On this week's episode, we discuss the Subaru Crosstrek Wilderness to find out whether its rugged styling, lifted suspension, all-terrain tires, and added features are worth paying $7,000 more than a base Crosstrek. We examine its off-road capability, on-road compromises, fuel economy, noise, safety features, and whether this soft-roader is actually the right choice. Plus, we answer an audience question about whether a lightly used Volvo EX90 at half its original price is a bargain—or a risky bet.
Join CR at https://CR.org/joinviaYT to access our comprehensive ratings for items you use every day. CR is a mission-driven, independent, nonprofit organization.
SHOW NOTES
-----------------------------------
0:00 - Intro
00:37 2026 Subaru Crosstrek Wilderness Overview
01:43 What Makes the Wilderness Different?
03:17 Road Noise, Ride & Handling
05:16 Off-Road Capability
07:11 Fuel Economy, Towing & Trade-Offs
08:06 Wilderness Price and Features
09:27 Safety Features and What's Missing
11:03 Crosstrek Wilderness Styling
13:16 Why Soft-Roaders Are So Popular
14:24 Is the Crosstrek Good for Camping?
15:41 Is the Wilderness Worth the Extra Money?
18:49 Audience Question: Used Volvo EX90 Bargain?
----------------------------------
Test Results: 2026 Subaru Crosstrek
https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/subaru/crosstrek/2026/overview/?EXTKEY=YSOCIAL_YT
2026 Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid
https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/subaru/crosstrek-hybrid/2026/overview/?EXTKEY=YSOCIAL_YT
Who Makes the Most Reliable New Cars?
https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/car-reliability-owner-satisfaction/who-makes-the-most-reliable-cars-a7824554938/?EXTKEY=YSOCIAL_YT
How to Find the Best SUV
https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/suvs/buying-guide/?EXTKEY=YSOCIAL_YT
Which Brands Make the Best Cars?
https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/cars-driving/which-car-brands-make-the-best-vehicles-a6159221985/?EXTKEY=YSOCIAL_YT
TalkingCars@consumer.org
https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/cars-driving/talking-cars-podcast-archive-a1439738009/?EXTKEY=YSOCIAL_YT
-----------------------------------
Consumer Reports experts: Jon Linkov, Avri Wyshogrod, Maddie McCarty
00:00:00
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00:00:36
Hi everyone, and welcome back.
00:00:37
I'm Jon Linkov.
00:00:38
I'm
Avri Wyshogrod,
and I'm Maddie McCarty.
00:00:41
And today we're going to be talking about
the Subaru Crosstrek Wilderness trim.
00:00:46
It's a soft roader.
00:00:47
And we've been kind of breaking
into evaluating soft roaders.
00:00:51
We did.
00:00:52
We've got some videos out there.
00:00:54
We've got some stories on Consumer Reports
that don't work,
00:00:56
but we're also purchasing
a number of them.
00:00:57
And like I said,
the Crosstrek Wilderness is one of them.
00:01:00
Three things you want to know.
00:01:01
It actually is not just a badge.
00:01:03
You know, a lot of cars are like,
oh, it's a super, super edition.
00:01:06
And it's the same,
just cost more with a badge. Nope.
00:01:09
It's got aggressive tires.
00:01:10
It has more ground clearance.
00:01:12
You may say, wasn't the Crosstrek
initially the rugged version
00:01:16
of the Subaru Impreza wagon?
And you would be correct.
00:01:19
Is this really rugged?
00:01:20
We're going to answer that question.
00:01:22
It has an actual mechanical advantage
over the regular Crosstrek.
00:01:25
And there are 9.3in of ground clearance,
which is a small increase
00:01:29
over the regular Crosstrek.
00:01:31
But these aren't Wranglers.
00:01:32
These aren't range Rovers.
00:01:34
We are going to be looking at things
like the Toyota Rav4, woodland
00:01:37
and the other XSE road, Badlands Trail
sport models, but every give us a star.
00:01:43
Like what are some of the differences
that you get with the wilderness
00:01:46
versus a regular Crosstrek? Yeah.
00:01:48
So Subaru takes a somewhat different
approach to their soft roaders,
00:01:52
because their vehicles
are already pretty capable off road.
00:01:56
So where, like you mentioned,
some automakers will just slap on
00:01:59
some All-Terrain tires and some badges
and call it a day in orange trim.
00:02:04
It's got to be orange.
Gives me orange. All right.
00:02:05
So Subaru actually does a little bit more
so in the Crosstrek Wilderness.
00:02:09
You do get lifted suspension
with, longer springs and dampers.
00:02:15
You have the All-Terrain tires,
but the tires are not what's giving you
00:02:17
the ground clearance. It's
actually the suspension differences.
00:02:20
There's some differences
to the final drive ratio.
00:02:23
And the CVT transmission.
00:02:25
And then there's some
tuning differences,
00:02:29
with, the, suspension again.
00:02:33
Now the tires,
they obviously have an impact
00:02:35
on, you know, ride
and handling a little bit.
00:02:39
But more broadly speaking,
like the additional ground clearance,
00:02:44
does give you some off road capability
that you don't necessarily
00:02:47
get in some of these other softer
because the all terrain tires
00:02:50
are going to be a little,
little softer, the grip differently.
00:02:54
Yeah.
00:02:54
But also the taller sidewalls, this
wilderness trim comes with 17 inch wheels.
00:02:59
The last Crosstrek
that we tested came with 18 inch wheels.
00:03:02
So the sidewalls are a little bit
taller here.
00:03:05
But the tires overall diameter
is actually the same.
00:03:08
But yeah, it is a little bit squishier
because of that bigger sidewall.
