[ajmat]

Originally Posted by kslives

Finally, what’s your opinion on the 530i? With all this stuff happening with diesel cars in NCR, petrol might be a good option?

The 530i is a decent option, smooth engine etc. But the Volvo has more goodies and is better value

[androdev]

@kslives test drive 530i and S90 and pick the one you like. You will not make a wrong choice because they drive so differently. Not a fan of 520d. I like both S90 and 530i a lot and they both make a great choice depending on what you appreciate in a car.

Don't buy the car you didn't like because of ownership concerns. People skip volvo assuming it has poor dealership network, lower brand value, resale etc. BMW is skipped assuming high ownership cost and poor reliability etc. IMO, these two will offer nearly comparable ownership experience and it's best to buy what you love for this kind of money. Also make sure you buy the one with color options you like and don't pick based on stock availability as both cars offer choice in this respect.

[kslives]

What is your opinion on the Harman Kardon Premium system in the S90 momentum versus the B&W system in the S90 inscription version?

Is there a whole lot of difference?

[rangakishen]

Originally Posted by kslives

What is your opinion on the Harman Kardon Premium system in the S90 momentum versus the B&W system in the S90 inscription version?

Is there a whole lot of difference?

I, for one, prefer the HK system. B&W is not something you will miss greatly.

Cheers

[Ashish0485]

In Sep 2016, I was hosted by Volvo for a day at their corporate headquarters in Gothenburg, Sweden. I was fortunate enough to see one of these beauties getting built from scratch. Afterwards, I was offered a test drive in one of the first 15 pieces produced. I drove the car for around 15 miles. Even interacted with their chief engineer (don't remember the name) behind this car. His passion was infectious. That was the first time I understood that how difficult it is to produce a car. For instance, he told that the design team wanted to extend the hood in a way that there is greater distance between A pillar and the front tyre. This would give the car a more premium look at the front than the 5 series (they believe to be the biggest rival). However, in trying to achieve that without compromising on safety they had to redo the thing 12 times. Was blown away by the explanation.
Some fun fact: The Volvo production facility has about 55% female employees. It was heartening to see so many young women wearing smart cargos and doing all the mechanical work.

[kslives]

I’ve finally gone ahead and booked a Volvo V90. Just thought it was a brilliant package altogether in terms of features as well as the ride!

[ajmat]

Originally Posted by kslives

I’ve finally gone ahead and booked a Volvo V90. Just thought it was a brilliant package altogether in terms of features as well as the ride!

Well done, you wont regret it. You must have got a good discount on it!

[kslives]

Yes, got a good deal on the car!

[androdev]

Originally Posted by kslives

I’ve finally gone ahead and booked a Volvo V90. Just thought it was a brilliant package altogether in terms of features as well as the ride!

Congrats. What was your take on S90 vs V90? I am sure it must have been a close contest between both.

[kslives]

Originally Posted by androdev

Congrats. What was your take on S90 vs V90? I am sure it must have been a close contest between both.

We’ll both are great cars. However, I’m going with the v90 as it has more utility in terms of a more usable boot. It’s an AWD! Not that it’ll be tested much in the city but it’s good to have as I do manage a road trip once in a couple of months. Apart from this I think the fact that it’s higher, gives you a good and confident feeling while driving. It’s the most powerful engine option Volvo offers in its diesel range (d5, 235bhp @ 480nm) and it does deliver! To sum it, I think it’s more car for a car (gives you the best of both worlds - sedan and SUV) and since there aren’t too many on the road, it does stand out

[ajmat]

The V90 in my opinion look much more modern at the rear than the S90 (that looks like a '90s Corolla). When I tested the car in slushy monsoon conditions in the Western Ghats, I was amazed at the level of grip that it had.

It may not have the exciting turn-in of a BMW or the smooth-ride of the Merc but this car felt unbreakable. I found very little to dislike.

