Opinions on the T3 geartronic

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emporiky
Posts: 25
Joined: Tue Jul 16, 2019 9:34 pm

Post by emporiky »

I recently pulled the trigger and ordered a XC40 with the new T3 geartronic engine, and I am still unsure about its performance - not so much in terms of speed, because that seemed fine the 3 times I tested it, but more in terms of refinement.

Why did I pick the T3 you may ask - well in Belgium, where I live, price and tax difference between T3 and T4 is huge (so envious to see prices in the UK :shock: :mrgreen: ). So I decided to invest in options, which meant that I could get a full option X40, rather than spend everything on the engine.
I read all reviews and opinions out there - but there are not many, since the T3 geartronic starts to come just now - of course there are plenty on the MY2019 manual T3, but its less powerful and a comparison is always difficult between automatic and manual cars.

My personal impressions are quite good on the power - I am now driving a manual T3 V40, which is lighter and quicker on paper, but the T3 geartronic on the XC40 actually felt better - perhaps because the “kick-down” to a lower gear when power is needed is effortless on the automatic.
However, I could feel vibrations, typical for a 3-cylinder engine, when the car is stoped and the engine is working, and I also noticed a very strange noise when breaking harder to a complete stop and the engine shuts down (because of the start-stop funcition) - I am afraid it might be coming from the engine itself turning off and putting under pressure the frame around it (if that makes sense :D)

I am starting to get a bit nervous on whether this was the right choice, so any opinions and impressions of the T3 geartronic will be much appreciated :roll:

TGxc40
Posts: 9
Joined: Tue Jul 23, 2019 6:34 pm

Post by TGxc40 »

I've had mine a couple of weeks now and it's a lot better than I was expecting. I test drove a diesel D4 Rdesign, and previous cars have been diesel for some time.

The gearbox is smooth and pulls away as quick as some other competitors dual clutch boxes. The amount of torque the T3 produces is pretty on par with smaller diesels and is generally quiet and refined unless you pop it into dynamic for a bit of a thrash. Not done any long motorway journeys yet, but the dual carriageway performance seems promising so far.

First thing I did was switch off the auto hold/brake as it was more of a pain than assistance, everything else has been fine. With this off as soon as you take your foot off the brake the engine is started by the time you get the throttle down to go again.
Deleted User 1984

Post by Deleted User 1984 »

I prefer T3 Gearbox due to tax rates between 1.5 and 2.0 L capacity engines in Turkey. Just as @emporiky did, instead of investing my money for more powerful engine+more tax every year, I waited for 1.5L engine with almost all options useful for safe and comfort drive.

Coming to my feelings, yes, I am quite happy with acceleration even though there is roughly half second delay with kickoff but not a big deal as I mostly drive on city roads that are not for race. Vibration especially at first start up in the mornings is felt then goes off. In the busy traffic, I again feel a very little vibration until full stop. I do not have enough time to play with options thus I could not totally disable auto start-stop function yet, which I get this function off manually before every drive.
yalocatos
Posts: 16
Joined: Tue Apr 02, 2019 7:53 pm

Post by yalocatos »

Had our T3 geartronic for 3 weeks and agree with all the comments. I always switch off the stop start and the auto brake, Find the auto brake a real pain if it accidentally gets turned on. The engine is very smooth and although not yet used its full rev band it really pulls well and certainly no slouch.
There is occasionally a little lag when changing gears but very acceptable. Avery pleasing car to drive. Love it.
ChrisLF
Posts: 1346
Joined: Wed Apr 24, 2019 8:21 am
Location: Heart of England

Post by ChrisLF »

Not a T3, but when we picked up our car it was straight out into city traffic with the stop/start and parking brake on which was a pain, especially if stopped facing down hill as there was quite a lurch when pulling away as the engine restarted and the parking brake released and with not yet knowing my way around the Sensus screen I couldn't turn it off when driving in traffic. It also annoys me when you just come to a halt and then the traffic moves off and the engine has to stop and restart again almost straightaway, which happened quite a few times. Not good for the components even if they are designed for it. Goes against my mechanical sympathy!

But once back home I found out how to turn off the stop/start (one of my pet hates which I didn't use in previous cars) and set the parking brake to only come on automatically when stopping the engine. When pulling away for the first time after starting I release the parking brake manually for a nice smooth take off just using the tickover. In stop/start traffic I do use the autohold but that does release pretty gently and quickly so I'm happy with that.

