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’