Hi Moss, I agree with you that it's largely down to cost savings - both for production costs and for fuel efficiency. I don't think there's any secret about that; it's so well-known that I didn't think it worth mentioning.
There is another factor, too: although some consumers who are used to TCs still prefer them over DCTs, those consumers clearly don't represent any kind of real critical mass that manufacturers feel the need to take into consideration. The demand for TCs with relatively small engines is evidently not high enough to justify the effort of offering them as a slightly higher-priced alternative to DCTs.
As far as my personal preferences are concerned, all I can say is this: when the XC40 was initially launched, it caught my eye but I was disappointed to learn that there was no DCT available, so I completely lost interest in buying one. But when they introduced the DCT, I was delighted, and I ordered one. My preference is for DCTs because to me they feel somehow sharper and more agile, and I like that. However, I absolutely understand how somebody else might feel that TCs are more relaxed, and prefer them for that reason.
As far as comparing MY 2018 cars with the current cars, then of course car-buying is a very subjective decision, based on subjective preferences. Some potential customers might compare a new car with one made 3 years ago and be tremendously disappointed that the new car lacks a 5-Euro plastic cover behind its glovebox, or a sound insulation pad under the bonnet (to take a couple of purely made-up examples ). And of course they'd have every right to that opinion. However, other potential customers would perhaps not worry about such matters, or consider them to be very important in the grand scheme of things. It's all a matter of where their personal priorities lie.
7 Speed DCT Vs 8 Speed TC Gearbox
Hi Krystof. I see what you mean.Krystof wrote: ↑Wed Apr 20, 2022 7:14 pm Hi Moss, I agree with you that it's largely down to cost savings - both for production costs and for fuel efficiency. I don't think there's any secret about that; it's so well-known that I didn't think it worth mentioning.
There is another factor, too: although some consumers who are used to TCs still prefer them over DCTs, those consumers clearly don't represent any kind of real critical mass that manufacturers feel the need to take into consideration. The demand for TCs with relatively small engines is evidently not high enough to justify the effort of offering them as a slightly higher-priced alternative to DCTs.
As far as my personal preferences are concerned, all I can say is this: when the XC40 was initially launched, it caught my eye but I was disappointed to learn that there was no DCT available, so I completely lost interest in buying one. But when they introduced the DCT, I was delighted, and I ordered one. My preference is for DCTs because to me they feel somehow sharper and more agile, and I like that. However, I absolutely understand how somebody else might feel that TCs are more relaxed, and prefer them for that reason.
As far as comparing MY 2018 cars with the current cars, then of course car-buying is a very subjective decision, based on subjective preferences. Some potential customers might compare a new car with one made 3 years ago and be tremendously disappointed that the new car lacks a 5-Euro plastic cover behind its glovebox, or a sound insulation pad under the bonnet (to take a couple of purely made-up examples ). And of course they'd have every right to that opinion. However, other potential customers would perhaps not worry about such matters, or consider them to be very important in the grand scheme of things. It's all a matter of where their personal priorities lie.
As far as personal preference is concerned, I drive a good number of different cars, TC’s as well as DCT’s : I prefer TC’s, but I have no problem with DCT’s and/or even with manual gearboxes for that matter.
By the way, I am not a Volvo driver myself. After several Audi’s, my wife had an XC40 8-speed automatic since late 2020, but she put the car aside after a near accident on a motorway due to a very dangerous fault of the speed limiter system, and she is now back on a trusted new Audi Q5 (dual clutch S-Tronic) since a few months. I don’t think she cares about the kind of automatic gearbox her car has, as long as it’s reliable and safe.
anyone playing the 0-60 game aint really playing the emissions game, and except for lab conditions, MPG is subjective to too many variables to be relevant
@Krystoft - Don't think you understand the 2018 launch car at all , as their was nout subjective about it. When launched you could get a First Edition XC40 fully loaded with every conceivable option, including 22" wheels - you only had to choose the colour, and that was metallic at no extra cost, and it was discounted too before it won car of the year - back then you could barter a good discount, so all that massively specked car for £35k - an absolute bargain - today you would be touching 60K for the same spec - not so good value for money today regardless of your suggested "subjective" rational
Yep - regularly see 38-MPG around town and almost touched 60-MPG in a B4 TC on the motorway - wonder if anyone out there has honestly beaten that in their DCT - and as for better 0-60 - really, can anyone honestly tell the difference of 0.5 sec