I rented a 2016 XC90 last week for 3 days. Not a very good review for us Americans as this was rented in Germany and had the D5 engine. But, it was an automatic and had most of the bells and whistles we would order here. The D5 was quiet, had lots of torque, started as fast as a gasoline version, and real good mpg. End of diesel commentary.

The XC90 is being compared to my 2008 MB GL320, a diesel with all of the options. The XC90 is smaller than the 7 passenger GL and easier to get in and out of, the rear luggage space is about the same. I didn’t like the remote because I needed it to unlock/lock the door rather than just grab the door handle or push the button on the outside handle to lock the car.

Visibility out the windows is great. I could see the entire hood and there were no blind spots. The Euro version of the outside left rear view mirror is great, much better than the USA version, eliminating the need for the BLISS (which was active).

I didn’t care for the engine start/stop knob residing on the center console, I prefer it in the dash where it is out of the way. I did not realize that even after engine start, the car will not move unless the driver has the seatbelt fastened – I wanted to move the car to a different parking space, grrrr. Another quirk: after coming to a stop, letting off the gas does not release the brakes allowing you to creep forward or roll backward. The gas pedal must be tapped a bit to engage crawl speed.

The cruise control was super! There were two settings for distance control and it really works great, slowing the car nicely to match the speed of the car in front. Once the car is moved to the passing lane, it immediately resumes the preset speed. The XC90 also had speed limit sign recognition, as a warning in the lower part of the cluster and has no effect on the speed of the car, that is up to the driver.

Lane assist was amazing! It will fight you to stay in the center of the lane. Or you can just have hands off the steering wheel and let the car drive down the road (not recommended, of course).

Road noise inside the cabin was at a minimum. The large central display for NAV was nice, but I let my wife do that as I do not like attention grabbing devices while cruising at 80mph. The NAV also pictured a smaller map between the speedometer and the RPM which kept my vision forward instead of glancing to the side – nice touch.

Then there is the Autobahn! Why can’t we drive like that? No passing on the right, EVER! No cruising in the left lane under 80mph. I found myself looking in the rear view mirror more than looking straight ahead, always aware that 100+mph cars are really fast! After several cars passed me as I was plugged in to 80mph, I pulled into the left lane and mashed on the go pedal to see how fast they were going. The XC90 accelerated nicely, but I backed off when I hit 100mph.

Except for a few nitpicky things, the 2016 XC90 was a very nice car. Steering response was good, limited body roll in curves, good bump absorption, seats were extremely comfortable, and it sipped diesel fuel. Sorry, no long term test!
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Keeping it running is better than buying new

Hi Klaus,

Thank you. I enjoyed your review.

"Another quirk: after coming to a stop, letting off the gas does not release the brakes allowing you to creep forward or roll backward. The gas pedal must be tapped a bit to engage crawl speed."

I am surprised that they don't have on/off button for that.

As always, thank you.

The center display has so many functions, I had my wife play with it while I drove. Much too distracting. What ever happened to the simple radio controls with knobs that you could 'feel' and not have to look at. Same for heat/AC.


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Keeping it running is better than buying new

Very nice! While back, I remember my friend couldn't find a button to open the trunk in his Mercedes. We will get use to it soon!

Klaus
Is lane assist available to U.S. Models also or just in Europe?
The autobahn must of been a great place to test the xc

Lane assist is part of a package deal along with BLISS. Having a driver's manual in the glove box was great, except that it was in German. I couldn't figure out how to activate it without cruise control being on.

The increase/decrease for the CC seemed to be in 5 Km increments, probably great in Europe, but I like the 1 mph increments my MB has. Of course, with radar controlled CC slowing the car when approaching someone slower, I wouldn't need to change the speed setting so often here in the US.

I really appreciated the fact that Europeans know how to drive! They weren't taught by their father/mother and spent only 2-4 hours with a driving school 'instructor' that works part time and doesn't know how to drive either. The Germans require weeks of schooling, and if a student fails the written or driving test (harder than parallel parking!), the instructor gets demerits. Plus, if a car is damaged, it must be repaired and state inspected before it can be on the road again. No junk cars, yay.

The Autobahn is smooooth, the curves are banked nicely, entrance/exit ramps are well marked and long enough to get to 60mph+ so that merging in the unrestricted areas is made with ease. Buses are regulated to 62mph and large trucks at 50mph and the trucks do not pass each other with 1 mph differential speed!

You will not fall asleep at the wheel on an Autobahn! Constantly checking the rear view mirror and driving at 80mph plus is fun, even with the CC set at 'reasonable' speed.

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Keeping it running is better than buying new

Excellent review, Klaus......thanks!