Auto Express – August 20, 2019

80 SpecialIssue

ROADTESTS MercedesGLEvsVolvoXC90

MODELTESTED:VolvoXC90 B5 (D)AWDInscription

PRICE:£56,985ENGINE:2.0-litre4cyl, 232bhp

THEnewVolvoXC90B5(D)issimilartothe
previousD5model,butthechangetoa‘B’
denotesanupdatedpowertrainwithmild-hybrid
technology.Herewe’retestingtheInscriptionmodel
(R-Designshown),whichcosts£56,985.

Design &

engineering

VOLVOispushingaheadwithits
promisetoelectrifyallofitsmodels.The
keythingtonoteinthisnewB5(D)model,though,
isthatitshybridset-upis‘mild’.Itcan’tbecharged
usingaplug,norcanitrunonelectricpoweralone.
Instead,thissystemrecoversenergythatwould
otherwisebelostunderbrakingandthenusesit
togiveasmallboosttotheenginethrougha48V
electricalsystemandastarter/generator,
improvingfueleconomybyupto15percent.
Despitetheupdates,theB5offersthesame
232bhpand480NmoftorqueastheoldD5,but
thisisstill 10 bhplessthantheGLE300d.TheXC90
usesaneight-speedgearboxdrivingallfourwheels.
TheInscriptionmodelwe’retestingherecomes
withsteelspringsasstandard,butairsuspension
isavailableifyougoforInscriptionProorpaythe
£2,150itcostsasanindividualoption(itwasfitted
toourtestcar).Thisletsyouchangetherideheight,
whilethevariousdrivingmodesadjustthedamping.
TheinteriorisunchangedfromtheD5,but
that’snotabadthingbecausetheneat,cleandesign,
withalargeportraittouchscreenandhigh-quality
materials,isoneofthebestaround.Thescreenlooks
alittlesmallinthehugedashboardwhenyouputit
nexttotheMercedeswithitshugetwinscreens,but
theVolvo’selegantdesignscoresitplentyofpoints.
Inscriptionmodelsarewellequippedasstandard,
with 20 -inchalloys,heatedNappaleatherseats,
two-zoneclimatecontrol,LEDheadlights,andthat
nine-inchtouchscreeninfotainmentsystemwith
sat-nav,anda12.3-inchdigitaldash.

Driving

THEelectricmotorinmosthybrid
modelsisabigpartofthedriving
experience,butthemildnatureofthe
set-upheremeansyoubarelynoticeadifference.
Eventhere-workedbrakes(toallowenergyrecovery)
don’tfeelnoticeablydifferenttotheD5’s,andthe
engine’spowerdeliveryisverysimilar.
Thefour-cylinderengineproduces232bhpand
480Nmoftorque(from1,750rpm),sothere’s
plentyofperformance,eventhoughtheVolvo
wasn’tquiteasfastastheGLEinourtests.
TheXC90tookeightsecondstoreach60mph,
whichwas0.6secondsbehinditsrival,butonthe
roadbothcarshaveplentyofpullingpowertoget
youuptospeed,evenwithsevenpeopleonboard.
Forexample,50-70mphinfifthgeartook5.5
secondsinbothmodelshere,whichismorethan
quickenoughandgivesplentyofflexibility.The
Volvo’senginesoundsharshathigherrevs,butthe
soundproofingisgoodandmostofthetimetheB5
unitisslightlymorerefinedthantheMercedes’300d.
There’smorewindnoiseintheVolvo,though;it’s
alittlelouderthantheMercedesatmotorwayspeeds.
Thegearboxshiftssmoothlyandswiftlyenough,
whileourcar’sActiveFour-CChassisairsuspension

Testers’ notes

“TheXC 90 wasmoreeconomicalontestthan

theGLE,butithasasmallerfueltanksothe

Mercedescangoanextra82milesonasingle

fill,withacruisingrangeofaround596miles.”

SamNaylorSeniorreviewer

deliversareasonablysmoothrideinComfortmode,

althoughthose 20 -inchalloysarenoticeable.Switching

toDynamicstiffensitup,butthereductioninride

qualityisgreaterthantheincreaseinbodycontrol,

soit’snotworthit.Thedifferenceissmall,butthe

Volvoismorecomfortablethanitsrivalhere,helped

bythesupportiveseats.It’sgoodtodrive,too,because

thesteeringisslightlymoreprecisethantheGLE’s

andbodycontrolisacceptablegiventheXC90’ssize.

Practicality

ALLXC90sareseven-seatersas

standard,andtheVolvoisabitmore

spaciousthantheGLE–especiallyinthe

thirdrow.However,it’sstillnotquitebigenough

foradultstositcomfortably.Shorttripswillbefine,

butlongerjourneyswillbemoreuncomfortable.

Accesstothethirdrowisachievedbyclimbingover

the(manuallyfolding)secondrowfromeitherofthe

reardoors,becausethere’snotenoughroomtogetin

viathehatchboot.It’sthesameintheGLE.Although

themiddlerowfoldselectrically,theVolvo’sslightly

roomierinteriorandhigherroofmeanit’slessawkward.

TheXC90’sbestfeatureisitsbootspace,though.

At302litreswithallsevenseatsinplace,it’sableto

takeluggagealongwithafullloadofpassengers;the

Mercedesis172litresdownontheVolvo.Foldingthe

seatsdownopensup680litresofbootspaceinthe

XC90,whichis50litresmorethanitsGermanrival,

andwithallthefiverearseatsfoldedthere’satotal

of1,856litresavailable.TheGLEbeatstheVolvo

here,though,with2,055litres.

Ownership

VOLVOisknownforitssafety,andthe

brandhassetatargetofzerodeathsin

anyofitscarsby 2020 .Toreachthatgoal,

theXC90getsAEB,lane-keepassist,run-off-road

mitigationandtraffic-signrecognition.It’sashame

thatblind-spotassistisn’tstandard,butthe£500

IntellisafeSurroundisworthitandaddsthis,plus

cross-trafficassistandrearcollisionmitigation.

Running costs

WHILEtheVolvo’snewB5engine

helpeditreturnslightlyhigherfuel

economythantheMerc,itdoesn’tmake

muchdifferencetocompanycarbuyers.

Itstillsitsinthemaximum37percentBenefit-in-

Kind(BiK)category,resultinginataxbillof£8,2 99

forhigher-rateearners.Theslightlylowerlistprice

meansthat’sabitlessthantheGLE’s£8,358bill,

buta£ 32 0surchargeforroadtaxresultsinafairly

hefty£465annualVEDbillforboth.

ȕȕ 4 L 4 L

score

4.3

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4.0

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4.3

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3.8

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4.1 Volvo XC 90

Spacious interior andaswitchtomild-h

Runningcosts

33.4mpg(ontest)

£92fill-up/£465 or 37 %tax

Practicality

Boot(7/5/2-seatmodes)

302/680/1,856 litres

!

Braking

70 -0/60-0/30-0mph

46.7/34.2/8.6m

Performance

0-60mph/top speed

8.0seconds/137mph

Drivemode adjusts the air suspension, if fitted.However,it’s

bestleft inComfort mode, whichoffersthe bestcompromise