I just received my new 2020 XC40
#1
11-18-2019, 01:58 PM
Join Date: Sep 2018
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I just received my new 2020 XC40
Well, I sorta received my new XC 40. I ordered my car through the Volvo Overseas Delivery Program and my wife and I flew to Sweden to take possession. I upgraded our flights from Premium Economy to Business and had very comfortable flights from the US to Sweden (stateside the flight from Sacramento to Chicago on UA not so much). The SAS Business Class includes seating in something like individual cubicles that can be converted to a nice flat bed. It also includes a 7 course dinner and a 5 course breakfast prior to landing. We couldn't have been better cared for and comfortable.
The presentation of our Volvo at the factory was very nicely done, with a complete explanation of the features and answers to any of our questions, then after a nice lunch we departed for two weeks of travel through Europe (we skipped the factory tour).
The first thing that I found, to my pleasant surprise was that the GPS was loaded with a map of Europe. I'd brought my Garmin, loaded with a map of Europe, thinking that the vehicle would have North America loaded, so it was very convenient and surprising to find the map of Europe loaded. And I was told that when the vehicle arrives here that the dealer will replace the GPS data with the North America data. With all of the road repairs and construction in Europe we had a few missteps in using the GPS, but overall it worked very well. In Addition to Sweden we drove through Norway, The Netherlands, Germany and France and found the GPS very accurate, easy to follow and generally very helpful, on the autobahns and in the small towns.
The second feature I found was the lane assist, or whatever it's called, was interesting and probably helpful. When I was on the autobahn I went to change lanes without using my turn signal and felt the vehicle resist my effort. It didn't stop me, but resisted enough to get my attention. But when I wanted to change lanes and used my turn signals there was no resistance. So this feature is helpful in reminding me to use my turn signals, and would be helpful if I were drowsy and starting to drift. A good feature.
What I discovered is that the XC40 with the T5 feels very comfortable cruising at 80 - 85 MPH. Since much of our trip was on the autobahn I just stayed up with the flow of traffic, so 75 - 85 MPH was pretty normal for most of the trip. We did spend time in Frankfurt, Heidelberg, Arnhem, and Beaune, so there was some city driving, and overall we put about 2600 miles on the car and the dash computer estimated our mileage at 27.4 MPG, which I think is great with the engine being so new. I used premium fuel, although I probably didn't need to, but since I'm unfamiliar with the fuel in Europe I felt it was a good idea.
The two features I'll be addressing with the dealer when our car arrives and we pick it up are the tail gate and the automatic stop/start feature. While the person who presented the vehicle to us at Volvo showed us how easy it was to raise the tail gate using your foot, we were unable to repeat the procedure and ended up using the button on the tail gate each time we needed to open it. The second feature we want to address is the automatic stop/start feature. While it's fairly quick to start back up, when you're in traffic and trying to change lanes because your lane is stopped and you want to move into the small opening the the next lane , that few seconds it takes to initiate is enough to keep you from changing into the next lane safely with breaks in traffic closing quickly. But other than these two features everything worked as expected.
We narrowed our search for a new vehicle down to just a few and the final decision was based on our experience with Volvo in the past having by far the most comfortable seats, and we were not disappointed with the seats in the XC40. We put some 6 and 7 hour driving days in on our trip, and at the end of the day we were still very comfortable in the seats. My wife especially enjoyed the seat extension in the passenger seat.
Overall we were very please with the experience of the Overseas Delivery Program and we're very pleased with our new XC40 and are looking forward to receiving it in about 90 days.
The presentation of our Volvo at the factory was very nicely done, with a complete explanation of the features and answers to any of our questions, then after a nice lunch we departed for two weeks of travel through Europe (we skipped the factory tour).
The first thing that I found, to my pleasant surprise was that the GPS was loaded with a map of Europe. I'd brought my Garmin, loaded with a map of Europe, thinking that the vehicle would have North America loaded, so it was very convenient and surprising to find the map of Europe loaded. And I was told that when the vehicle arrives here that the dealer will replace the GPS data with the North America data. With all of the road repairs and construction in Europe we had a few missteps in using the GPS, but overall it worked very well. In Addition to Sweden we drove through Norway, The Netherlands, Germany and France and found the GPS very accurate, easy to follow and generally very helpful, on the autobahns and in the small towns.
The second feature I found was the lane assist, or whatever it's called, was interesting and probably helpful. When I was on the autobahn I went to change lanes without using my turn signal and felt the vehicle resist my effort. It didn't stop me, but resisted enough to get my attention. But when I wanted to change lanes and used my turn signals there was no resistance. So this feature is helpful in reminding me to use my turn signals, and would be helpful if I were drowsy and starting to drift. A good feature.
What I discovered is that the XC40 with the T5 feels very comfortable cruising at 80 - 85 MPH. Since much of our trip was on the autobahn I just stayed up with the flow of traffic, so 75 - 85 MPH was pretty normal for most of the trip. We did spend time in Frankfurt, Heidelberg, Arnhem, and Beaune, so there was some city driving, and overall we put about 2600 miles on the car and the dash computer estimated our mileage at 27.4 MPG, which I think is great with the engine being so new. I used premium fuel, although I probably didn't need to, but since I'm unfamiliar with the fuel in Europe I felt it was a good idea.
The two features I'll be addressing with the dealer when our car arrives and we pick it up are the tail gate and the automatic stop/start feature. While the person who presented the vehicle to us at Volvo showed us how easy it was to raise the tail gate using your foot, we were unable to repeat the procedure and ended up using the button on the tail gate each time we needed to open it. The second feature we want to address is the automatic stop/start feature. While it's fairly quick to start back up, when you're in traffic and trying to change lanes because your lane is stopped and you want to move into the small opening the the next lane , that few seconds it takes to initiate is enough to keep you from changing into the next lane safely with breaks in traffic closing quickly. But other than these two features everything worked as expected.
We narrowed our search for a new vehicle down to just a few and the final decision was based on our experience with Volvo in the past having by far the most comfortable seats, and we were not disappointed with the seats in the XC40. We put some 6 and 7 hour driving days in on our trip, and at the end of the day we were still very comfortable in the seats. My wife especially enjoyed the seat extension in the passenger seat.
Overall we were very please with the experience of the Overseas Delivery Program and we're very pleased with our new XC40 and are looking forward to receiving it in about 90 days.
#3
02-18-2020, 05:16 PM
Join Date: Sep 2018
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Thank you. We now have about 3500 miles on our XC40 and will be taking it on a trip to Mexico in about a month. So far we really like everything about the vehicle. I've also used it a couple times to to my trailer with either a motorcycle or my SUV and it has plenty of power and handles the towing great.
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