00:03:12
And that's going to give you,
00:03:13
you know, a little bit better bump
absorption, a little softer ride.
00:03:17
And, you know, a slight hit to handling.
00:03:19
Okay.
00:03:20
We did find, though,
that the tires, you can tell they're
00:03:23
a little bit
noisier on the road at high speeds.
00:03:26
Yeah.
00:03:26
You get like, a kind of like a louder, low
pitched whine, you could say.
00:03:32
And a lot of tire slaps are going over
a lot of small bumps or ridges.
00:03:35
You really hear the tires hitting those
and that can kind of detract a little bit.
00:03:40
Both the sport that we tested beforehand
and the wilderness,
00:03:44
they're both quite loud, though,
at highway speeds,
00:03:46
like we're going about 70 miles an hour
00:03:48
and you just hear all of this
wind rushing over the a-pillars.
00:03:52
It's and the engine itself.
00:03:54
Yeah, they're using basically
the same powertrain.
00:03:57
So you get a lot of the same noises
and it's a lot of
00:04:00
like sound coming through the cabin.
00:04:02
So you might not really notice
a huge difference,
00:04:05
but you can tell based on the tires.
00:04:08
Yeah, I mean I,
00:04:09
I recently just took took it out
just to familiarize myself with it.
00:04:12
And there it's just that like underline.
00:04:15
Yeah.
We say like there's an underlying noise.
00:04:17
You know
we use that word a lot underlying.
00:04:18
But you can hear that
00:04:20
just like a little grumble,
an extra grumble on regular roads.
00:04:23
And I was shocked
because it was in the garage.
00:04:26
I turned it on, drove up the garage door,
had to get out to open it.
00:04:28
And that engine is really loud.
00:04:30
I like it, it's loud inside.
00:04:31
It really is loud standing outside of it.
00:04:33
But I mean, well, let's
let's get into the handling and the ride,
00:04:36
you know, overall,
I mean, Maddie go go on with,
00:04:39
you know, with what you were talking about
with with tire slap and such is,
00:04:43
is this going to be like a,
an old Wrangler or is it going to be much
00:04:47
more like a regular Crosstrek
or somewhere in between? Yeah.
00:04:49
So overnight we, we drove it
all around our track for probably
00:04:53
a couple hours, both of them side by side,
the sport in the wilderness.
00:04:57
And they were very, very similar,
00:04:58
except for we felt that the handling was
just a little bit sharper in the sport.
00:05:02
And it could be that,
you know, it's the tires and the,
00:05:07
the tires in the wilderness are probably
a little bit more grippy,
00:05:10
and it just felt like there's
00:05:12
a little bit more confidence
in taking those high speed curves.
00:05:16
But when you get down to the lower speeds,
that's where the wilderness
00:05:19
really shines.
00:05:19
We took it over some gravel
00:05:21
and you got a lot more grip
with those tires on the gravel.
00:05:25
So if you're going to be doing actual off
roading, going a lot of dirt
00:05:28
roads, you'll have that nice grip
with the tires in the wilderness.
00:05:32
Did you find the steering?
00:05:34
You know,
how was it comparing on the gravel
00:05:37
or are we on to the hard,
you know, hard tarmac? Yeah.
00:05:40
So I think the wilderness in general,
with its all terrain tires,
00:05:44
feels gives you more confidence off road.
00:05:47
So when you're on the gravel,
00:05:48
you feel like you have a little bit better
control of the vehicle.
00:05:51
You have a little bit,
you know, sharper steering off road.
00:05:55
And then it's kind of the opposite.
When you get on the road. Right.
00:05:57
It's a little bit more dull.
00:05:59
You feel like
00:06:00
you have to give a little bit
more steering input with the wilderness.
00:06:03
But these are not drastic differences.
00:06:06
Right? Both of these cars are just fine
on the road.
00:06:08
And frankly, the regular Crosstrek
is pretty capable off road as well.
00:06:12
Yeah.
00:06:13
I mean, it is.
00:06:13
Again, I don't want to try to reinvent
history and say like, oh, is the first.
00:06:17
But I mean, when it came out there like,
oh, well,
00:06:19
we took a Subaru Impreza wagon,
which you all liked, and we raised it
00:06:22
a little to make it good for Vermont
or fire roads or whatever.
00:06:26
So it's like marginal gains,
like how much better can a wilderness
00:06:29
be than a regular Crosstrek? Yeah, yeah.
00:06:31
I mean, you get what, point six inches
higher ground clearance.
00:06:35
And again, we, we took it out on not like
our big rock wall but like more uniform.
00:06:41
Our access road the rock hill. Yeah.
00:06:44
But not as rocky I mean yeah.
00:06:46
And they both handle
just fine going up and down it.
00:06:49
So I think the true test
is going to be in the actual wilderness.
00:06:55
But not intended or intended.
00:06:57
So yeah, I think they both drive
very well.
00:07:02
You're going to have some downsides
in the,
00:07:05
fuel economy for the wilderness
because of the tire.
00:07:09
So you get slightly worse fuel economy.
00:07:11
There are some, like,
pros and cons to get in there.
00:07:14
So if you're really going to be
taking this out camping or going out into,
00:07:19
the mountains,
it could be worth it for you.
00:07:22
But you have to ask yourself
that question.
00:07:24
Do you want to compromise the ride?
00:07:26
Do you want to compromise the the handling
and the noise and the fuel economy?
00:07:31
Because you do get the higher ground
clearance, you get the all terrain tires.
00:07:35
And then you also get better towing.
00:07:38
So there's 3
pounds of towing in the wilderness,
00:07:42
but only 1500 in the sport.
00:07:45
So are you actually going to be using
that towing?