[redeff]

Originally Posted by kslives

Yes, got a good deal on the car!

Congrats on the new car! Would it be possible for you to share what deal you got? Perhaps over PM?



i'm looking to buy a new car and between the heavily discounted fully loaded Audi A6 and this, its a difficult choice!

[kslives]

Sorry for the delayed response. I never ended up buying the v90 as it was turning out to be extremely expensive. I settled with the VW Passat and loving every bit of it. I ended up saving more than 20L and haven’t really compromised on anything from comfort to “practical” features. Besides VW now gives 4yrs of standard warranty and 3 free services (technically 1 major service). I can get extended warranty for the 5th year for a meager 20k. All-in-all I think it was a good buy I feel. So far no complains with the car and it has all the features like ventilated seats, massage, 360deg camera, park assist, a bigger 586lts boot, 3 zone climate control, adaptive suspension, etc.

The things I do miss though are: digital cockpit (though I’m trying to source one from Europe as in the Passat their, it’s already available), heads up display, AWD and the fancy stuff like adaptive CC, lane assist, autonomous driving and some other safety features.

[GRV]

Hi
Got my Volvo S90 (D4) on 4th December 2019. Have driven around 900 kms till now (26th Dec 2019). This is very high usage as per my routine, but I keep inventing excuses to drive it.

The choice for S90 was not easy at all. I own a C class (Petrol), have never driven a diesel car and wanted to have next segment car (next to C class). Hence my consideration set was BMW 530i, and Mercedes E 200 (Petrol). I am not a fan of Audi. My neighbor has Jaguar F -pace and somehow, I never took fancy of that car. Hence either BMW or Merc. Test drove both petrol version. Merc felt very dull to drive and to my horror, there was no memory for seat position. My car cleaner messes up with seats position every time and hence memory function was very important for me as I do not have a driver. I love driving myself. Second factor that was important was having a different experience from new car. Since I already have C class, I could see a lot os similarities (like Steering wheel, a number of features as to how they operate etc.) Hence I zeroed in on BMW 530 i. test drove 530 i and it was so fun to drive. I found even suspension very comfortable (contrary to my assumption that BMW has hard suspension) and I decided on 530i. But before you decide on such big purchase, buy in from better half is must. I arranged for a TD for my wife and from here things started going differently My wife did not find BMW interior any better than our existing Merc (or rather she found BMW interior much less premium than an existing c class) . She found seats not so comfortable and quality of materials not worth spending 70 lakhs. Then we tried 6 series (petrol). Wife feedback was better for 6 series in terms of features, but still below the thresh hold . It was kind of dead lock situation

Enter the Volvo. One of my co-walker (in my morning walk group) asked me if I had considered Volvo S90 and advised me to do a test drive before deciding. I was not very sure of a diesel car, but anyway decided to call Volvo for a test drive. The car arrives for test drive on 1st Dec. Both me and my wife were completely blown by the exterior and fabulous interior. Agreed , the driving pleasure was not like BMW , but the feel of luxury (this was inscription trim) and safety features was outstanding. I also had a secret desire for my next car to have more than 200HP, and that was available in XC 60, (D5), but we found S 90 to be more drive friendly . I test drove on 1st Dec and delivery was on 4th Dec. Never has there been a quick decision , where both me and my wife have same view.

First 900 kms experience:

1. A number of you tube videos are not sure about UX of infotainment unit in Volvo. No physical knobs, all driven through a central tablet and takes while to get comfortable with BUT to my surprise. in 2 days I was loving this arrangements and found it to me more user friendly than so many rotary knobs and toggle switches in other cars This interface is so clean and intuitive. for most frequently used functions like media, phone, climate and navigation, there is a menu button in the steering wheel, on the top model, there is voice control and working through different functions is as easy as other brands. So no minus point to Volvo on this front
   
