http://www.autoexpress.co.uk SpecialIssue 83
MercedesGLEvsVolvoXC90 ROADTESTS
Ontheroadprice/totalastested
Residualvalue(after3yrs/36,000)
Depreciation
Annualtaxliabilitystd/higherrate
Annualfuelcost(12k/20kmiles)
Ins.group/quote/VED
Costof1st/2nd/3rdservice
Length/wheelbase
Height/width
Engine
Peakpower/revs
Peaktorque/revs
Transmission
Fueltankcapacity/sparewheel
Bootcapacity(7/5/2-seatmodes)
Kerbweight/payload/towingweight
Turningcircle
Basicwarranty(miles)/recovery
DriverPowermanufacturer/dealerpos
NCAP:Adult/child/ped./assist/stars
0-60/30-70mph
30-50mphin3rd/4th
50-70mphin5th/6th/7th/8th
Topspeed/rpmat70mph
Braking70-0/60-0/30-0mph
Noiseoutside/idle/30/70mph
AutoExpresseconomy/range
WLTPeconomymin-max
WLTPeconomymin-max
Actual/claimedCO 2 /taxbracket
Airbags/Isofix/parksensors/camera
Autobox/lanekeep/blindspot/AEB
Climate/cruise/leather/heatedseats
Metallic/LEDs/keylessgo/pwrtailgate
Sat-nav/digidash/DAB/connectserv
Wirelesscharge/CarPlay/AndroidAuto
1 st^2 nd
Results
Figures
INSURANCE
LOWERpremiums
forourexample
driver–plus
bettereconomy
andalowerprice
overall–mean
theXC 90 ismore
cost-effective.
BIGGESTBOOT
NOTonlydoesthe
Volvohavemore
spaceinthe
rearmostseats,it’s
alsospaciousin
thesecondrow
andevenhas
morebootspace
withtheseatsup.
SAFETY
A1 00 percent
ratinginthesafety
assistcategoryis
almostunheard
of,sotheXC 90 is
amongthesafest
modelsonsale
today.
EQUIPMENT
Smartphone
connectivityisan
extra.It’soptional
ontheGLE,too,
buttheMerc’s
packalsoadds
augmented-
realitysat-nav.
RESIDUALVALUES
THEtwomodels
hereareclosely
matchedfor
depreciation,but
theGLEloses
slightlylessafter
threeyears.
PERFORMANCE
THEGLEismore
powerfulthanthe
XC 90 andthiswas
reflectedinour
tests;itwasover
halfasecond
fasterfrom
0-60mph.
EFFICIENCY
NEITHERofthese
modelsischeap
torun,butthe
GLE’shigherprice
andemissions
meanit’spricier
forbusiness
buyers.
VolvoXC90
B5(D)AWD
Inscription
£56,985/£56,985
£29,849/52.4%
£27,136
£4,150/£8,299
£2,154/£3,591
37 /£725/£465
£315/£460/£315
4,953/2,984mm
1,776/2,008mm
4cylin-line/1,969cc
232/4,000bhp/rpm
480/1,750Nm/rpm
8-spdauto/4wd
71 litres/spsaver
302/680/1,856litres
2,103/668/2,700kg
11.9metres
3yrs(60,000)/3yrs
13th/9th
97/87/72/100/5
8.0/7.8secs
3.4/4.2secs
5.5/6.6/9.3/13.0s
137mph/1,750pm
46.7/34.2/8.6m
73/44/61/71dB
33.4mpg/514miles
37.7-44.1mpg
8.3-9.7mpl
227/154g/km/37%
Seven/yes/yes/yes
Yes/yes/£500*/yes
Yes/yes/yes/yes
£700/yes/yes/yes
Yes/yes/yes/yes
No/£300/£300
MercedesGLE
300 d4Matic
AMGLine7-seat
£57,380/£66,015
£30,515/53.2%
£26,865
£4,179/£8,358
£2,256/£3,759
44/£901/£465
£34pm(3yrs)
4,930/2,995mm
1,795/2,018mm
4cylin-line/1,950cc
242/4200bhp/rpm
500/1,600Nm/rpm
9-spdauto/4wd
85 litres/repairkit
130/630/2,055litres
2,170/720/2,700kg
12.0metres
3yrs(unltd)/3yrs
26th/13th
91/90/78/78/5
7.4/7.3secs
3.0/3.8secs
5.5/6.3/8.2/10.6s
140mph/1,600rpm
49.7/33.7/11.2m
74/44/58/69dB
31.9mpg/596miles
33.6-39.2mpg
7.4-8.6mpl
237/162g/km/37%
Seven/yes/yes/yes
Yes/yes/yes/yes
Yes/yes/yes/yes
£685/yes/yes/yes
Yes/yes/yes/yes
£1,995**/£495^/£495^
VOLVO
THEnewmild-hybridB5
engineintheXC 90 hasn’t
madeabigdifferencetoitsappeal,
butthecorepackageisstillso
impressivethatit’sthewinnerhere.
