I'm on the market for a three-row-seater. So far, my options are the BMW X5 or the XC9.

Both are from 2007.

The X5 has the nice V8 engine I like, while XC90 has the reliability "history" behind it.

From a maintenance from of view, is the XC90 a better buy, or stay away from it? While I like the bigger 4.8L from BMW, I test drove 3 XC90s from 2010, 2011 and 2012 and loved them.

But I'm in unfamiliar territory when it comes to maintaining an older version of Volvo.

My previous Volvo was a '95 960wagon and was a beast. No fixing at all. How's the XC90?

Looking at a possible purchase decision tomorrow. Any advise is highly appreciated!

 

My wife loves our xc90 with the 4.4 awd.

It has tons of power and rides so good on the interstate, as for the x5 I think it's about the same but i don't think it rides as good. We did have to do some repairs before 100,000, uncommon to this one, and the dealer had to order every part, so they should last a couple hundred thousand with proper maintenance. That's coming from a Detroit guy, so i think they r good vehicles.

 

I love my third row in my 2008 XC90. I have 4 tiny little kids, and I went from a Tahoe to this, and think it's plenty roomy. Although...not as roomy as my van conversion. I think this is an excellent car for the 3rd row need.

 

I test drove the 2010,11,12 models. All the same. The ride is definitely smoother and the off road ability is far better than the X5. The X5 has stiffer shocks due to it's sportier built.

In the end, I went with the BMW X5 4.8i. I had a budget of no more than $20k including taxes. They gave me $18K for my trade in (2014 Ford fusion fully loaded). Volvo couldn't give me as much. So the less I was out of pocket the better.

I also wanted a truck based vehicle. The XC90 is built on a sedan chassis.

My only concern is how much juice the X5 might use due to my heavy foot and inviting engine...

Also the cargo space was almost exactly the same. The bonus on the X5 is that the back seats recline and can shift back and forth to give those on the back a more roomy ride. The third row is the same as any other... Intended for Billy Wanka's employees.

 

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