00:07:48
That's the question right?
00:07:49
Is if you tow
do you buy a really small SUV?
00:07:52
Yeah.
00:07:52
Like, you know, almost a subcompact SUV
when you start towing a lot.
00:07:55
I mean, you do have the ground,
the greater approach and departure angles
00:07:58
as well with the wilderness. But
00:08:01
I mean, I guess it's,
00:08:02
you know, we could talk over some,
some like, well, you're going to take it
00:08:06
here, you might do this,
you might do that.
00:08:07
But like, what do you get in comparison
to the Crosstrek.
00:08:11
Because we are looking at vehicles
that are two different price.
00:08:13
You know, there there's a few thousand
dollar difference with the wilderness,
00:08:17
for example, starts at 33, seven 32
00:08:20
hours, costs 38.
00:08:23
I mean, you're looking at like, you know,
like a $5 difference between the two.
00:08:27
I mean, what do you
if it's just tires and badging?
00:08:30
What is it?
00:08:31
So it's not just tires
and and the suspension changes.
00:08:34
So with the wilderness,
at least the one we got with our options,
00:08:36
we you get a heated steering wheel,
you get a power adjustable driver's seat
00:08:41
with, star tech support Street,
which is kind of that synthetic leather.
00:08:45
And you have, upgraded
audio system as well.
00:08:48
And so, you know, it's
some additional creature comforts.
00:08:52
Not just the,
suspension and tires. Okay?
00:08:55
I mean,
we have a sunroof in ours, for example.
00:08:58
I think it's.
00:08:58
Yeah, that's funny though, because, like,
00:09:00
if you want power driver seats,
you have to get the moonroof.
00:09:04
So it's just forcing you to get a moonroof
if you don't want a moonroof.
00:09:08
And the audio system,
00:09:10
because I feel like power
seats are so ubiquitous nowadays, like,
00:09:13
except for like maybe base trims
don't do it, but Subaru is one of those
00:09:16
manufacturers who still are
kind of like holding back on power seats,
00:09:20
and you have to upgrade or get up,
get a higher trim, or pay for the package.
00:09:24
Yeah. So I think it's fitting
that they lump those together.
00:09:27
So Maddie, this really falls
into your wheelhouse because Subaru's
00:09:31
not great with putting safety or some key
safety features across the lot.
00:09:36
They do a lot, but not everything, right?
00:09:38
Right. So Subaru has
00:09:39
what's called their eyesight,
which is standard across the line.
00:09:43
However, that excludes blind spot warning
00:09:46
and rear cross-traffic
warning with rear AEB.
00:09:49
So what it does include,
though, is adaptive cruise control,
00:09:52
lane centering assistance, AEB, forward
collision warning
00:09:56
with pedestrian and cyclist detection,
lane departure warning and lane keeping.
00:10:01
So you're getting a large number
of systems,
00:10:04
both convenience and safety features.
00:10:06
But you are missing
00:10:07
the blind spot warning,
00:10:08
like I would say, and rear
cross-traffic warning that is available.
00:10:12
So I should say that is actually standard
on the wilderness
00:10:15
and it's unavailable
on a lot of lower trims,
00:10:18
which I think it should be standard
across all trims.
00:10:21
That's one feature
that we know for certain
00:10:23
does have a positive impact on, safety.
00:10:27
So it lowers crash risk.
00:10:29
So it's really unfortunate that that's,
like I said, not available.
00:10:32
But it is
nice to have it on the wilderness.
00:10:35
However, what's missing,
which I really wish that this vehicle had,
00:10:38
was her 360 degree surround view monitor.
00:10:41
It's only optional on the limited hybrid.
00:10:44
So that's something, you know,
you get that like top down
00:10:47
view of the camera from the cameras,
the ground,
00:10:49
which I think would be really helpful
for off roading.
00:10:51
So it's interesting that it's
not even available on this vehicle.
00:10:54
Yeah.
00:10:54
I mean, even if it's not, a trail cam
or it's showing,
00:10:57
you know, the articulation of the wheels
or what you're going to run over,
00:11:00
or at least you know what's around you,
perhaps, or even backing out.
00:11:03
Yeah, yeah. You know, I agree.
You can't see with the camera always.
00:11:06
Or you may not
maybe turning into something that.
00:11:08
Yeah.
Then the camera catches catches of you.
00:11:11
So yeah.
00:11:12
Speaking of the view,
what about how this thing looks?
00:11:14
Oh I mean, that's kind of the big
the big thing with Subaru
00:11:18
you want to host, you know,
so it's got all this orange trim.
00:11:23
It's got these bulbous plastic cladding
pieces all over the doors and fenders.
00:11:27
And it kind of stands out for that.
00:11:29
And I think people notice it for that.
What do you guys think of that?
00:11:32
Yeah.
00:11:32
Well, so I mean, we were chatting
and you see a lot more of them, right.
00:11:37
And not just wildernesses,
but all the brands out there.
00:11:41
They are, they're out there.
00:11:44
It's almost like,
oh, I got to get it, like the new thing.
00:11:47
But yeah, I mean, even the sport has some,
like, trim, like goldish trim too.
00:11:52
So yeah, it does.
00:11:53
It is a little eye catching.
00:11:55
And you see a Crosstrek and you're like,
oh that's a nice let's cool Crosstrek.
00:11:58
And then you see with a little flashes
of orange you're like, oh what's that.
00:12:01
Right, right, right.
00:12:02
And so yeah,
I mean it does a little flashy.
00:12:04
Not in a like ostentatious way.
00:12:07
There we go.
00:12:08
But, yeah, I guess I can see people
00:12:11
paying a little bit more
because they like how it looks.
