Spending the long weekend in the bush, and when I saw my dusty bakkie looking all photogenic, I thought I would share.
I simply love my Ranger.
Show off your wheels!
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I love my Volvo. Don’t think I’ll trade it for anything else in the foreseeable future. It’s now a bit more than 2 years old and still feels brand new!
(The photo is around 18 months old, but the car still looks exactly the same)
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XC60? Nearly got my wife an XC40. Volvos doing REALLY well! Amazing cars!
Yeah! Also almost bought an XC40, but they were low in stock and high in demand. So I actually got the XC60 for the same price as the XC40 I was eyeing…
Question is, why didn’t you get the wife the XC40? It’s better than all other cars in it’s segment… In fact, I prefer Volvo in all segments they offer them. I’m a fanboy, yes I am.
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It boiled down to price and waiting time. And she loves Golf so she has a Golf right now. She is happy so I wont argue too much.
XC40 is an amazing car, once they start reaching the 2nd hand market in higher volumes, I’ll get one. I’m not one to buy new, so the XC40 has been out of my reach so far, but I’m incredibly happy with my V40. I’ll post photo’s as soon as I recover my backup from my server… 
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This has been my favourite car since my GTIs. I’ll have to replace it with an SUV next year though 
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I must admit that I probably only bought the car because it is the engine I always wanted to move to after the GTI. 3.0 TDI with 180kw power and 500Nm torque… So “more” power than the GTI, but with better fuel consumption.
My next car was going to be the VW Arteon… but with 3 kids, that ship has now sailed.
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Very nice. But I think a 3-row SUV will suit you just fine. 
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VROOOOM! Love it! I have driven an Arteon and that thing is amazing! Surprised it never took off in the sales department like it took off at the green lights!
3 kids in a sedan is fine. Shove the smallest onto the shelf by the rear window, the middle child onto the floor behind the drivers and the biggest on the seat. That way all 3 can sleep. I recall us travelling down to George like that in my dad’s old diesel Merc and we survived!
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Yeah, but these days I think it is law for all the kids to be in car seats and those buggers take up a lot of space.
The Arteon is amazing and comes full house with everything from satnav to Adaptive Cruise Control. No need to add extras because everything is standard.
I suppose that class car competes with Audi a bit and people tend to then rather go for Audi that has a bit more status attached to it. Personally I actually prefer VW and would love to switch back to them, but they’re quite expensive, even 2nd hand.
Will see what the Tiguan Allspace go for once I’m done building.
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Soo pretty!!! 
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Yeah, I read somewhere kids up to 12 still needs to be in car seats!?
A comedian, Brian Reagan, once said when he was growing up kids weren’t too good to go through the windscreen with the rest of the family during an accident 
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Unfortunately it looks like the time has come for me to consider a 7-seater SUV.
How is the fuel economy on your Volvo? I drove a Volvo S60 D5 once (2015/2016 model) and the fuel economy, even though quoted at 20km/L, was a disaster. I had to drive like a geriatric just to match my previous GTI’s consumption (and I drove the hell out of my GTI).
I’m pretty much considering one of these cars:
- Audi Q7 3.0 TDI
- VW Tiguan Allspace 2.0 TSI (162kw)
- Volvo XC90 D5
The Audi Q7 has the same stunning engine as my current car. Volvo has lots of features standard, but I’m skeptical due to my past experience (I ended up getting rid of that car after just one month). VW is unfortunately petrol, but I would love to go back to VW. Love how VW drives and operates although I’m slightly skeptical of the touch screen in the newer models.
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If you’re buying new, I’m afraid you won’t find any D4 or D5 engines. Volvo stopped producing them end of last year as part of their green initiative. You’ll now only find hybrid petrol engines. That means you’ll be scoring on fuel economy with some added off-the-line performance benefits of the electric part of the engine.
Regardless, my D4 XC60 is currently at 8.4 l/100km (12 km/l), but I do 99% local driving. I drop off our son at school in the mornings and my mother-in-law picks him up. I sometimes drive to the office and we do a shopping run once a week or so. All this driving is within a 4km radius of the home. Once a month we do a long distance drive (±90km) to my parents, which benefits the fuel economy average greatly. I’ve done longer trips before and those trips end up around a 5.5-6.0 l/100km (16-18 km/l) average.
Considering it’s a heavy car and we’re usually 4 people with a packed boot, it’s not that bad. The performance of the D4 is also pretty good, being only a 2.0 diesel engine. When in “performance” mode, there’s loads of grunt for taking off and I’ve never felt a lack of power for overtaking. The D5 should perform even better, but I suspect the fuel economy might suffer a little.
All in all, I’m a total Volvo convert. It’s incredibly comfortable, built like a rock and hasn’t developed a single rattle or squeek after almost 3 years. You mentioned comfort, and the Volvo delivers it in buckets and spades. The car really does feel sophisticated, more so than it’s German counterparts. I’ve driven the new X3 and X5, and sat in a new Q5 and none come close to the serenity you feel in the Volvo. I won’t even consider trading my XC60 for my business partner’s Afla Stelvio QV, as it feels cheap and uncomfortable on the inside compared to the Volvo.
Our next car will certainly be an XC90 with 6-seater configuration, if we can find one. I’m also all in for the hybrid petrol engines, as fuel economy will drop drastically seeing as the electric range will be sufficient for almost a week’s worth of school runs. That means I’ll rarely have to fill up with petrol. Too bad my Discovery Insure fuel cashbacks will suffer as a result… 
EDIT: Contact one of the Volvo dealerships. Some of them let you test drive a car for a whole weekend to see if it suits your lifestyle (especially the dealership in the East Rand). I’m almost certain you won’t be able to give the car back after that…
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Thanks for the info. I’m definitely not looking to buy new so finding the engine I want shouldn’t be a problem.
Went to test drive the Tiguan but sadly, I think it is a bit small. Other than that I love how it drives, although it could do with more power, or at least, less turbo lag.
The Q7 is starting to seem out of reach as well because the 2 year maintenance plan extension on it is R90k whereas on the Volvo it is half that. The Audi 3.0 TDI engine is still one of my all time favourites though.
At this stage it does seem like the Volvo is going to be better value for money though.
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You’ll thank me later. I’ll send you your formal welcome to the Volvo fanclub.
Oh, look for the Inscription trim. You’ll get the nice crystal gear shifter and reclaimed wood panel trim. It lightens the interior quite a bit.
Also look for the following extras:
360 degree cameras
Pilot assist
HUD
I use those 3 things on literally every drive. The visibility the cameras add, with cross traffic warnings for reversing has saved me numerous dents and scratches. I’ve become so accustomed to my speed and the current speed limit on the windshield in my line of sight that I’ve haven’t EVER looked down at the instrument cluster. Even nav instructions appear on the windshield. And of course pilot assist is great for stop-start traffic - set the desired speed and the car drives itself.
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A XC90 T8 has been recommended to me now for a bit more expensive. It is a hybrid, full specced apparently except for a towbar. But I can’t find the fuel index for the petrol engine. The specs only say 2.1L / 100km, but that is obviously for the petrol / electric combined. I’m interested to know how heavy it will be on fuel once the battery runs out.
I’d also be interested in finding out the range of the electric part of the engine. Especially since I’ll be able to charge it from solar power.
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