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Consumer Reviews for the Volvo XC90
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6 month update: frustrating infotainment
Thomas Roberts, 05/11/2023
2023 Volvo XC90 B6 Ultimate Bright 4dr SUV AWD (2.0L 4cyl Twincharger gas/electric mild hybrid 8A)
6 month update: Volvo took a minimalist approach to their new (mid 2023) infotainment that we’re finding incredibly frustrating, which took away some worthwhile customization options. First to note, we had a 2020 R design and this is the inscription. I hate that they got rid of it. I liked the look and feel/ergonomics of the R design, but I get it, not a lot of folks looking for a sporty … looking 7 seater Volvo I guess. My biggest gripe is that It’s a great car if it weren’t for a frustrating level of user experience based on taking away simple options.
1. Incredibly frustrating - The sound system. Volvo says it has optimized the sound experience so you only have 3 selections on sound customization and no ability to balance the sound, only to select forward, back or middle. Here is the issue: in the middle option, barely ANY SOUND comes out of the back speakers (middle row). Our kids can’t hear anything when the speakers are “centered.” We took it to the dealer and confirmed this is the same in other cars. Our salesperson was surprised also when we confirmed it. It is a big design flaw. A couple of other salespeople were there and also were surprised, but clearly tried to downplay it. It’s very very noticeable and even more frustrating when it’s a good set of speakers which we’re paying for, and there is no way to mitigate this.
2. They took away drive modes, so except for a box to check for steering feel (firm or soft) there’s nothing. No customization - again.
3. When a sensor goes off because something is close to the car, it immediately goes to a 360 view. This means that every time a pedestrian walks in front of your car close by (which happens a lot in the city) it goes to that view and starts beeping. There is NO WAY to turn it off. So if you are trying to look at your directions at a red light, and people are walking in front of your car, it switches screens and you can’t see your next turn. It gets annoying quickly.
4. This is small, but in our last car we could pick the interior lighting color. It was cool and frankly we liked it. It adds a level of fun/luxury which at this price point was appreciated. And now it’s just white lighting, no options.
5. Waze is finicky at best, still end up using Apple CarPlay. It also doesn’t play on the dash - just google maps.
6. You can’t see what media/song is playing unless you’re in the music app. So no ability to see it while using any navigation app.
While the car overall is good, we’re very frustrated with the infotainment, especially compared to our 2020. This certainly didn’t feel like an upgrade, aside from the cooled seats, and actually felt downgraded with these missing important features. Also, we find this car lacks the steering feel of our 2020, but we get it’s not the R design. I will admit the engine is better in the B6, and our mileage is fantastic, it’s just a shame that the user experience is so frustrating. We thought we’d be Volvo lifers as we prefer the more subdued image vs the German rivals, and we LOVE the level of safety Volvo provides, but where before we thought it was a no-brainer to renew our lease, we’ll need to see if these changes are fixed or if we need to shop elsewhere.
6 month update:
I moved my rating from 2 to 4 stars. Everything works and the car has been reliable. Service is generally top notch. However, I am still frustrated by the infotainment not showing what music is playing while on map view and not having the option for balance/fade on the speakers. While our mileage is pretty good, I miss some of the sporty characteristics and driving modes of the R design. I really really dislike chrome trim. I’m not saying it doesn’t look good, but it makes the car look like everything else. My overall assessment has not changed unfortunately. While we like the car, the lack of character really brought it down a notch for us from thinking we were going to stick with Volvo for a long time, to “it’s a really good car, but let’s shop around.” Hoping they fix that especially since they do offer dark trim and even blackout editions on the smaller models, and what they took away is some relatively easy and cheap things to fix/add. That doesn’t mean you should shy away from Volvo, they’re still fantastic cars and provide great service, we just miss the personality.
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