[sor]

X3 M40i vs XC90 T8 inscription

We recently purchased a Volvo XC90 T8 plug-in hybrid and I wanted to share some thoughts in comparing it to my BMW X3 M40i. Obviously this isn't an apples to apples, as the XC90 is probably more in line with the X5 on luxury and probably the X7 on size (in fact the main reason my wife ruled out the X5 hybrid was that it was quite a bit smaller). I still find the comparison interesting, especially knowing what the new G series X5 brings and how the strengths of my G series X3 pretty much translate over.

First off, I love both cars. They each have their own strengths, and not a lot to dislike, assuming you understand their purpose and design and judge them accordingly.

Drivetrain

They're completely different, but they're both great at what they do.

The BMW is sporty, fast, loud, responsive, and fun to drive. I love paddle shifting and the stock exhaust note is great. As a bonus, I can usually get 30mpg cruising at 70-75 on the freeway.

There's more to say about the XC90. Being a plug-in hybrid, the balance of electric and gasoline is an interesting experience. Overall the integration is amazingly seamless, you can hear the gas engine take over but there's no jolt or change in sensation when it switches. It still has a quite powerful 300-some odd horsepower gas engine which works well on its own and provides enough power to be responsive and quick even while charging. The electric function is an amazing bonus, being able to take short trips without using any gas at all. I enjoy how it displays the usage of power trains, in standard hybrid mode I find it actually fun to try to stay all electric just by modulating the throttle.

I got around 24mpg on the gasoline engine on long trips, but this goes up drastically if you use electric and have shorter trips. Even the mpg average of a 2-3 hour trip can benefit significantly from a portion of all-electric cruising, if you choose to use it.

Controls/infotainment

I really like the simplicity of Sensus. You have a vertically oriented tablet-sized display with expandable nav, media, phone sections with climate control along the bottom. Swipe right for a series of control buttons, swipe left for configuration. Physical buttons are kept to a minimum, mainly just a volume control knob and media arrow buttons.

In contrast, iDrive is a lot more complex. One can sometimes get lost in the layers upon layers of menus, which can be mitigated somewhat with the programmable shortcut buttons. In exchange you get a lot of configuration options and details, and iDrive does generally seem more advanced. I find the combination of buttons and touchscreen a bit awkward at times to find the right combo to navigate to what I want.

There is a trade off in the screen formats. I appreciate the large landscape iDrive screen when using the backup camera, you can get both the 360 view and the backup cam at the same time in gloriously large detail. That's not easy to pull off on a portrait screen when width is more valuable for field of view. In contrast I don't think its shape and location would work for replacement of main controls and buttons as well as the lower mounted portrait screen on the Sensus, which seems to work great.

Interior

This isn't a completely fair comparison, as I don't have Individual seating in my X3 to get a comparable grade of leather, and to be fair the XC90 interior should be compared to an X5 or X7. Seating aside, however, I find the X3 holds up well in terms of trim quality and impression.

The Volvo seats really are a wonder. The ventilated seats work very well, the massage feature feels great on long trips, the heating works well, and they're very adjustable.

Autonomous features

The adaptive cruise and autonomous driving work almost identically between the two, to the point that I suspect they both use the same OEM system. I drove the XC90 about 700 miles home, and at least 500 of that it basically drove itself.

They both have the same weaknesses that the occasional sharp curve requires assistance, and they don't always hit the center of the lane as well as I'd prefer. They're both great for long trips, reducing muscle fatigue/shoulder tension of constant steering, and providing a few seconds to stretch here and there.

I will say the Volvo was a tad more finicky about detecting my hand on the wheel for the regular autonomous steering check with maybe a failure once every ten or fifteen minutes. With the BMW's capacitive detection I can just rest a finger or two over the wheel at the bottom and it's good. With the Volvo I loosely rested my hand around the bottom of the wheel and it still occasionally failed checks and made me squeeze or grab, to the point where I'm not quite sure if Volvo's detection is capacitive, grip-based, or tension/resistance based.

