{"id":242696,"date":"2023-10-22T11:49:22","date_gmt":"2023-10-22T11:49:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automotobuzz.com\/?p=242696"},"modified":"2023-10-22T11:49:22","modified_gmt":"2023-10-22T11:49:22","slug":"im-baffled-as-to-how-a-brand-new-84k-volvo-xc90-can-fail-so-spectacularly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automotobuzz.com\/car-reviews\/im-baffled-as-to-how-a-brand-new-84k-volvo-xc90-can-fail-so-spectacularly\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cI\u2019m baffled as to how a brand-new \u00a384k Volvo XC90 can fail so spectacularly\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Mike Rutherford was left disappointed as the Volvo XC90 he was supposed to get on test broke down en-route to his house<\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/media.autoexpress.co.uk\/image\/private\/s--5T1Xxlrn--\/f_auto,t_author-mobile@1\/v1570211854\/autoexpress\/img_0592-1.jpg\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/media.autoexpress.co.uk\/image\/private\/s--eNTrwEq0--\/f_auto,t_primary-image-mobile@1\/v1697802590\/autoexpress\/2023\/10\/Opinion%20-%20Volvo%20XC90.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p>What you\u2019re about to witness is a tale of the good, the bad and the undrivable. Best bit first: Volvo is looking to increase sales with some good, old-fashioned price cuts. \u201cSave up to \u00a311,500 in October\u201d is the tempting message it\u2019s been putting out there this autumn.<\/p>\n<p>Coincidentally, a couple of weeks ago I received a friendly \u2018Hej\u2019 (hello in Swedish, apparently) from my usual contacts at Volvo, who reminded me that I hadn\u2019t driven any of its cars for a while and would I like to? \u201cYes please. I\u2019ll grab one of those blessed with that amazing \u00a311,500 discount,\u201d was my immediate response. The following week came a message that a Volvo \u2018Brand Ambassador\u2019 would be handing me an XC90 Recharge Ultimate T8 AWD plug-in hybrid from the press fleet the following morning.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/media.autoexpress.co.uk\/image\/private\/s--4zzITWYq--\/f_auto,t_related-embed-mobile@1\/v1669302187\/autoexpress\/2022\/11\/Most%20reliable%20used%20SUVs%20header.jpg\">Most reliable used 4x4s and SUVs to buy 2023<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>During the early part of the delivery process, Volvo did and said all the right things to demonstrate its efficiency and cool professionalism \u2013 while at the same time creating exactly the right mood prior to my week-long test drive in its \u00a383,925 (gulp) SUV.<\/p>\n<p>After a brief phone conversation with the company\u2019s appointed ambassador, we agreed to meet 45 minutes later. Then the good started to turn to bad as he phoned me again from a nearby motorway service area and suggested we might have to put the proposed meeting\/handover on temporary hold. \u201cWhy?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe car\u2019s now as dead as a dodo,\u201d he explained. We agreed that he\u2019d need to call out the AA or whoever to diagnose and fix the problem(s), before getting back to me with a progress report. Some 90 minutes later came the update that, after receiving technical assistance and checks by a professional at the roadside, the car had been brought back from the dead and was again on the road, heading my way.<\/p>\n<p>But not for long. As I said, at the top, first the good (that \u00a311.5k discount), then the bad (\u201ccar\u2019s as dead as a dodo\u201d), then the undrivable (numerous dashboard warnings, including \u201crestart not possible,\u201d according to the ambassador).<\/p>\n<p>Since the early 1980s, I\u2019ve been sent well over 1,000 test cars. And I\u2019ve never known one of them to die en route to me. The XC90 was the first. As you can imagine, during the days since the unfortunate incident, I\u2019ve repeatedly asked Volvo and its in-house tech experts to formally explain why and how its car suddenly and scarily achieved \u201cdead as<br \/>\na dodo\u201d (the ambassador\u2019s words, not mine) status. The only official word from the company\u2019s UK HQ as we went to press has been: \u201cThe cause of the issue is still being investigated. Sorry to say that we don\u2019t yet know what it was.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But as soon as Volvo (whether in Britain and\/or Sweden) diagnoses the technical problems with its car and sends me some detailed explanations for them, I\u2019ll get back to you, dear Auto Express reader. Not least because you\u2019re probably as baffled as me over how a brand-new, \u00a384k car can fail so spectacularly. And if anyone ever tells you press test cars are specially fettled for our benefit, think again.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/media.autoexpress.co.uk\/image\/private\/s--2ndlamRb--\/v1683626472\/assets\/partners\/powered-by-motorway_150x70.png\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"icon\" class=\"imgHideOnJavaScriptDisabled_4059a916lo1dgq6h polaris__image\" height=\"20\" src=\"\/public\/trustpilot-icon.png\"><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Click here to read more from Mike&#8230;<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.autoexpress.co.uk\/volvo\/361296\/im-baffled-how-brand-new-ps84k-volvo-xc90-can-fail-so-spectacularly\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mike Rutherford was left disappointed as the Volvo XC90 he was supposed to get on test broke down en-route to<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":242695,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - 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