00:12:15
I mean, people do make car
00:12:16
buying decisions based on the exterior,
and that's that's up to them.
00:12:20
So I can I can totally see people
buying it because I think it looks nice.
00:12:24
I always found it so crazy.
00:12:25
You know, people talk talking
about how great something looked.
00:12:26
For example,
I think back to the Fisker Karma
00:12:29
because we'll we'll go back in time,
but oh my god, it's so cool looking.
00:12:34
It was like, I don't care what it looks
like cause I have to drive it. Yeah.
00:12:36
Awful inside.
00:12:37
And it looks so a bad side.
It's a pain in the neck, but okay.
00:12:39
It looks great when it's when it's broken.
00:12:41
It's the same type of thing. I.
00:12:43
I see the looks and people
really are gravitating towards them.
00:12:46
And I don't know if it's because
00:12:49
you get two free colors when you buy a car
nowadays.
00:12:52
White or black.
00:12:53
Yeah, basically every manufacturer charges
for anything besides white or black.
00:12:57
And if you go Americans
don't necessarily order, you know,
00:13:01
I mean you order your European car
because that's their business process.
00:13:04
But everyone else it's what's on the lot.
00:13:06
Yeah. You go down,
you kick tires you buy.
00:13:08
Is it just like
I don't really need a wilderness,
00:13:12
but the white one's really ugly.
00:13:13
And the dealer only has five wildernesses
left on the lot.
00:13:16
And I like, you know, home. I mean, what
what what do you guys think about it?
00:13:19
Is it availability? Is it the coolness?
00:13:21
Is it post-Covid
people being outside more?
00:13:23
I think it's just it's trendy right now.
00:13:26
Right.
00:13:27
Oh again, like we're testing more of these
soft roaders a lot of manufacturers
00:13:31
have off road trims of their,
you know, mainstream vehicles.
00:13:35
And I think it's just in, it's in
and people want what's in.
00:13:38
Right. Yeah.
00:13:39
I mean it's
the possibility of what you can do.
00:13:42
You can take it out and you can tow
something out into the wilderness.
00:13:46
You can go over a lot of rocks and squeeze
in between in between trees
00:13:50
and have an adventure.
And that's what they're going for.
00:13:53
And so it's it's the feeling of,
oh, I can do that if I want to,
00:13:56
but I can also drive it to work because
it still rides well enough to do that.
00:14:00
Yeah.
00:14:00
You're not giving it a it's it's not going
as far as like a Wrangler.
00:14:03
And I mean not to not a Wrangler.
00:14:04
It's got its flaws already. We know that.
00:14:06
But you know, if you want to go off
road, you you really off road.
00:14:10
I mean, I rock scrambling,
you know, you know, climbing big hills.
00:14:14
You get a wrangler.
00:14:14
But of course
that has the compromises on road.
00:14:18
So yes, you don't have to be as hardcore.
00:14:19
So you can, you can have something
that's still
00:14:22
livable or a little more livable,
I will say.
00:14:25
So I'm from Utah and I went camping a lot.
00:14:27
And I will tell you that like one in
every ten cars is a Subaru out there.
00:14:33
Yeah.
00:14:33
And then half of those are going to be
cross tracks.
00:14:36
People love cross tracks for camping
00:14:38
because they're small enough
so that you can go into BLM land
00:14:41
and you can just find a spot, squeeze
in between trees and camp there.
00:14:45
Sure.
00:14:46
So it is a very practical vehicle
for that at the very regular.
00:14:50
Yeah.
00:14:50
You know, you know,
00:14:51
it's not it's a small vehicle but
you can still carry for people and stuff.
00:14:54
Yeah.
00:14:55
It doesn't, doesn't Subaru
00:14:56
say you can put like a 700 pound tent
set up on the roof.
00:15:00
Yeah. It's not what it was.
00:15:01
Seven oh 700 pound static.
00:15:03
Yeah. 165 dynamic.
00:15:05
So you could camp out on. Yeah,
yeah, yeah.
00:15:07
That's all the trims,
not just the wilderness.
00:15:09
Right. That's true.
00:15:10
Well and again
that's then it comes back to okay.
00:15:13
Crosstrek was already like ready.
It's already good enough.
00:15:16
It's it's on the lot.
Hey guys I can go off road.
00:15:19
Why are you bringing in this cool
looking version of me?
00:15:22
Because now you can go deeper off road.
00:15:24
Yeah, I mean, 8.6in deep. Yeah.
00:15:26
Right. Right, right.
00:15:27
That one rock.
00:15:28
You kept scraping your transmission.
00:15:30
Cool. Early
on. Now you can go right over. Yeah.
00:15:32
So look at the end.
00:15:34
Is it worth the difference in price?
00:15:38
Is it flasher useful?
00:15:40
What would you do?
I think we've agreed kind of.
00:15:42
It's it's actually useful. It's not flash.
00:15:43
It's not just a trim package.
00:15:45
And you know everyone goes
haha we just made five grand.
00:15:48
Yeah I mean so I think for me it gives
you a bit more confidence off road.
00:15:53
You know with the additional ground
clearance, a little bit grippier
00:15:56
all terrain tires
at the expense of slightly more,
00:15:59
you know, road noise,
a little bit duller handling.
00:16:02
And that hit the fuel economy as well.
00:16:05
But the compromises
you make are pretty minimal.
00:16:08
So if you like the way you look, sorry,
the way it looks.
00:16:12
You like the way you look inside.
Yeah. Exactly.
00:16:14
You don't. Yeah. You look maybe it helps
you make it. Maybe.
00:16:17
You know.
