Gentlemans Butler had the delight to experience test driving the Volvo XC90 D5 R-Design for a luxury tour of the West Country. I car I drove retails at £63,000 and we can now report on our findings.
If you asked two people, one a car lover and the other a lover of what a car offers, what they look for in a car you will probably get a series of very emotive answers and the other a group of practical pointers, both of which are perfectly valid.
From an early age I can remember various car gadgets I liked. The first my nanny who’s car had flippers instead of indicators (that shows my age, and the cars age), I loved my brothers MGB with its overdrive and also a 4 track, gosh what era are we in… and can remember going on a family trip, not quite sure why, to try out Ford Capri’s “bucket seats”. So cars more than evermore market their list of gadgets. To give you an idea, when my Volvo arrived I sat with the instructor in the driving seat for over an hour before I even moved 1 centimetre.
I love cars, though I live in a city and mainly use public transport, so I am a perfect person to review a car as I am free to think what I want.
Personally I want three things out of any car. Firstly I want it to look nice, pretty if you like, how girly you say. Well for the editor of a luxury style editorial maybe not so surprising. Yes I want to, no need to love the way all my gadgets look. I have been known not to use a brand just because I do not like the way a logo looks. A superficial love of my car is a must.
Secondly I have to love driving the machine. As a student I drove pickups for a car plant company, had a grandfather who test drove cars for Bentley and organised a rally whilst at university. Driving can be very pleasurable, so a car whether it’s a half a million pounds’ worth of precision perfection or a beaten up Triumph Toledo that has had its valves bored out, should offer driving pleasure.
And lastly with my practical head on, yes occasionally it appears, a car needs to service your requirements. If you have a family of 5 who go to ballet, judo and pottery then transporting them and their stuff in a Testarossa may be fun on the first occasion but by the third you will be having a humour bypass.
My Volvo had every gadget under the sun, can pretty much drive itself, if you want, has cameras to reverse, warning lights and really did impress with its comfort factor. Its big which is one of its possible drawbacks.
To me going on a drive for the week will put it through its paces….
Leaving a soggy London at I switched on Mr or Miss Satnav and headed off for Wiltshire. It’s always helpful to try to paint a picture of how one felt, as really this is the most important thing. I headed off along Upper Richmond Road in Putney late morning on a Monday morning. I had sat in the vehicle for just about 90 minutes and then it was time to go. Certainly tentative because there is a lot going on in the vehicle. Mostly the car is doing things for you, but you still need to understand the warning lights, controls and with any vehicle you need to get used to the feel and most importantly the dimensions.
Satnav is very easy to use, so after about half an hour the radio goes on, care of some beautifully installed B & W speaker systems and then it was off to Wiltshire, my first experience of the cars gadgets, with both the engine switching off and the breaks automatically applied which showed their beauty very quickly as I sat on the M3 in slow traffic. Soon after the rain started, and I soon started to feel protected, which is the feeling the car gives.
That all being said for me I love the open road and that sense of freedom and exploration. I had found a rather beautiful pub called The Beckford Arms, Fonthill Gifford, Wiltshire www.beckfordarms.com which sits on the Beckford Estate. Only a short distance off my route this was my first visual masterpiece as you turn the corner, suddenly the soft green rolling countryside sits in front of one.
Arriving my challenge was parking, and using the reverse camera screen which though super clever does take a little getting used to. I gather the car can park itself, but testing that was one leap too far for me.
The Beckford Arms really is pretty perfect. Beauty countryside, old property, roaring fire, slated floor, sitting room, rooms upstairs, great beer and excellent gastro pub nosh.
If I was not driving I would have very happily had a few of these and then fallen asleep for afternoon nap, which for me sounds like pure luxury. They do offer great escapes for hunting and shooting.
Food digested, back in my Volvo KC90 it was off to Devon. Well the weather lashed it down, though the drive relatively easy. Soon after Exeter the sun came out and then as I headed off the main roads I started to discover another gismo of the car, the warning lights you see if you get too close to other vehicles or fixed objects which the high sided narrow country roads, with their twists and turns certainly put this to the test.
Stunning scenery with the very narrow single lane that takes you to Soar Mill Cove, my second visual masterpiece. The hotel, though very nice is not your super luxe 5 star, but the view you get certainly is and the fantastic staff and totally genuine welcome certainly make up for that. A regular for Audrey Hepburn Soar Mill Cove, has its own private beach. So car checked in, warmly greeted by a family run hotel I was genuinely made to feel welcome.
Then timberlands on and wearing a shirt and fleece, at about 630 in early April I could feel the joys of the countryside and the fresh sea air, streams and wild flowers flowing down to the sea and within a few minutes I was down standing on the beach in the cove looking out to sea. It’s what it does to your soul, gosh it makes you feel alive…really great. The hotel houses a new swimming pool and a new small but friendly spa.
