Seeking fedback on Manual D5 (MY07 preferably)

I'm looking to get an XC90 D5 SE due to family commitments although I do like to 'drive' a car and hence would prefer a manual and hear at least in low gears the auto's are a little suspect. Manuals seem very rare and I've not managed to get a test drive in one, although I have driven a geartronic. Does anyone have any feedback on using a manual over the massivily more popular auto, especially relating to the gearbox operation. Having being a BMW driver I'm used to 'nice' gearboxes and don't fancy getting a long stalked mushy gearbox as some 4x4's are! Thanks Grant

Obviously you need to drive a car before you buy one (I was lucky in that my local dealer had a manual car in at the time I was buying), but I find my manual car a great car to drive. It is so muuch more responsive than the geartronic model and with the type of driving I do this is important. It is definitely not a long shift, being very slick and smooth for all changes.I had 2 auto (tiptronic then multitronic) Audi A6's and don't regret changing back to manual at all. It is great for pulling away at junctions, maximising the engine's power and my wife says that is impossible to tell when the driver changes gear. Oh yes - they are also tax band F not band G for the geartronics!:) Whatever you decide try to get a drive in a manual (you should be able to find a dealer somewhere that has one) and it will help you make up your mind. Hope this helps, Jon

Hello Grant, I also have a D5 manual and was initially slightly concerned about the foot operated parking brake. However even with some of the challenging hills in Plymouth and Austria - it's never been a problem. My wife was also a little more than nervous about it - but after a few days it's second nature for the few occasions when you may actually need to do a hill start. The standing start performance I also agree is a lot more predictable and controllable than the early geartronics - and the engine is so 'torquey' even round town you'd probably only use the middle 3 gears anyway. Economy depending on use varies from mid 30's locally to 40+ on point to point motorway trips. Last year I saw and average 42mpg from Oxford to somwhere in France before refuelling and that was with 6 on board and a roof box. With some economical use of gears - there's no need to use all of them all the way up and all the way down - it's easy to drive as smoothly as the auto and still feel like you're in charge. If your local to Oxford area - and your struggling for a demo - give me a shout. Cheers Ian.

Tax Band !! 

Hi Guys, My D5 geartronic is tax band F ... not G as mentioned in these posts. Regards, Patrick.

Well I got to drive a manual today and I liked it. The gearbox isn't quite as tight as my BMW 3 series but then the XC90 is a SUV after all! It was much nicer to be able to control the engine with more precision and I will definitely be going for a manual. The (slight) turbo lag was noticable to start with pulling away in 1st but once I was ready for it, a few hundred more revs at take-off soon cured it and it really leapt of the mark! I got to try an SE Sport Geartronic immediately afterwards and that with a manual will be apotent combination (more comments on another thread) Ian - Many thanks for the offer of a test in yours, fortunately a dealer nearby got one in so saved me a trip up to you! Patrick - The group F/G split is dependant on the age of your car, if it was registered pred Mar 06 I believe it can't be higher than a F but if you buy a D5 Geartronic new now it will be a G