Conclusion

Overall I'm very happy with both, and I could probably fill a book comparing and contrasting them. I do think the BMW probably would have the overall edge, if/when they come out with an e-drive version of one of their G series X5/X7 SUVs as a straight comparison, but perhaps only because the Volvo platform is a bit older.

[arciga18]

Thanks for the update.

Can you discuss the steering wheels ?

[freitz]

Interesting I wouldn't have thought to compared these two. XC90 looks so much like a 2015 x5.

[Neo1130]

We almost purchased an XC60 T8 Inscription before we got our M40i. They are pretty nice but the performance on the BMW won hands down. Not to mention, all the Volvo dealers within 100 miles of our area were complete asses and each one of the cars we wanted had nearly 1,000 miles put on them by the dealer and tons of crumbs/spilled coffee, etc... At least with BMW, the dealers are very strict on this around here...

[sor]

Originally Posted by Neo1130

We almost purchased an XC60 T8 Inscription before we got our M40i. They are pretty nice but the performance on the BMW won hands down. Not to mention, all the Volvo dealers within 100 miles of our area were complete asses and each one of the cars we wanted had nearly 1,000 miles put on them by the dealer and tons of crumbs/spilled coffee, etc... At least with BMW, the dealers are very strict on this around here...

Yeah, I ordered mine from out of state, Costco auto FTW.

[sor]

Originally Posted by arciga18

Thanks for the update.

Can you discuss the steering wheels ?

Haha. Yeah theirs is not as sporty, and I like the arrangement of buttons better on the BMW. It feels nice though and works well enough.

[sor]

Just some photos...

[arciga18]

So jealous of the no front plate.

[mmmmm40i]

thanks for sharing. I realize the XC90 is a bigger car by the specs but in the pictures they look quite similar in size. How does it compare in real life side by side?

Do you have ventilated seats in the BMW to compare to?

[Bob in IL]

Originally Posted by sor

Just some photos...

Great color on the Volvo. Is that what they call Bursting Blue Metallic?

[sor]

Originally Posted by mmmmm40i

thanks for sharing. I realize the XC90 is a bigger car by the specs but in the pictures they look quite similar in size. How does it compare in real life side by side?

Do you have ventilated seats in the BMW to compare to?

Stance-wise they do seem similar, though I'd like to park them side by side on a flat surface to get a better look. It is longer though, has a third row seat and still has decent trunk space. To give some perspective we measured the cargo space on each vehicle we drove, with third row seat down if it had one. The Volvo cargo space compared to the X5 was 4" wider and 10" deeper, roughly identical vertical.

I haven't experienced the ventilated seats for the X3. I seem to recall mediocre reviews here on the forums but that might partially be due to the loss of bolsters.

[HoustonEaDo]

Originally Posted by Bob in IL

Great color on the Volvo. Is that what they call Bursting Blue Metallic?

Bursting Blue is a lighter blue available on R-Design (I had it on my XC60)

This blue is called Denim Blue

[sor]

Originally Posted by Bob in IL

Great color on the Volvo. Is that what they call Bursting Blue Metallic?

No, it's the Denim Blue.

[Torinalth]

I was deciding between the V90 wagon R-design and the M40i. overall I loved the Volvo so much more in almost every respect to the BMW.... but when it came down to it the V90 has that weak dual charged I4 that is so lethargic I couldn't bring myself to order one in the end. The Volvos are so nice now. Their interior is much more comfortable and elegantly designed than the BMW, and the R-design seats are the best I've ever felt. For my car though, I can't be bored out of my mind driving it. I regret not being able to have my awesome wagon, but i'd probably sell it within a year of boredom at a substantial loss if I went that direction. If Volvo can fix their engines to not be garbage (yes I drove a T8 S90, and hated it more than the weaker T6, its just unbalanced) I'd go back instantly.

Glad you are enjoying both!

[Bob in IL]

Originally Posted by sor

No, it's the Denim Blue.

Thanks.