Cars (Volvo XC90 vs BMW X5)

I'm a HUGE fan of the Volvo XC90 myself - altough I unfortunately don't own one (yet?).

My reasons are:
1) It's a Volvo - meaning there's a safety factor that far surpasses other vehicles (generally).
2) because of #1 - probably lower insurance rates as compared to the BMW.
3) It's slick as hell!!
4) see #3, above.

Good luck, Kristie!!

Let us know what you two decide.

R2F

Good to know. I'll drop my Rodeo off at the local BMW dealer on my way to my next lesson. It NEEDS a good cleaning!!












Kidding... I knew what you meant.

How about one of these babies:

see - that's what i think too... only doug likes the BMW X5 better for some reason?

You might just go and test drive both of them. And make sure you each sit behind whom ever is driving. The BMW looks good, but is a bit more for looks as opposed to the Volvo.

My brother and his wife have this on a 5 year lease. They're not sure what the future of transportation holds 5 yrs down the road with twins coming and they may have more kids after that. The Volvo holds its value well too.

They did like the idea of that middle raised seat for the child, it does look good up close, like it would actually work.

Here are some things to look at when you see the cars.

a) open up the rear hatch, if you are not very tall you should be able to reach up and grab it to close it. Also notice that the lower part of the door folds neatly down to make a ledge to sit on that goes *over* the bumper. Lots of nice tiedown points in the back.
b) seats are good. Steering will come out and move up and down. I'm 6'4" and you have no idea how good it is that my knees can touch under the wheel.
c) XC90 has side impact air cushions that go all the way back to cover even the third row seat. Not many (if any) other SUV's have them yet.
d) side mirrors can remotely fold in, no hitting them on the side of the garage or at a drive though. (actually I just like watching them deploy, its so cool)
e) The DVD nav system is very good and a lot of fun. The display ~8 in. diag. rises up out of the dash. Works well day or night. It will verbally tell you a few miles before a turn that its coming up, and even direct you to stay right or left through the turn to get on your route. Should you miss a turn it actually will start to recompute and try to direct you back to the originial route you entered. (imagine the computer after the 5th missed turn, "For the love of God, please turn left!") All of this can be controlled either by controls on the steering wheel, or by a remote so another passenger can navigate
f)I'm comfortable in the back (middle) seat, although it wasn't real good for sleeping.
g) driveability wise, it feels secure in your hands. Much more like a sedan than a big truck. My sis-in-law wanted something that she could feel safe parking at the mall. Safe as in being able to see out to make sure she wouldn't hit the cars as she parked. BTW, she loves the Volvo and has named it 'Jeeves'.

Getting the bigger engine will give you the pep you need when you need it in the big city. You will always have power available for when you need it.

The CEO of our company actually has a X5. It looks nice and feels good to ride in. I've not driven it, but I think you get it more for the logo than usefullness. Not that I hate BMW's, just that they don't have what I want in a SUV.

What you might compare it to is the Lincoln Aviator. Among the three of us it actually came out a draw when deciding which one to vote off the island. It was down to minor things like how we percieved fit and finish and such. Volvo could get the nav system sooner, etc.( but the Lincoln should have it now)

If you're ever up in the Baltimore area on a stop, I'd be glad to show it off to you both. Were only about 20 minutes away from BWI (off peak)

Good luck choosing!

I don't know if this will help much, but these are some car reviews from Microsoft's carpoint.com

BMW X5

Volvo XC90

My mother in law just bought a mercedes. I think its the c230 or 235 kompressor.. Nice car though but she will scratch in about a week

Man, I wish I could afford to have the choice between a Volvo or BMW

We have a top of the line volvo cruiser, I orginally was disapointed dad bought a volvo and not a Jeep but I don't mind it too much now. It has electric / power everything, heated seats, mirrior defrosters, power sunroof auto leveling supension, just to name a few. It is a heavy car and here registeration goes by weight so it cost as much as some 4wds.

I will say somthing about european cars in general however, they are more expensive to maintain and repair than domestic or Japanese cars. For example a new tail light cost $400 and we have to take it to a speicalist mechanic who charges more etc etc It's a nice car yeah, good build quality, doesn't feel plasticly and has a real smoooth ride but your paying for those luxurys in more ways than just the purchase price, so keep that in mind.

I'm not suprised of stories of people turning in their Rolls Royce for a Lexus, just maintaining those cars will send you to the poor house unless your worth a fortune. Maybe that's the general idea?

Give me somthing durrable, relable, cheap to fix and I'll be happy. I think I want to get one of those pick-ups that you yanks are so crazy about