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Possible new XC40 owner. T3 vs T4

Posted: Mon Jan 13, 2020 10:01 am
by MitulJ
Hi all - I'm new to this forum and new to Volvo in general.

I have recently been researching the XC40 model which looks terrific and would be ideas size-wise for me as I have a young family.

My wife, once back off paternity leave, will drive day-to-day to work which is approx. 15 mins each way, whereas I tend to drive during the more lengthy motorway journeys. We live in Manchester and generally visit London once per month - hence the motorway driving, plus any other social weekend driving.

For the above, would the T3 (1.5l) or T4 (2.0l) be more suitable? And also to add, what are the benefits to having the AWD version? I'm not fussed about the model variant at this stage, it's more about the performance of the vehicle. I.e. fuel economy vs motorway driving. I'd like to go for the Automatic transmission.

Any insight into the above would be really helpful, thanks!

Re: Possible new XC40 owner. T3 vs T4

Posted: Mon Jan 13, 2020 7:08 pm
by CambsClive
Hi;
I too have just joined the forum and am about to order an XC40 (T3 - R-line). Before I get into any detail response, have you read the posts on my thread "Imminent likely new owner". There is a lot of info. about the T3 and a couple of comments about the T4.
Once you've looked through the info., post any detailed queries you might have.
I'm just in the process of finalising my spec. and looking at various suppliers, I've just found one in Warrington that offers significant savings compared to Volvo dealerships. More on that if you're interested.

Re: Possible new XC40 owner. T3 vs T4

Posted: Mon Jan 13, 2020 7:19 pm
by DarrenF
Hello and welcome to the forum, I said it on CambsClives thread and I will say it here - cannot recommend the 360 camera high enough. When spec'ing your cars check it out, it's amazing. Also adaptive cruise control in slow traffic / road works takes all the hassle out of driving.

The XC40 engines are not really built for local trips of 1-2 miles and the mgp greatly improves on the trips of only 4-5+ miles upwards.

Re: Possible new XC40 owner. T3 vs T4

Posted: Tue Jan 14, 2020 7:51 pm
by Louisw11
Hi
I have the T3 auto on an R design pro, I’m really impressed with the car and the fuel consumption is better than I expected, there has been a lot of people highlighting poor fuel returns, best I’ve had on an 8 mile run A road was 43.8, I’ve only had car 4 weeks but more than happy with it.

Re: Possible new XC40 owner. T3 vs T4

Posted: Fri Feb 14, 2020 9:08 pm
by Louisw11
The T3 has really impressed me, just had 50 mpg on a 100 mile run, around town as others have said not so good, but overall I’m happy that I chose the T3 auto.

Re: Possible new XC40 owner. T3 vs T4

Posted: Sat Feb 15, 2020 9:46 am
by Plumber64
I have the T5 and getting 28mpg. Not great but better than my last car which was Merc AMG45. Love the car and the performance as it has the Polestar pack fitted.

Re: Possible new XC40 owner. T3 vs T4

Posted: Sat Feb 15, 2020 1:37 pm
by CelticXC40
I have T4 Inscription pro. I get just over 30mpg on mainly short journeys. On long journeys it goes up to 36mpg. I drive to the speed limits and use the adaptive cruise control all the time.
I find the T4 excellent. Not personally bothered about mpg.
Tom

Re: Possible new XC40 owner. T3 vs T4

Posted: Sun Feb 16, 2020 9:35 am
by Deleted User 2478
I wanted the engine with better mileage and smaller displacement, but the main issue with T3 is the 3 cylinder architecture, this being a new engine for Volvo. It took more than 4 years for Ford and VW group (VW, Audi, Seat, Skoda) to fix all issues with their 3 cylinder engines, so ultimately I decided to trade off the cost savings of T3 (purchase price, mileage, tax) for the proven reliability of T4. This engine (2.0L petrol turbo) is 5 years old in Volvo’s portfolio, with hundreds of thousands of units sold and huge volume of usage data that allowed for all issues to be fine tuned by now.

T4 is a fantastic engine, smooth and powerful. Yes, it does consume more fuel, but if you look at the WLTP mileage figures T3 is marginally better. If you drive in an environment where you often have to overtake slower cars in traffic, T4 makes a big difference. Otherwise, T3 is powerful enough for normal driving situations and if long term reliability is not your concern, with a 4-5 years full warranty plan T3 should be a good choice.