VOLVO XC90 2.9 T6 SE 5dr Geartronic (2002)

Volvo XC90 - Drinks petrol, good to drive, nice and safe

I'll have to sell my Volvo XC90 soon cos the fuel costs are just getting daft. I reckon I average about 25 miles a gallon and I try to drive sensibly. That's not great, especially when the competition seem to be doing way more than that these days, and not just the Prius crowd either. The insurance is also pretty high for what looks like a family car.

Sad though as the XC90 is a grand car to have. We've really enjoyed having the three rows of seats, good for separating the kids when they're acting up, which is most of the time. On a few trips we've had the kids and a couple of their friends too, and we still had room in the boot for all their bags. It was only a day trip to Thorpe Park but still it performed well. With all the seats folded down flat it's a small van inside, bags of room, really good for B&Q trips. It's fantastically comfy as well, and we do quite a bit of long distances with the kids as they do regional athletics. But the downside is the fuel consumption, I feel that weight on my shoulders as we cross the country!

You can certainly tell the Volvo XC90 is a 4x4, it's always got loads of power left to give. We pull a twin axle caravan with it about four times a year on various holidays, and we had it lugging the thing up the side of a hill in France last year, didn't seem to bat an eyelid. It wasn't exactly vertical, but it wasn't a speed bump either.

It was good to have so many little gadgets come with this (we got it second hand and I think some of it was after market). The integrated satnav is brilliant, especially as it guides you around any traffic. It sometimes plays tricks on you but overall it's better than our old Tomtom. The parking sensors are good but a little bit over sensitive, especially for small city parking spots. You learn to take it with a pinch of salt though.