Outback vs Volvo XC

[Mrknowitall]

Perhaps this is even a stupid question, but I've been in Ann Arbor a lot lately, and I'm taking a shining to the XC70 or V70XC, as an alternative to a gently used outback. I'm not looking for a serious off-roader, more something that can gobble up miles with the gear, the wife, the (2)kids and the (big) dog, manage some fire roads and such and generally bhe a worthy trail-head and river support vehicle.
Opinions, anecdotes, figures, facts... please share

 

[Owyhee H]

I feel while riding in the Volvo it is much more refined. They both have their personalities, which are quite different. I have a real soft spot for subi's but love the solidness of a Volvo. The volvo is a lot more $$ to buy and maintain respectively. I think that either would serve you well in what you want out of a vehicle. Test drive both and do what feels right. :sombrero:

 

[Storz]

Nothing to add other than I like your location, been through Hell many times. Grew up in Brighton

 

[Tinker]

The Subaru is cheaper to maintain and has a much better AWD system than the Volvo.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyLgYskj-oc Plus, most years of the Outback will give you greater ground clearance than the Volvo (2012 XC70 = 8.2", 2012 Outback = 8.7").

 

[mog]

Not quite an XC70 but I have a XC90. I’ll start by saying I love this car.
I do Search and Rescue (myself and my dog) and I bought this to supplement my F250 (it goes through gas like a B-17 with flak holes in its wing), for going to training and searches. The XC90 has enough room for the 3rd row seating which the other SUV/Crossovers in this class (Tourareg, Cayenne, X5) did not. I figured that if I was going ‘large’ I might as well have that. Two side benefits of that is my dog’s 36” crate fits in back length wise without folding/moving the second row seats, and I can sleep with the second row down, with tons of room (6’4”).
A big plus is all the seats (including the front passenger seat) fold flat and flush, so you are never dealing with a hump or folded seat taking up room. I don't know if the XC70 is set-up the same way, but the XC90 has a rear mounted battery with space for a second 'house' battery, a very nice plus for camping.

That being said, maintenance on these will kill you if you can not do a lot of the work yourself. That is why the resale on any of the euro-lux SUV is next to nothing. I bought mine for 1/5 of it's ‘new’ price at only 6 years old. I have the V8 and it is the way to go IMO. It has crazy power (0-60 time is the same as my ex- Audi TT) but it gets unbelievable gas mileage. North of 20mpg (highway), and on many trips I’ve gotten better then 25mpg. I’d be the first one to call bull-******** on those numbers, but I’ve triple checked them.

While it handles great on the road (of course no TT there) and can really knock out the highway miles it lives for fire/logging roads. It has 8.9 inches of ground clearance (stock), and just eats those roads up at any speed (the faster the better….till a logging truck rounds the bend)

As you can tell I love the XC90, with the maintenance cost warning. That being said, it seems almost all of the newer cars regardless of the country of origin are getting crazy cost wise to maintain once out of warranty.

 

[badswede]

I've put almost 100,000 miles on our 2006 XC70 between living in Las Vegas, Moab and now Idaho. I love it. My wife loves it. We did some serious interstate commuting for a couple of years and this wagon rides wonderfully. We used it to tow our river raft up and down washboard roads, then loaded it up with ski gear to head up in the mountains, all with kids aboard. Besides basic maintenance, I've had to do some minor parts here and there, but nothing outlandish. I did do one upgrade: 2" lift kit + 225/70/R15 Cooper AT3s. I now have about 11' of clearance under the vehicle. Full disclosure: I own and operate XC70liftkit DOT com, which sells the lift kits mentioned above. We're working on prototypes for P3 XC70s and P2 XC90s, so check come visit us if you some additional clearance.

 

[Stroverlander]

Maybe wanted to wait until your third or fourth post.

 

[tentoesjoe]

Did you mount them on the stock wheels? Or did you go aftermarket?

 

[calicamper]

My neighbor just replaced her XC with a 2016 OB 2.5 Limited. I have a 2010 2.5 Limited also. Her husband a big dude, was just telling me how surprised they have been about the space in the OB. 2010 and newer the Outback is really roomy and great seating space. 09 and earlier the OB was cramped.

The big warning a custom car builder buddy gave me. They do custom stuff on just about everything. He will not touch Volvo. His number one gripe is the horrendously cheap and poorly done wiring. His second major gripe is the really poor quality fasteners and parts Volvo uses. He basically threatened me with bodily harm if I got one. We bought another Subaru and I'm glad we did. Its been a great machine. Not as refined persay but rock solid were it matters. And easy to maintain. The cvt which I didnt want has turned out to be one of my favorite aspects. The thing just eats up the miles and really shines in the mountains.

 

[calicamper]

Look at a 2010-2014 3.5 Outback nice engine. 2015 the OB got a stiffer sway bar and retuned shocks. 2010-14 they have really flexible soft suspension which is a bit of a turn off on pavement but they are really good off pavement regarding ride quality. You can add a stiffer sway bar easily to help the pavement performance if you want. I left mine stock, and a little practice I can hustle it through our back canyon commute pretty well. Its still nothing as nice as my old Legacy GT or the SLK 350 grandpa left us. But hey its our wagon/kid hauler/camping rig etc.