00:16:17
Yeah, I mean confidence,
it gives you confidence. Right.
00:16:19
The Crosstrek in general is a good car,
right.
00:16:22
It's it's not the quietest car.
00:16:24
But it it's practical and easy to use.
00:16:27
It doesn't fix the flaws of the Crosstrek.
00:16:30
No. It's some
there are some not plentiful, but some.
00:16:32
So I say go for it
if you like the way it looks.
00:16:36
I think it's still a solid overall car.
00:16:38
Yeah,
and you don't have to buy a $38 one.
00:16:40
Yeah, you could buy one for 33. Seven.
I mean, it's. Yeah.
00:16:42
So, Maddie, your thoughts on it?
00:16:43
Since I care about fuel economy more
00:16:48
and I don't really care about,
I guess the exterior styling that much.
00:16:53
I would probably just go with the sport.
00:16:58
If I, if I could throw the hybrid
in, there, I go.
00:17:01
Well, actually, no, not for the
not for the Crosstrek,
00:17:03
because we found that
it didn't really have much better.
00:17:05
It did have better fuel economy
like period.
00:17:08
It's not significant.
00:17:09
Yeah. To, where the pay off is so close.
00:17:12
Yeah. It's short period of time. Yeah.
And with the price difference.
00:17:15
So yeah I'd go with the sport honestly.
00:17:17
You get you get what you need, I can
I can deal with the manual.
00:17:20
See a test testament.
00:17:22
But you still get like the same.
00:17:24
Well now I'm really talking
to myself in circles here
00:17:27
because now
I would want the blind spot warning.
00:17:30
So now I'd have to
get the next trim up like a
00:17:34
I don't, I don't know.
00:17:35
I've taught my head
what the trim is, but right.
00:17:37
You can't get the sport
because it doesn't have.
00:17:39
Yeah it's unavailable
so I would get the non wilderness
00:17:44
probably non-hybrid trim
that has blind spot warning.
00:17:47
Do you want to go out to the showroom
floor and take.
00:17:48
Yeah yeah yeah I'll go out of here
00:17:49
I don't know let's, let's,
let's just take another test drive.
00:17:53
That's that's good.
That happened at the dealer.
00:17:55
Yeah I agree I mean it's funny
I think that it keep coming back to it.
00:17:58
The Crosstrek is so such
a, such a good off road vehicle already
00:18:03
that you could buy a set of wheels
and tires,
00:18:05
maybe even from Subaru, let alone
aftermarket, you know, and you have
00:18:08
8/10, you know, 7/10 of what this gets
you almost there.
00:18:11
Whereas if you had a Rav4, Toyota Rav4,
or even the
00:18:15
I say the Rav4 because of its all wheel
drive system is is electronic one.
00:18:18
So it's it's not a mechanical system.
00:18:20
So it's a bigger improvement
when they have their own off road version
00:18:24
because they started from like,
yeah, it's good for snow and rain.
00:18:27
Let's just leave it at that.
00:18:28
Not off road okay.
00:18:30
This version is it's
just a bigger jump that you can make.
00:18:33
Whereas the other one is is small
and it makes it's a harder decision
00:18:36
I think financially.
00:18:37
But from the looks and you know confidence
thing I would definitely get that.
00:18:41
Want to stay up to speed on
what's happening at Consumer Reports.
00:18:44
Sign up for our What's New newsletter
and get the very latest product news,
00:18:47
safety updates and improvement
advice from our experts.
00:18:50
So okay that'll bring us to our question
answer portion of the show.
00:18:55
As always please send us your questions
to Talking cars@consumer.org.
00:18:59
That's our new email address for your,
your text questions.
00:19:03
Again, talking cars@consumer.org.
00:19:06
And this week's question is from Jonathan.
00:19:08
I really like your name who says
00:19:11
I like the name.
00:19:12
But this question
00:19:14
lock in on this one.
00:19:16
There are multiple
Volvo Ex90 on AutoTrader right now
00:19:19
for under $41 in less than 20
miles.
00:19:23
These cars are barely a year
old sitting at half of mSRP,
00:19:26
and they still have their full factory
warranty.
00:19:28
The depreciation is real people.
00:19:31
I know there are software issues, basic
commands and menus are apparently a mess,
00:19:35
but everything else about this car
is exactly what I want.
00:19:38
Three rows. Powerful. Safe.
00:19:41
Quiet. Luxurious.
00:19:43
I don't want a Tesla.
00:19:44
So is it stupid to buy this thing,
00:19:48
or is this just what a great deal
looks like on a car nobody
00:19:51
trusts yet?
00:19:55
Wow. You can go and take over.
00:19:57
Yeah.
00:19:57
Maddie. Well,
I have some thoughts on this.
00:20:00
I actually,
00:20:03
made a list.
00:20:05
Wow. Yes, there's quite a list.
00:20:07
It's a full page. I have some feeling.
00:20:09
Let's go.
00:20:11
So I know that Dave doesn't like paper,
but I felt like this
00:20:14
needed to be printed out.
00:20:16
So first off, let me just tell you.
00:20:18
So back in 2024, at the end,
00:20:21
we did a podcast episode of what are you
most excited for in the coming year?
00:20:25
And I said, we have lidar coming on
the Ex90 and so very excited about that
00:20:32
because it's going to give more precision
and like a 3D mapping of the world.
00:20:36
Yet the cars will be able to use
to better see objects
00:20:39
and see the lane lines and just react
faster and better, hopefully.
00:20:43
Great.
00:20:44
So I'm really excited to see that
because it was
00:20:47
going to be the first vehicle that we test
that has lidar.
00:20:50
So light detection and ranging,
what it does is it basically like lasers
00:20:55
measure the distance and can create,
just a 3D map of the environment.