By the way you can't turn off the stop/start permanently it resets when you stop the engine, so you have to get into the routine of turning it off each time you start the car.

Chris
2023 B4 Plus Dark FWD in Silver Dawn. Tinted Rear Windows. Spare Wheel & Tow Bar dealer fitted.

Gone - 2019 T4 R-Design FWD in Bursting Blue. Winter & Convenience Packs, Power Seat, Front Park Assist, Rear Camera, Spare Wheel & Tow Bar.
emporiky
Posts: 25
Joined: Tue Jul 16, 2019 9:34 pm

Post by emporiky »

So after a week of reading through various reviews and opinions, I finally found a T4 to test and compare to the T3. The power gain seems negligible - in fact I don’t think I would consider T4 over T3 because of power alone (especially the geartronic version). However, refinement is definitely a step up - mainly at low speeds and most noticeably when the car is stopped and the engine is working - I noticed quite a bit of vibration on the T3 and almost none on the T4. There is also almost none turbo ‘whistle’ on the T4 (which I actually liked on the T3) and it is a louder engine in general.
Nevertheless, mainly because of the refinement aspect, but also resale value, I changed my order to a T4 engine. If budged is a concern, and you are not bothered by a bit more vibrations in low speeds, I think that T3 is definitely a good choice - as good as three cylinder engines can be.
Current car: XC40 T4, Momentum Pro, Fusion Red
Premium Audio, Intelisafe, Park Assist 360, Versatility, Xenium, Winter packs

Previous car: Volvo V40 T3 Inscription
FGC5074
Posts: 12
Joined: Fri Jun 28, 2019 10:49 am
Location: North West

Post by FGC5074 »

I picked up my T3 auto about 10 days ago, and over the last 3 days was able to take a 300 mile trip around North Wales over various road surfaces. I was bit nervous about the auto, not having test-driven one, but I can say that I am delighted with it - very smooth changes and it seems to find the right ratio most of the time. I have to say I find the gear selector system very un-natural (push forward twice to go backwards- FFS!) but I guess I will get used to that in due course. I found the engine performance and kick-down for over-taking more than acceptable.

I was a bit surprised to read emporiky's comments above - I thought the engine was very refined with no vibration at all.

As with other posts above, I did not like the auto-stop feature and hate that I have to manually disable it every time I step into the car. I also found the auto-hold feature a mixed blessing. It's fine if you are tootling around the A and B roads, but on my car it releases with quite a lurch. This makes parking a bit tricky, since I get a lurch whenever I change from forward to reverse and vice-versa - this is not idea in a tight carpark! I would be interested to hear if this is a problem for other owners, or is it just mine?

I have not refuelled the car so I cannot confirm exactly what the fuel consumption was. The consumption shown on the display increased throughout the trip. It was about 28 mpg when I started, but it increased to 32.5 mpg by the time I got home. This was in a mix of comfort and eco modes, with one short burst of dynamic. I find eco mode perfectly adequate for cruising on A and B roads where you are limited to 60mph (and often less) anyway. I just wish I could work out what the right hand gauge was trying to tell me!

I did not get a very good test drive before ordering (never got above 45 mph) and it was in a T3 manual, so I was a bit apprehensive in the weeks before delivery, fearing that I may have made the wrong choice. However I can confirm that, despite the niggles above, I am more than happy with the car, it's ride and it's performance.
ChrisLF
Posts: 1346
Joined: Wed Apr 24, 2019 8:21 am
Location: Heart of England

Post by ChrisLF »

As I've said above, for nice smooth manoeuvring, make sure that the parking brake and autohold are both off using the switches on the tunnel - the lights for these, red and green respectively will be off in the drivers display. You can then move slowly and between forward and reverse without any jerks just using the tickover and using the brake for slower and finer control.

I assume this will be the same in the T3 Geartronic which I understand is a DSG type box unlike the torque converter in the T4? It certainly worked in my VW Passat DSG.

Chris
2023 B4 Plus Dark FWD in Silver Dawn. Tinted Rear Windows. Spare Wheel & Tow Bar dealer fitted.

Gone - 2019 T4 R-Design FWD in Bursting Blue. Winter & Convenience Packs, Power Seat, Front Park Assist, Rear Camera, Spare Wheel & Tow Bar.
Stuber
Posts: 15
Joined: Thu Nov 09, 2023 3:54 pm

Post by Stuber »

Has anyone actually used geartronic. I've stated to try it in town driving and I like it. I feel you can smooth out driving with it. I know it's more involved but nice to have the choice.
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