TheXC 90 ismorespaciousinsidefor
bothpassengerspaceandbootroom,
whilethecabinisluxuriousandfullof
tech.Itspowertraindeliversdecent
economyandperformance,andit’s
bettervaluethantheGLEaswell.
★★★★★
MERCEDES
THEupdatedGLEis
closertoitsrivalsthan
ever,thankstoitssuperbinfotainment
andcomfortableride.Theengineinthis
300 dmodelispowerful,andeven
thoughit’snotasroomyastheXC90,
thisisstillahugelypracticalcarwith
ahigh-qualityinterior.Itfallsbehind
becauseit’snotquiteasgoodvalueas
theVolvo,itdoesn’tdriveaswellandthe
rearmostseatsaremorecramped.
★★★★★
ROADTEST
★★★★✩
VOLVO
XC 90
AUG 2019
THEXC90’smild-hybrid
system’sinfluenceisbarely
noticeableinperformance
terms,butVolvoclaimsit
deliversasmuchasa 15 per
centimprovementinfuel
economy.Bytheendofthis
yeareveryVolvosoldwill
havesomefromofelectrified
elementtoitspowertrain.
However,theMerc’s
conventionalengineisgreat
andmakesevenmoretorque,
soisjustasdriveable.
THEREarefeweroptionsto
customisetheGLE’sinterior;
there’sjustonecombination
ofinlayandinteriorleather
colour.Qualityishigh,but
there’smorescopeto
personalisetheXC90’s
cabin,withdifferentleather
andwoodcolours.Thelight
leathercoloursandwood
trimsgivetheXC 90 afresher,
alternativefeeltoitsGerman
rivals.Thisiswhatmakesthe
Volvostandoutandwhywe
likeitsomuch.
Headto
head
INTERIORS
HYBRIDS
NEW:BMWX5xDrive30dxLine
PRICE:£57,640ENGINE:3.0-litre6cyl, 26 1bhp
ADDINGathirdrowofseatscosts£1,390ontheBMWX5,soit’s
alittlepricierthanitsrivals–butthecar
makesupforthat.Ithasasix-cylinder
engine,whichisverysmooth
andquiet,andit’salsomore
funtodrivethantheGLEor
XC 90 .It’scomfortable,too.
USED:LandRoverDiscoverySDV6HSE
PRICE:£55, 990 ENGINE:3.0-litreV6, 30 2bhp
THELandRoverDiscoveryisthebestseven-seatSUV,because
itsthirdrowofseatsisimpressively
spacious.TheDiscoveryisalso
supremelycomfortableand
unmatchedoff-road–and
youcangetonewithdelivery
mileswithinbudget.
Same
Otheroptionsfor
similarmoney...
price
AEB=AutonomousEmergencyBraking.*IntellisafeSurround**Premiumpack.^Techpack.Inred=equipmentfittedtoourtestcar.Insurancequotesfrom
AA(Tel 08001070680 orwww.theAA.com)fora42-year-oldlivinginBanbury,Oxon,withthreepenaltypoints.ResidualvaluesprovidedbyCDLVIPData.
LEvsVolvoXC90 ROOOAA
GLE
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7-seat
66, 015
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for
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