New XV Petrol Premium

[PRB]

Hi, after much research I have just acquired an XV 2.0i Premium and joined the forum for all your words of wisdom.

I looked at all the alternatives, as I needed a petrol 4WD (live in a country area with access up a couple of miles of rotten bumpy lane) with a reasonable standard of comfort and a robust nature and I'm delighted so far with the package (only done c500 miles so far).  The thing that mystifies me is what a poor write-up they get in the UK motoring press.  Most seem to say that the ride is poor on by-roads and the handling poor, the performance of the petrol engine is lack-lustre and the standard of interior finish is not up to scratch.  There are also numerous comments as to what bad value it is compared to the competition.

I find the ride more than acceptable, with sensible tyres as opposed to the low-profile jobs fitted to most of the competition.  The handling seems excellent to me- you get that "stuck to the rails" feeling on corners with very little body roll.  The engine (petrol manual) seems free-running and willing to rev with plenty of punch and a nice perky character even though I am still taking it easy with a new engine.  The interior of the Premium model has everything one could possibly want and looks well-finished with good quality materials. As to value, the Premium XV petrol retails at around £25k (mine was very substantially discounted from this).  If you price an Audi Q3 on the Audi "configurater" with the same spec as the XV Premium (including leather seats, SatNav, Comms, Sunroof, etc etc) it comes to a list price of  around £34k and you are getting a measly 1.4 litre engine with a turbocharger to force it up to the same level of power as the XV, with part-time 4 wheel drive and no manual option.  Better discounts are available on the XVs than the more fashionable Q3.   I suspect that XV fuel economy is not brilliant by modern standards, but probably not much worse in practice than a petrol Q3, but we'll wait and see..

It looked like "no contest" to me, but the proof of the pudding is in the eating and I shall reserve judgment for 12 months or so.

Isn't the auto stop/start irritating though- I disable it on every trip when I remember and wish there were a permanent fix.

All the best

Peter