00:21:00
And it's really helpful for driver
assistance systems.
00:21:03
But guess what happened?
00:21:05
That company that provided
the leader went out of business.
00:21:08
And so it's not functioning.
00:21:10
It was delivered
not functioning in like learning mode.
00:21:14
And so I felt like we were all lied to.
00:21:16
We were going to get lidar.
00:21:18
They said, oh never mind.
00:21:20
And then they took it away
from model year 26.
00:21:22
So everyone who has a model year
25 and lidar, it's not doing anything.
00:21:26
I was with that big bump thing
on the roof, right? Yes.
00:21:28
People say it looked like a taxi cab.
00:21:30
Yeah.
00:21:31
So I think that's just so disappointing.
00:21:35
I'm very sad about that.
00:21:36
But if if not Volvo's fault,
it just chose a bad vendor.
00:21:42
Well, I think it is Volvo's fault
00:21:44
that they chose to equip it
when it wasn't ready for use.
00:21:48
So setting it in beta isn't is.
00:21:51
No, this whole car wasn't in beta.
00:21:53
Yeah.
00:21:53
And I think that it's just been we've been
struggling with it the entire time.
00:21:57
Maybe.
00:21:57
So it's if if John Jonathan,
00:22:00
if this is not important to you,
I have a whole other list of reasons why.
00:22:05
So first off,
there have been so many updates
00:22:08
for the key card issues
because you would get the key card,
00:22:11
which is just like the old
like the Tesla one, where you can fit it
00:22:15
into your wallet,
supposedly like a credit card,
00:22:16
like a credit card, and you place it
in the phone charging spot,
00:22:20
which doesn't make sense
unless you have the key attached.
00:22:23
You felt like you have, the phone key.
00:22:26
Yeah, it's programed,
but then it doesn't always work.
00:22:29
So three times when we first got this car,
I was assigned to this car.
00:22:33
And three times I could not get home
because it decided to stop working.
00:22:37
And it would not recognize the key.
00:22:40
So then supposedly
those issues are resolved.
00:22:43
But then that doesn't stop.
00:22:45
That doesn't take away from the fact
that it doesn't have proximity
00:22:48
to the key access
that when you approach. Yes.
00:22:52
So typically when you see vehicles that
have like a key access to their phone,
00:22:56
you walk up and the door handles
extend, the vehicle unlocks and it's nice.
00:23:00
This one, you have to either
take the key card or your phone and like
00:23:04
hold it to the left side of the
the door handle,
00:23:09
not where there's a little indent,
where normally that means that's
00:23:12
where you tap or that's where you like,
that's how you unlock the car.
00:23:15
No, you have to go to the left of that,
which makes no sense.
00:23:18
Absolutely.
00:23:19
Like human factors wise, no sense at all.
00:23:21
Look at this. Don't
do this, don't do this.
00:23:23
Don't you do this obvious thing right
here. Not do it.
00:23:25
Do it here.
So that also really bothers me.
00:23:28
I'm going to give you I'm going
to give you guys a moment
00:23:30
to, to contribute
because I've been talking for a while.
00:23:33
Yeah. No that's fine. Take them.
00:23:34
Take a breath.
00:23:35
You know, I mean I was gonna I was going
to say the same thing about the key.
00:23:38
It's such a basic thing with a car
to not get.
00:23:42
Right. Yes.
00:23:42
And it's such a frustration
with this car.
00:23:45
You know, we have an old man.
00:23:47
I can't read the comments right now.
00:23:49
Oh, get with the program to the future.
00:23:51
Yeah. Do you have your phone?
00:23:52
Even if you have your phone, it doesn't
have a proximity feature, right.
00:23:56
So you have to take your phone out
of your pocket, hold it up to the door.
00:23:59
Which, by the way, only the driver's door
works, none of the other doors.
00:24:03
So you can only unlock and lock the car
from one door. Yep.
00:24:06
And then you have to put your phone
00:24:07
in the wireless charger to start the car,
which, I mean, that part is okay.
00:24:11
That's fine.
00:24:12
But what if you don't
want to take your phone out of your bag?
00:24:14
Yeah.
00:24:15
And in most other cars, like, you know,
similar cars, like Rivian's Teslas,
00:24:20
that you can put a phone key
and those cars have proximity to the car.
00:24:26
It unlocks
00:24:27
door handles extend on the Rivian's,
and you can get inside
00:24:30
and just put it in drive and go.
00:24:31
It's not the case here. And
00:24:35
there was a proximity fab available.
00:24:38
It may still be available.
00:24:40
From
you can get it as a dealer accessory.
00:24:43
But why do you have to pay for it? Right.
00:24:45
It is not included with these cars.
00:24:47
You're paying $80 for this car.
00:24:49
Yeah, yeah, yeah,
for a little piece of plastic with. Yeah.
00:24:51
Microchip. Yeah, yeah.
00:24:53
And our X30 does have the proximity knob,
00:24:57
and it actually works
pretty well in that car.
00:24:58
So on that one, you just walk up to it.
00:25:00
It unlocks, you get inside,
put it in drive, and you're ready to go.
00:25:03
It's not the case here.
00:25:04
So it's just such a basic thing.
00:25:06
It's a to get wrong,
and it makes this car such a nightmare
00:25:10
to live with on a day to day basis.
00:25:12
I, I look at it beyond the convenience
00:25:15
factor of the safety, this safety factor,
because I remember driving it at night,
00:25:21
went to a, a store in a sketchy area
with my kids.
00:25:25
And, you know, a year or two ago,
they're a little younger, you know,
00:25:29
but they're we're walking up to it.
