“Sven and Thor’s safety car now comes with insomnia control,” was one of Jeremy Clarkson’s witty remarks when he reviewed the Volvo XC90 in the Sunday Times, in July 2015. Now in his latest offering, for the same publication, he has listed the XC90 among his top 10 rides of the past year (or so).
He seemed to enjoy the comfort and the interior design, but commented that because of Volvo’s great safety features, “The XC90 is festooned with systems that become hysterical if they think you are about to bump into even a rose bush. Manoeuvring this car in a tight spot is like being at a rave.”
However he ended his review with this, “This new car is very good; so good in fact that it’d be ideal for those who find the current offerings from Land Rover a bit — how can I put this? — pratty.”
Clarkson’s full top 10 list is as follows: Alfa Romeo 4C Coupe, the Mercedes-AMG GT S, Ford Focus RS, Mustang Fastback 5.0 V8 GT, Volvo XC90 D5 AWD, the Opel Zafira Tourer 1.6 CDTi Tech Line, the BMW M2, Ferrari 488 GTB and the Lamborghini Aventador and the Mazda MX-5 2.0 Sport Recaro.
Other than perhaps the Opel Zafira MPV the rest of the list are not typical of we get around in at Leisure Wheels, so we reserve comment except to say that there are a few surprises in there. Clarkson defends his choice of Avenator, which he says he’d take over something like the McLaren P1 because “which would you rather have as a pet: a clever and sophisticated electronic robot? Or a bloody great brontosaurus?”