2. NVH level is higher than Merc or BMW (even if you compare with their diesel cars) and Engine is not as smooth as German rivals. This NVH is much more pronounced in Eco mode, but as you switch to dynamic mode, noise level goes down, but still not at par with BMW and Merc
   
3. This made me think about my decision? Have I taken the right decision of buying a Volvo diesel in place or BMW petrol ? After a lot of research and brooding, I arrived at the conclusion that these two cars are totally different. BMW stand for driving thrill and quieter cabin, Volvo stand for ultimate level of luxury and safety features. One has to choose between the two. In terms of ride quality, I found both to be on a similar level
   
4. I have driven mostly in office traffic in Gurgaon, and I get FE of around 11 to 12. On Sunday with less traffic I get around 15 Km/L. If one drives in eco mode on open road, one can get possibly 16 - 17
   
5. The car is real fun to drive on dynamic mode. It brings BMW like smile on our face and unlike my C class, where sports mode just drinks petrol, Dynamic mode in Volvo also give good FE (11 to 12).
   
6. It seems Volvo has stopped providing Polestar upgrade in Oct 19. I am hoping it comes again . I have heard so many good things that a Polestar upgrade brings

So, Am I very happy. Yes , but still yearn for D5 (235 HP compared to current D4 with 190HP) . If Volvo can give D5 in XC 60 (same price) , why not on S 90. When I bought my C class. It ticked all my boxes. But in this segment , cars are getting specialized. you can not have all your boxes ticked.

Regards
GRV

[GRV]

Hi

Continuing on my initial ownership experience of S 90, this post focuses on my take on utility/relevance of a few safety features that are unique to Volvo in India. It would be useful to know that some features like BLISS, CTA, HUD have been now removed from S 90 (along with rear heated seats and rear air suspension)

1. BLISS (Blind Spot Detection system) : I found this to be a a useful feature. It gives you confidence, when you are changing lanes or turning left or right. Though rear view mirror serves the purpose 80 % of the time, but having BLISS gives you confidence that there is no other vehicle coming from behind.

2. CTA (Cross Traffic Alert): This is additional layer of safety that compliments your camera view when you are reversing. This is very useful as we park along side the road and when we reverse out, there is a risk of collision with approaching vehicle or person.

BLISS and CTA come together, and in my view, it is a good feature to have specially for people like me who are on the other side of 50 with slowing reflex.

3. City Alert : This in my view is the best feature. Below speed of 30 KMPH, if the car determines that you are likely to hit the vehicle in front, it gives you both an audio and visual warning, and if you fail to act, it breaks automatically. It is applicable for Vehicles / People and large animals. In our daily commute context, we have so many instances, that suddenly a two wheeler or a pedestrian darts across our car. This feature will ensure that even if we do not act on time, the car breaks automatically. In my 20 days and 900 Kms days of driving, I have got this warning possibly 10 times and on 2 occasions , car applied brakes automatically. Again , drivers with slowing reflexes or too much distracted driving habit will find this feature very useful.

4. Adaptive cruise control: This is more a comfort than a safety feature.but very useful even in daily office driving. Activate this feature and let the car drive itself i.e. accelerate and brake automatically (steering has to be controlled by the driver). and when you move into highway with lane marking, the same feature becomes pilot assist , which is adaptive cruise control with automatic steering control.

5. Pilot assist : As mentioned above, when the steering inputs are also controlled by the car (along with brake and acceleration). this is pilot assist and requires proper lane markings to operate. I have found that if the road curves sharply , steering does not rotate (i.e. automatically) in same proportion requiring manual control In my view , this feature is more of a party trick in Indian context, where lane markings and discipline of lane driving are in short supply.

6. Rear Air suspension : S 90 comes with air suspension at the rear (No more in new models starting Dec 2019) I have not got opportunity to be driven , but from driver seat, I can feel that when the road surface it smooth, the ride quality is just sublime.

In my next post, will share my experience with post sales service comparing with Merc after sales service vs. Volvo.

Regards