Does the forum provide a balanced view?

[Wychwood]

I am a relatively new member of this forum. I have read with interest many of the comments on a wide range of topics and issues. Many of the contributors clearly have considerable knowledge of the XC40 and provide very valuable feedback which I respect and appreciate. However, I wonder if in general terms there is a tendency to concentrate more on the negative rather than the positive aspects of owning this car. I get that and understand it but I encourage those who are really enjoying their experience of the car to share that as well so that we do get a balanced picture.
To that end, I have just had my first long journey in my car. 212 miles in 4 hours non stop from the Cotswolds to North Yorkshire in very cold but dry conditions. The cabin was quiet with great visibility, supremely comfortable, excellent Google maps, very good heating and all my voice commands worked for the radio etc. I achieved 45.3 mpg, including plenty of motorway miles which seems pretty reasonable to me. I have rarely, if ever, felt less tired or less stressed after 4 hours in a car! My wife agrees, too

[Krystof]

I think you're right - forums like this will naturally be used to discuss issues that some owners are having with their cars, while people whose cars are working flawlessly have less reason to contribute, and we might just dip in and have a quick look from time to time but not very often. So it can distort the overall picture if we don't bear that in mind. For example, one poster recently wrote that the AAOS system is the Achilles heel of the XC40. It's not. That particular poster has been unfortunate enough to experience recurring issues with it, and of course they have my sympathy and I hope they get it sorted soon, but very few people on this forum have reported similar experiences, so clearly it works very well for the vast majority of people. (If it really was an Achilles heel, there would be thousands of posts on this forum complaining about it, and there aren't.)

Overall my experience has been similar to yours. Particularly on longer journeys, it's great. Perhaps if I used it all the time around the city, I'd have a different opinion - I don't know, because I'm based in the middle of a large Central European city and within that city I get around either by walking or by tram, which is a lot less stressful than city driving here But I have plenty of experience of longer runs, both for work and on vacation. I've been down to southern Portugal and back, and up through Finland to the Arctic coast of Norway and back, plus many other shorter journeys within my part of Europe (Czech Republic, Austria, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Poland, Germany). The consumption on those longer journeys has impressed me - usually around 6.1 l/100 km (about 46 UK mpg) on summer tyres, and 6.5 l/100 km (about 43 UK mpg) on winter tyres, which I'm happy with. (I have a B4.) And even more important for me is that even after a long day's driving, I've never once got out of the car with an aching back/neck, or actually even feeling very tired at all. That's the biggest plus for me - it's so refined and comfortable, it just eats up the miles effortlessly.

[eugen61]

Topics on such forums are usually about issues since owners rightfully expect a premium £40k+ car to be faultless. New forum members might feel overwhelmed by complaints, but those seeking advice on specific topics receive feedback about positive experiences. In many threads forum members vent their frustration with bad customers service, but those topics boil down to Volvo local service representatives, no to the car’s build quality, running comfort, safety and efficiency.

[Chris John]

It does if you don’t listen to BuzBox

[m@rk]

People tend to turn to online forums or Facebook groups when they have a problem so yes, there is probably a disproportionate amount of posts about faults and problems.

But

Ask a question along the lines of "I'm thinking of buying a Volvo or some other car what do you think" and all the lurkers who are super happy will pop out and tell you how great their Volvos are. Of course if you went to a BMW group and asked the same question, the answer would of course be BMW

It just the very nature of forums like this

[percymon]

Many people come to forums looking for help resolving an issue, either because there's a fault or they need advice on operating the vehicle/controls. ITs the nature of forums, they will always be loaded with 'not happy about ', 'this doesnt work' and 'faulty xxx' .

Not many people go out of their way to join forums and post multiple positive messages. Years ago i posted 'running reports' every quarter on a few forums, trying to give a balanced view - they got a bit of reading time but very little feedback; other forum members were almost disappointed there werent enough bad points to create a long debate .

[Deleted User 4737]

Karystof, eugen61, m@rk, percymon are all absolutely right, owners tend to seek out forums when they have issues to find answers, and they are a great place to do so, but this can often present a distorted view. The fact is any issue with any car will be a very small percentage with the majority of owners enjoying many flawless years of ownership.

[Deleted User 4737]

It does if you don’t listen to BuzBox

Then there are occasions members may post to fuel debate, is that a bad thing, no don't think so and often witty??

[JFDIT]

My preference is big petrol engines in fast fine handling cars. Given that, I can't fault my latest XC40. It has timeless "Tonka Toy" looks, decent enough handling and performance, excellent build quality and I love Google AAOS. Maps and voice control are second to none with new functionality rolling out as we speak.

I drive around 15k miles a year, often at night, the new pixel lights are the best I've had on any vehicle and I've had a lot of premium vehicles. (BMW, Mercedes, Jaguar, Land Rover, Morgan, Audi and Fast Fords). Likewise it is one of the most comfortable vehicles I've owned, often doing a 300 mile trip with no aches or pains at the end.

I really dislike CVT Hybrid Powertrains so it narrows my choice of new vehicles. Yes, of course I'd like a lifetime warranty with a fuel tank that refills when driving in heavy traffic and at standstill but not at the price of suffering a vehicle I dislike looking at, being in and driving. For me the XC40 is a fine vehicle and looking at its historic resale values a lot of people would agree.

[Deleted User 4737]

Yes, of course I'd like a lifetime warranty with a fuel tank that refills when driving in heavy traffic and at standstill.

Can't help with the "lifetime" warranty but with regards to the rest that's what full-hybrids do very well, when in slow moving traffic they produce even more electric and use the ICE less, its not alchemy, just 25-years of evolved cleaver engineering.