00:25:31
I'm like fiddling with the key,
fiddling with the key, looking around.
00:25:35
Dark parking lot, no lights.
00:25:36
You know it
because you're focusing on that. Yeah.
00:25:39
Like what?
You're not aware of your surroundings.
00:25:41
It's something that I think about too.
00:25:43
It's like, what if I was feeling
uncomfortable or unsafe?
00:25:46
I need to quickly hop into my car.
00:25:47
I have to pull out my phone
00:25:49
or my pull out the key card
and then try and find the specific spot.
00:25:52
Right?
00:25:53
And I can't even,
like unlock it in advance. Right.
00:25:55
So that's it's yeah, it's
it can come down to safety.
00:25:59
And who ask for this like we, we had
we had keys and doors.
00:26:04
Then they gave us fobs and that was good.
00:26:05
I like a, I like a fop, right. Yeah.
00:26:07
Like it was good.
I mean it's like almost biblical.
00:26:10
Like they gave us this
and it was good. And like this.
00:26:12
Yeah.
00:26:13
Why did we need to now
go to the go to the.
00:26:15
Just because it's your phone
doesn't mean you need to have it.
00:26:17
I know it's getting like old man
ranting at cloud.
00:26:20
I know this, I've joined you there.
00:26:22
But go on back to your your list.
00:26:23
So now we have the I'm going
to go to the controls inside the vehicle.
00:26:27
So as an EV we it
00:26:30
when we drives us here at ATC
Consumer Reports,
00:26:34
we like to mess around with the region
settings.
00:26:37
That's not something
that you can easily do in this vehicle.
00:26:40
You have to go through the center screen.
00:26:42
So if you want one pedal drive
or to adjust the region,
00:26:45
you have to go into the settings
or through the quick controls.
00:26:48
If you want to adjust your side mirrors
or your steering wheel,
00:26:52
you have to go through the center
screen as well.
00:26:55
That's not something that you can just do
blindly with your left hand
00:26:58
and like feel for things or,
you know, just the steering wheel.
00:27:00
Now you have to take your eyes
00:27:01
off the road, do it, and then use the
steering wheel controls to adjust them.
00:27:05
And that's just such a hassle.
00:27:07
I hate doing that.
00:27:09
I hate any car that does that.
00:27:10
I feel very strongly about this.
00:27:12
I am on, clearly I'm on.
00:27:13
I'm on that train right there.
00:27:14
Yeah. Okay.
00:27:15
And then we have some flimsy controls
inside as well.
00:27:18
So the turn signal
and the, gear shifter are both like this
00:27:23
plasticky, flimsy material,
and they don't latch very securely.
00:27:27
So the windshield wiper spray button
is on the end of the turn signal.
00:27:31
And if you press and hold it
00:27:32
in, a lot of the times,
I'll accidentally turn on the turn signal
00:27:36
because it's just not solid enough
to stay in place like the distance.
00:27:39
You're saying for the turn signal? Yes.
Yeah, yeah.
00:27:42
And then, there's some confusing labels
inside as well.
00:27:47
So with adaptive cruise control
and lane centering,
00:27:51
they have like these indent of buttons
that you don't get access to.
00:27:54
So you can see them.
00:27:55
They're like very dark against dark.
00:27:58
It's just like the indent of where
the icon would be raised.
00:28:01
Steering wheel button.
00:28:02
Yeah.
00:28:02
And it's not even a feature
that's available.
00:28:05
And then they also have this.
00:28:07
The speed plus and minus
buttons have like a circle arrow
00:28:10
that you would think would be to resume
adaptive cruise control.
00:28:13
But that doesn't do anything.
00:28:14
And we have talked to Volvo themselves
and ask them, what does this do.
00:28:17
They said they didn't know.
00:28:20
And so I'm like, so you just recycled
basically
00:28:23
an old steering wheel design
and didn't care to update anything.
00:28:28
It's in version three.
00:28:29
It's the next version.
But we based model here.
00:28:31
We borrowed a new on. Yeah.
00:28:32
And it's still the 26. Yeah.
00:28:34
So yeah there's no way to actually resume
a set speed for adaptive.
00:28:37
There is.
00:28:38
So it's just not intuitive.
How do you do it.
00:28:40
Well I had to ask Volvo.
00:28:42
You press and hold down the gear shifter
of course.
00:28:46
Of course.
00:28:46
Way to what? To resume.
00:28:48
If you already had a set speed
and you canceled it,
00:28:50
you can resume it to the same speed
00:28:52
they have to press
and hold down the gear shifter.
00:28:54
So quick presses sets it at your current.
00:28:56
Yeah, because I want to mess up thing
00:28:57
that controls the direction of the vehicle
at 70 miles an hour.
00:29:00
That's. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, yeah.
00:29:04
So I have some feelings about that.
00:29:06
And then, you know, let's just
00:29:09
go with the center screen itself over.
00:29:14
What do you think of it?
00:29:14
I'm going to turn it to you
I it it's not great.
00:29:18
It's just a massive tablet
like in a Tesla.
00:29:21
It's, it's it's very confusing to use.
00:29:25
Distracting. I just I don't like it. Yeah.
00:29:29
It has an odd menu structure.
00:29:30
Yeah. It's again
just simple things like the region.
00:29:33
I mean, to your point, like,
00:29:35
even if you're not here
where you, we mess with region,
00:29:38
you know, in the sense of like,
I'll try this, try that. Okay.
00:29:41
You could be on the highway
and you want all of a sudden activate
00:29:43
one pedal braking. Yeah.
00:29:44
Then all of a sudden traffic lightens up
00:29:46
and you're just on cruise control
and you don't want one, one pedal brake.