For me the restaurant view is to die for and really did make me relax. Its positioning really is pretty special. We will return to review the hotel in more detail later in the year, but a great first night with a full English the next morning and the sun had come out, and some Devon ice-cream. I think my mother would have loved it.
By the time I was leaving Devon for my drive to St Ives I had experienced leaving London, wet motorway driving, traffic jams and bright narrow country roads. Because of the layout of the navigation on the Volvo, it really is very user friendly and to a certain degree you can really decide for yourself how much or how little tech you want to get involved with. The drive through the windy narrow roads did impress me, for such a big and wide vehicle.
Between 2.5 and 3 hours later I was entering the one way systems of St. Ives to see my Sister who really was going to put the car through its and my steps as she lives on a very steep hill with tight corners and narrow parking. Time to put the Volvo’s reversing camera to good use, no its not James Bond, though it did feel like the star ship enterprise at times. From there I stopped chatted, had tea then down to check into the Trevose Harbour House which is positioned literally on The Warren which looks over the harbour www.trevosehouse.co.uk
Sometimes in life people just get in spot on, well the owners Angela and Olivier have done that…. Drat!! Nothing to moan about !! mmm I am a picky individual but they really won my heart.
As individuals they are charming, good looking, multi lingual, have lived around the world. This property has been restored with impeccable taste whilst adding a modern cool twist. The colours, textures and styles are just right.
St Ives saw the chance so experience this, see my family, visit the art galleries, a pub or two, cracking local burgers, relax and let my eye wander over the ocean, something I have always adored and drive out into the countryside to put the car through its paces…. a bit like top gear, with my brother getting out to shoot some video, which I need to edit when I have some time.
Really love the rugged countryside of Cornwall.
Onto the great Roman city of Bath where the rain returned. The drive from St Ives was the longest stretch and saw a real stretch of motorway driving, with one or two slightly tricky merges of motorway.
As I arrived at The Macdonald Bath Spa Hotel https://www.macdonaldhotels.co.uk/our-hotels/macdonald-bath-spa-hotel/ which is certainly grand but missing a little bit of true luxe in my opinion. The buildings are beautiful and positioned about 25 minutes’ walk from the city centre.
My room enjoyed a fantastic four poster bed, beautiful high and grand windows and the hotel food really was excellent. As I had studied Ancient Roman History for A’level this all had an added extra pleasure visited this sophisticated city. As a Londoner I found Bath definitely to be on a level par with very much an international, and metropolitan clientele.
My advice is just head out with a map and wander. You really are spoilt with genuinely world class museums, cafes an architecture. I really enjoyed taking in the architecture, seeing my niece and going on a fantastic tour of the Roman Baths
and enjoying a cracking gastro pub meal in the evening. For my time here my beloved Volvo relaxed courtesy of the hotel car park…ahh..
My final drive was the shortest hop, a tad over an hour to The Cotswolds to somewhere I knew very little about, but somewhere I felt at home instantly. Old Swan & Minster Mill,
Oxfordshire, www.oldswanandminstermill.com
The mountain air when I arrived, it had snowed, but bright sunshine, fast running stream, for some reason I felt a hint of the Swiss Mountains.
As I drove off the relatively suburban local area you suddenly enter this idyllic village with stunning countryside to find this haven. A place to relax, fish, walk play crocket and much more. This really was quite a surprise but such a pleasant surprise. For me the top four things were the friendly atmosphere, just really calming; the room is really original with again calming views of the flowing river; the breakfast really put a smile on my face and their spa (they will have a new one this year) is lovely as therapists are true nurturers.
On the Sunday I drove the short drive to Blenheim Palace www.blenheimpalace.com You can see from the pictures its certainly worth its UNESCO World Heritage status. A really perfect afternoon. So much history, wonderful events and perfect place to take a beautiful picture of my Volvo!
Monday morning, I drove back to Putney, 1 week and a tad over 700 miles later and just twenty minutes behind schedule.
I know you think oh he’s just saying that because Volvo are being nice to him. I wanted to end to try to give you an overview, the car is not perfect, but to be honest the things I did not like were very few. If you accept you are buying a big vehicle, then I am pretty sure you will love it. I felt it was like have a second home, indeed, though I did not try this you probably could pimp your Volvo into quite a snug little studio home on wheels. Imagine driving through the alps in winter, you would feel very safe, comfortable, romantic, snug and yes loved, arriving at your destination with the sun rising the Volvo is really a very caring and loving friend, calm compassionate but yes under the bonnet has a quiet roar and with a really quite chic dress sense.
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