Beloved SUV that Jeremy Clarkson owned FOUR of and would only give up for a Bentley can be yours for under £5,000
A BELOVED SUV that Jeremy Clarkson owned four of and would only give up for a Bentley can be yours for under £5,000.
The motoring legend admitted he wanted to be “more adventurous” in his choice of car but couldn’t get away from one particular brand.
Back in 2014 when he was still on Top Gear, the star penned a piece for the show’s website in which he heaped praise on Volvo.
As one of the most popular carmakers in the UK through the 2010s, it is, perhaps, no surprise that an experienced petrolhead like Clarkson has owned one in his time.
But even for hardcore enthusiasts of the brand, four might be considered quite a few.
The Grand Tour host wrote: “James May is thinking about buying a Volvo.
“He says it’s like going to the dentist, something you have to do at some point, so you may as well get it over with.
“Happily, I have been to the dentist regularly over the years. I’m now on my third – or is it fourth? – XC90.”
Debuting back in 2002, the XC90 is likely the most regularly spotted of the firm’s models in Britain.
Boasting seven seats, a luxurious design and enough heft to make mincemeat of the school run, it has been a family favourite for going on two decades.
Indeed, Clarkson loved it so much that he admitted the only car that could make him give it up was a £172,000 Bentley Continental GT.
He joked: “I suppose it’s a bit like the cardigan.
“For all of my life, I have seen these garments in shop windows and on old people in the street and I have mocked and sneered and vowed that I would never ever wear such a thing, even if I had been shipwrecked on Svalbard.
“And yet, last year, I bought one, and I’m now sad that the summer is here because I can’t wear it any more.
“It appeared to me, then, that the Bentley Continental had stayed the same and that I had simply grown into it.”
However, if you don’t want to shell out the cash for a Bentley there are plenty of good XC90s on the market for bargain rates.
One listing on AutoTrader has a 2010 model with only 110,000 miles on the clock (which is nothing to such a reliable SUV) for just £4,500.
And they won’t break the bank to run either as they sit in insurance group 39 which, according to Finder, means an average premium of just a tick over £1,100 a year for over-30s.
However, a 36mpg average fuel economy does let the model down a bit on petrol costs, while it’s certainly not one for young drivers as insurance costs for under-30s can spiral close to £10,000 thanks to its size and engine capacity.
Interestingly, Volvo recently announced that it was reversing its shock decision to discontinue the XC90, with a new version lined up to return from next month – though there’s no word on pricing yet.
