remember. Cheers