XC60 Hybrid and BMW i4 40

We had some time yesterday to look, primarily, at a Volvo XC60 Hybrid which apparently does well over 40 miles on electric only.
There is an ever growing "motor city" at Hillington so we called in at the Volvo garage to see what the XC60 was like and hopefully get a test drive.

The first problem was that there was no-one interested in speaking to us. The best I got was a nod of acknowledgement from a salesman who was speaking to another couple. As a consequence we just wandered and the only XC60 we could see was a used one in the showroom. In fact at least half the cars in the showroom were used although it looked as though they had just had a large delivery which which were all parked outside covered in their transport plastic covering.

Having sat in it and generally poked about for 15 minutes, Susan decided that she wasn't excited by it at all and would rather keep the i-Pace than get a Volvo. When we came out I suggested that we go and look at an X5 45e at the just opened brand new Arnold Clark BMW dealership (which has replaced the longstanding Harry Fairbairn name). There was a significant difference when we walked in the door and received a friendly greeting from someone who knew quite a lot about the cars he was selling. We looked at the X5 but Susan felt it was just too large. It is about 50% bigger than the MK1 X5 she had about 15 years ago. We then chatted about cars in general and the salesman suggested we look at the i4 40 which has an official range of over 360 miles and a real world range close to 300 miles - that is about 50% more than the i-pace and might make it a more workable alternative for longer journeys.

We looked around the car in the showroom and chatted about spec and the ugly grill but otherwise it is a very competent car in the way it is packaged and the general fit and finish. After taking some details, a car was brought around to the front of the showroom for us to take on a test drive. Unfortunately the roads in the area don't exactly lend themselves to much more than a motorway drive or some 30mph roads but we got a good idea about how quick it was and how quiet and comfortable it was too. To drive or to be a front passenger it was very comfortable. In the back, the door opening isn't exactly huge so it is a bit more of a squeeze to get in and out and the material quality is OK but not quite as luxurious as the Jag. It also isn't as quick as the Jag but in reality would be more than adequate for every day driving. I think we are talking 4.5s to 60 for the jag and just over 5s for the BMW. These things aren't cheap though and specced with the bits we might want it would have a list price of over £70K. However they have some well specced and nearly new used cars which are in the mid to high £50K bracket. Even with the used car though, the lease cost is still about £100/mth more than the Jag and about £120/mth more than we have been offered for a one year lease extension on the Jag.

The i4 40 is definitely a contender but I still don't think we have found a car that wows us: it is more of a competent replacement.

Whilst at the BMW garage it would have been rude of me not to have a look around the M3 and M4 on show (the M8 GC also looked very impressive but at the price of a small house or a 911 GTS I didn't feel any great want). The M4 was all black and when you walk around it, it is much less offensive than some other colours which highlight the Beaver teeth front grill. It was fitted with the full carbon pack with the carbon sports seats. I haven't sat in these seats before and was interested to see what they were like. In reality, they are very comfortable when you are in them but with the high bolsters, getting in and out wasn't the easiest thing to do. I can see the top of the outside bolster being completely worn away after a few years of use but no doubt these will be an essential extra to have decent resale value. The seating position is excellent and I could easily see myself in one!!!