What a Car - UK - (2020-04)

whatcar.com April 2020 65

BMW X5 vs Volvo XC90

BEHINDTHEWHEEL

Drivingposition,visibility,

buildquality

Bothcontendershaveloftyseating

positionswithfinevisibilityall

round,courtesyofbigwindows.

Withagreatrangeofelectric

adjustmentintheirdriver’sseats

andlotsofheightandreach

adjustmentfortheirsteering

wheels,findinganidealdriving

positionisadoddleinboth.

OurX5testcarcamewith

‘Comfort’frontseatsthatarepart

ofa£2350ComfortPackage.This

alsobringsheatedrearseats,rear

sunblinds,keylessentryandeven

heatedandcooledcupholders,

whichareveryeffective.Both

driver’sseatsareexceedingly

comfortableevenafterhoursin

thesaddle,althoughwepreferthe

X5’sslightlysquidgierseatbase.

Handily,bothcarshavea

memoryfunctionforthedriver’s

seatsanddoormirrors,sosharing

thecarwithapartnerwho’sa

differentheightfromyouneedn’t

causeanygrumbling.Frontand

rearparkingsensorsarestandard

onboth,asarereversingcameras.

BothSUVslookflashinside,

thankstofaux-leather-wrapped

dashboardsanddoorpanels,real

leatherseats,digitalinstrument

panelsanddenseplastics.

However,theX5’smaterials

arethatbitricher,itsswitches

andknobsworkslightlymore

pleasinglyanditsdigitaldisplays

arenoticeablycrisper.

TheX5’sdigitaldialsarealso

moresophisticatedthanthe

XC90’sratherlimiteddisplay,

whichcanonlyshowamapor

musicinformationinthegap

betweenthe‘dials’.Thatsaid,the

X5’sinstrumentsfeelalittlelikea

caseofstyleoversubstance;they

aren’taslegibleaswe’dlike.

SPACEANDPRACTICALITY

Frontspace,rearspace,

seatingexibility,boot

ThisiswheretheXC90really

comesintoitsown.Forastart,as

we’vesaid,it’stheonlyplug-in

hybridthat’savailablewithseven

seats,whereasintheX5there’s

nooptiontoaddathirdrowlike

youcanwithotherversions.The

XC90alsocomeswithamuch

moreflexiblemiddle-rowseat

layout,givingitaclearadvantage

whenitcomestopracticality.

TheXC90’sthreeindividual

middle-rowseats–splitfairly

evenlyina35/30/35arrangement

• notonlyslideforeandaft,
  allowingyoutoprioritiseboot

spaceorrearlegroom,butalso

recline.AsfortheX5,itsrearseats

arefixed,butthe40/20/40rear

seatbacksplitisstillconvenient.

VOLVO XC90

At 9.0in, the XC90’s touchscreen

is much smaller than the X5’s

and nowhere near as responsive

to commands. In addition, some

of the icons are quite small,

making them tricky to hit on the

move, while the menus can be

confusing. Apple CarPlay and

Android Auto are packaged

as a £300 option, but they’re

displayed only on the bottom

half of the screen, so they aren’t

all that easy to see at a glance.

INFOTAINMENT

2 Climate controls are on

thetouchscreen. Physical

buttons and knobs would

beeasier to use

3 There are plush

plastics and trims, but

interior doesn’t feel quite

as luxurious as X5’s

3

1

2

1 R-Design models get

a leatherette-wrapped

dash and door tops with

contrasting stitching

940mm

630-755mm

1435mm

1220-2075mm

1120-1385mm

470-790mm

XC90 allows you to stretch out

the most in the back, helped by

the three sliding and reclining

individual rear seats. It has a

larger boot in  ve-seat mode,

while its party trick is that it also

hastwodecentthird-rowseats

950mm

1090mm

1465mm

Boot 262-640-1816 litres

Suitcases 10

‘The XC90’s engine is coarser and has

to be worked hard for it to give its best’