Hi Scotty,
First and foremost, I'd like to express my gratitude for all the wonderful videos you've produced – my wife and I genuinely enjoy watching them.
We currently own a 2007 CRV 2.2 CDTI (yes, a diesel) which has proven to be one of the most reliable cars we've ever had (currently at 120,000 miles). However, I've been contemplating the idea of purchasing a pre-owned Volvo, specifically an XC90 or perhaps the slightly smaller XC60, both with diesel engines.
As residents of Scotland, we occasionally face rather challenging weather conditions, which is why an AWD vehicle appeals to us. My inclination towards the Volvo is not only due to its larger size (which is great for my mountain bike), but also because of the abundance of lorries on our roads and my concern for my wife's safety when she drives alone.
Do you think the Volvo is a considerable improvement over the CRV, or am I simply being overly cautious and at risk of delving into a potential money pit? We truly adore our CRV, but the concerns I mentioned above have been weighing on my mind.
Thank you in advance for your input.
Warm regards,
Dom
However, I've been contemplating the idea of purchasing a pre-owned Volvo, specifically an XC90 or perhaps the slightly smaller XC60, both with diesel engines.
It won't be as reliable, but a pre-2017 inline 5 turbo diesel Volvo XC60 with a manual or the 6 speed conventional automatic (the 8 speed has some concerns although it's nice to drive) not too old and not with too many miles can be a decent car.
the abundance of lorries on our roads and my concern for my wife's safety when she drives alone.
This is true, the old CR-V is pretty light on safety with only 4 Euroncap stars, it scored (euroncap report) lower than a Ford Focus (Euroncap report).
The Volvo is excellent on safety, scoring 94% on the Euroncap in 2009, and it has really good safety in the real world too.
Crashes like this are not survivable in non-Volvo cars.
I'd consider features like FCW, LKA, and others also critical for safety.
And keep in mind that a brand new Mazda3 scores 98% in the 2019 test, and a brand new Mazda CX-30 scores 99%, and those are excellent safe cars too, with the a manual or a 6AT (depending on if you like the way it shifts) and the SkyActive-G engine it can be decent.
Perhaps @dan has some experience with XC60 too
https://carkiller.com/scottykilmer/qa/xc90/#post-86768
Thanks for getting back to me.
Indeed, the video you generously shared is one I had already come across.
I was considering an older model, such as the V70, but I'm uncertain about whether we'd miss the elevated driving/passenger position of the CRV.
It's worth noting that any Volvo we end up buying won't be new by any means. However, I've been focusing exclusively on the AWD variants, primarily due to the road conditions in Scotland.
Thanks
Dom