After more than 6months of ownership, I finally got around to using the Hill Descent Control feature on the car.
It is a little button you press on the lower central dash that engages a mode where the braking is automatically controlled by the car - to keep you at a constant low speed down a hill, allowing you to take care of the steering and not worrying about braking etc.
We were at a Safari park - and some steep hills on the route. Wanted to drive slowly down these slopes so we could see the animals, so decided to try the hill control.
Engaged first gear and pressed the button - speed builds up and then suddenly the brakes engaged - a bit violently at first in my opinion. Reminded me a little bit of the feeling of ABS taking control of the braking. Once the car has got a steady speed - the brakes seem to be coming on and off pretty fast - that you don't notice any particular judder.
So first time out - worked pretty well. I wonder how much of this is really a novelty versus a really useful feature.
Sunday 29 June 2008
Friday 13 June 2008
The latest fault on my XC70
It's a bit frustrating. Literally the moment you post something good about the car - it develops another small and irritating fault.
Last week I noticed a patch of water on the drive, underneath the right hand side of the engine bay. Given it had been hot weather and the AC had been on, I assumed it was the condenser draining water. However the patch didn't seem to go away despite the warm weather...looked under the bonnet and all the coolant levels were correct.
Then the "washer level" warning light came on. Well not unexpected, since it was a while since it was filled. My wife actually filled it up - she was suprised how much water was needed. Anyway, it was done and should last at least another month. So much to my surprise the warning light came on again after just a few days - and I had hardly used the washer. So again I have filled it up and wait to see how many days it will last. Then it will be back to the Volvo dealer again.
Last week I noticed a patch of water on the drive, underneath the right hand side of the engine bay. Given it had been hot weather and the AC had been on, I assumed it was the condenser draining water. However the patch didn't seem to go away despite the warm weather...looked under the bonnet and all the coolant levels were correct.
Then the "washer level" warning light came on. Well not unexpected, since it was a while since it was filled. My wife actually filled it up - she was suprised how much water was needed. Anyway, it was done and should last at least another month. So much to my surprise the warning light came on again after just a few days - and I had hardly used the washer. So again I have filled it up and wait to see how many days it will last. Then it will be back to the Volvo dealer again.
Saturday 7 June 2008
Comfortable Cruiser - 15,000 Miles now completed
Past few days I have had to cover 800miles across Europe - which clicked the car to 15,000miles within 6 months of ownership.
Despite the few niggles the car has had in this time - when you are on this sort of journey - you really feel the right decision was made to buy this car.
The Volvo XC70 really comes into it's own as a super cruiser - it's quiet - very comfortable and feels powerful enough for keeping a steady speed on the autoroutes and autobhans. All of the navigation system works perfectly and seamlessly across Europe - as long as you don't need to type the address in you can use just the UK DVD. I like how it welcomes you into each country as you cross the border.
I also had to pass down some really rutted farm tracks to view some property - the ruts were filled with water - and when you are in the XC70 you don't have the same level of trepidation that you would in a typical estate car. The only thing you need to remember is to turn off the front parking sensors as the water splashes keep setting them off.
The average fuel consumption for this trip was 37miles per gallon. If I had kept to UK speed limit of 70 - I think it would have been closer to 40... you notice the next 10-20mph on the motorway really starts to use some heavy fuel.
Whilst I was in Belgium, I was speaking to an owner of an Audi A6 2.7Tdi Quattro. automatic This was the saloon model. He bought his Audi at a similar time to me after coming from a Volvo S80 - so we have both switched marques. He said he was generally happy with the Audi but it was pretty heavy on fuel - he drives quite quickly so was seeing perhaps 31-32mpg - however considering his car is permanent 4 wheel drive and automatic - and the speed he drives.. not bad. He also preferred the Volvo interior and said it was better than the A6. The A6 is however a bit dated now I think.
Despite the few niggles the car has had in this time - when you are on this sort of journey - you really feel the right decision was made to buy this car.
The Volvo XC70 really comes into it's own as a super cruiser - it's quiet - very comfortable and feels powerful enough for keeping a steady speed on the autoroutes and autobhans. All of the navigation system works perfectly and seamlessly across Europe - as long as you don't need to type the address in you can use just the UK DVD. I like how it welcomes you into each country as you cross the border.
I also had to pass down some really rutted farm tracks to view some property - the ruts were filled with water - and when you are in the XC70 you don't have the same level of trepidation that you would in a typical estate car. The only thing you need to remember is to turn off the front parking sensors as the water splashes keep setting them off.
The average fuel consumption for this trip was 37miles per gallon. If I had kept to UK speed limit of 70 - I think it would have been closer to 40... you notice the next 10-20mph on the motorway really starts to use some heavy fuel.
Whilst I was in Belgium, I was speaking to an owner of an Audi A6 2.7Tdi Quattro. automatic This was the saloon model. He bought his Audi at a similar time to me after coming from a Volvo S80 - so we have both switched marques. He said he was generally happy with the Audi but it was pretty heavy on fuel - he drives quite quickly so was seeing perhaps 31-32mpg - however considering his car is permanent 4 wheel drive and automatic - and the speed he drives.. not bad. He also preferred the Volvo interior and said it was better than the A6. The A6 is however a bit dated now I think.
Emergency Stop - Hazard Warning Lights
One of the features on this car is to flash the hazard warning lights in the event of an emergency braking - sort of makes sense I suppose.
However - so far I have never managed to activate this feature in the correct scenario - so when braking heavily on the motorway for an incident.. they didn't flash.. so obviously not braking hard enough.
But then - I have managed to activate the lights in what I would consider normal driving. The first time it was when I missed a braking point for a turning I wanted to make - so since nothing was behind me.. it was 5:30am - I hit the brake pedal pretty hard.. but not ABS hard.. and suddenly the hazard warning came on. Fair enough, it was quite aggressive braking.. but not what I was thinking was an emergency stop.
The more recent time was really strange. I was coming towards a T - junction and again was needing to brake reasonably hard to slow down the car - but well within the cars capability and road conditions. I then heard the turning signal and thought I had caught the stick - then realised the hazard lights had come on. This was incredible?.. so what level of deceleration is required to make the emergency stop... well it is not clear to me.
However - so far I have never managed to activate this feature in the correct scenario - so when braking heavily on the motorway for an incident.. they didn't flash.. so obviously not braking hard enough.
But then - I have managed to activate the lights in what I would consider normal driving. The first time it was when I missed a braking point for a turning I wanted to make - so since nothing was behind me.. it was 5:30am - I hit the brake pedal pretty hard.. but not ABS hard.. and suddenly the hazard warning came on. Fair enough, it was quite aggressive braking.. but not what I was thinking was an emergency stop.
The more recent time was really strange. I was coming towards a T - junction and again was needing to brake reasonably hard to slow down the car - but well within the cars capability and road conditions. I then heard the turning signal and thought I had caught the stick - then realised the hazard lights had come on. This was incredible?.. so what level of deceleration is required to make the emergency stop... well it is not clear to me.
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