I wanted a 7 seater 4x4 and theres not a huge choice so when an opportunity arose to purchase an ex directors car from my employer at a good price, I jumped at the opportunity especially given the reasonably good reviews.

Acceleration is poor in my view, dont expect to have your neck thrown back in to the headrest on acceleration, not that this is a car built for burn ups at the traffic lights alongside a souped up Vauxhall Corsa driven by a spotty teenager sporting a fake Burberry cap. It is most certainly comfortable yet there are annoying rattles here and there coming from the middle row of seats that despite 18 months ownership have avoided detection.

Worryingly though, I have found that whilst running costs (never more than 32mpg) are on the high side, its when things go wrong that you need to consider selling the family jewels to meet the repair costs. I think this is in part or in whole due to the complexity of the design. My car developed 2 significant faults and I found, from on line research that I wasn't alone. Others have also experienced the same faults.

Firstly, one dipped beam failed. I wasn't unduly worried as I assumed it was just a bulb. I was wrong, it turned out that the headlights are controlled by a central control module (computers...again!!) The repair would involve a new control module, programming, labour etc and not much change from £1000.

Secondly, the radio/CD developed a major fault, the display went blank so it wasn't possible to tune the radio or do anything meaningful with it, whats more it would jump uncontrollably from channel to channel. This drove me insane. Once again, due to the complexity of the car and the fibre optic wiring used in this car, the only fix would be a brand new module, with programming, labour etc and not much change from £1,200. Not even a second hand unit could be fitted. This was the nail in the coffin and I have now traded the car in.

I now have a Ford Galaxy!

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xc90 SE 2.9 T6

reviewed by meigleman on 9 July 2010