00:29:49
You want to use the friction
brakes on your own or say it shouldn't
00:29:53
be, tap tap tap tap tap.
00:29:56
Yeah.
00:29:57
Oh, my God, I just hit the wrong thing.
00:29:58
And again,
00:29:59
same with the control that you can do it
total by just mind to muscle.
00:30:03
Yeah.
00:30:04
You can't do mine to muscle with
with something that doesn't give feedback.
00:30:07
Yeah. And so that's also the same thing
with climate control.
00:30:10
Climate is split
between two different menus.
00:30:12
And it's it takes a quite
a number of times of driving
00:30:16
to like figure out okay,
if I want to do temperature I tap here.
00:30:18
If I want to do fan speed, I tap here.
00:30:20
This is where auto is going to be.
00:30:21
This is where sync is going to be.
These are my seat heaters are.
00:30:24
And it's it's just
00:30:25
you have to think about it
every time you want to change something.
00:30:29
And it's also only in the touchscreen.
00:30:31
So now you're also taking your eyes away
to tap away.
00:30:35
And it's it's just not the best design
I think, for
00:30:39
enabling drivers or supporting drivers
to keep your eyes on the road.
00:30:42
No, not at all. Yeah.
00:30:44
So so I mean
00:30:47
there's there's
a lot of usability issues with the. Yes.
00:30:50
But there's some good stuff
about the car too, right.
00:30:52
Yes. Got comfortable seats. It's quiet.
00:30:54
I like adjusting the seats
to see the adjustments.
00:30:56
The adjustment mechanism has hard to.
00:30:58
Yeah, but that's a usability issue. Yeah.
00:31:00
The seats
themselves are still pretty comfortable.
00:31:02
Smooth powertrain, you know,
but most EVs have that it cruise as well.
00:31:07
Yeah it does really well cruiser.
00:31:09
It didn't struggle with the usability.
00:31:12
I think it'd be a great car.
00:31:13
Yeah. It has potential.
00:31:14
Yeah.
00:31:15
The car some weirdness with the handling.
00:31:18
Right.
It's got like very little body roll.
00:31:20
So it's like kind of darty.
00:31:21
You turn the steering wheel a little bit
and car kind of moves around a lot.
00:31:25
You can get used to it, but
it feels a little unnatural if you're not.
00:31:28
But yeah, it's just for me, it's
the usability stuff that just kills it.
00:31:32
That stuff that you can't, you can,
you can, you could get used to handling,
00:31:36
kind of compensate, you know,
if the backup camera wasn't
00:31:40
the best field of vision, you have mirrors
or something like that. But.
00:31:43
So Jonathan should buy two for the price.
00:31:47
I mean, he's euros are cornering
the market on these used cars.
00:31:50
What do you think I would say
if if Jonathan wants to buy one,
00:31:54
he should make sure he gets the proximity
keyfob at a bare minimum. Yes.
00:31:59
That should be a negotiating tactic.
00:32:02
And from there, it's his decision.
00:32:04
I think if he's going to get it.
00:32:07
I agree on the proximity key.
00:32:09
I would definitely take the time
to sit down in it
00:32:13
and test drive it and see if he can do
the most basic things,
00:32:17
like turn on his headlights,
which are also on the touchscreen, change
00:32:20
the temperature, change
the music, use, use
00:32:24
the adaptive cruise control and lane
centering.
00:32:26
Try it out, see if you like it.
00:32:28
Because like you said, yeah, it drives.
00:32:29
It drives pretty well.
00:32:31
It's just
are you willing to live with a system
00:32:35
that might frustrate you
every time you sit in the car?
00:32:38
Yeah, for me that's a no
go into reboot or something like that or.
00:32:42
Yeah.
00:32:42
So I mean, I'm not saying
that we've always seen it, but the systems
00:32:46
across the board aren't always reliable.
00:32:49
Yeah, we've seen from every manufacturer.
00:32:50
So you're going to get into you're adding
in that worry as well, especially
00:32:55
with like these newer EVs and these newer
software systems that are coming in them
00:32:59
because they're like basically
the beta testing.
00:33:02
And so that's why
we had so many software issues.
00:33:04
Not only was it
given like we bought a half baked right,
00:33:07
but also all of the software updates along
the way were pretty painful.
00:33:11
We're still having issues to this day
that we have to drop it off
00:33:14
at the dealership for. Yep.
00:33:15
So not to say that a used vehicle
that Jonathan goes
00:33:19
for is going to have those same problems,
but it's something to be aware of.
00:33:23
So I would I would probably go for a used
00:33:28
Mercedes X SUV
because I was checking online.
00:33:33
Yeah.
And like the prices are very similar.
00:33:36
For used vehicles, I mean EVs in general,
00:33:39
the, the price they sell some,
some don't depreciate as much.
00:33:43
So like the R1S, which I also
would have said maybe check that one out.
00:33:46
That one's still,
pretty their firm price.
00:33:48
Yeah. Yeah.
00:33:49
They don't have a depreciation.
00:33:51
So Dave, since Jonathan gets a free piece
of Consumer Reports
00:33:55
swag for using this question,
can we send him a sweatshirt
00:33:57
maybe in case
he gets locked out in the winter?
00:33:59
What if I just x
some gloves to maybe like a ski cap. So.
00:34:04
Well anyway, Jonathan, definitely.
00:34:05
Since we've rate this car
and your choice over the coals, some
00:34:09
sorry us an email
and let us know what you choose.
00:34:12
As anyone, as we said, you,
if we use your question on talking cars
00:34:17
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00:34:21
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00:34:26
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00:34:27
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00:34:30
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00:35:08
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