Is the XC40 a noisy car?

[Salmonfisher]

I moved to a D4 R Design two months ago from the equivalent VW Tiguan. Much quieter all round and smoother drive too. I really like it but do find the touchscreen controls a bit fiddly - I would have preferred a few knobs. Mind you the voice control is streets ahead of the VW and the Audi I had before that. It actually understands me first time which the others never did even after three years each!

[12g]

I have done extensive research on the purchases of my new car and narrowed it down to the last 3.
Tiguan
E Pace
XC40
These were the cars I took for a test drive. (overnight)
In New Zealand our cars come with high specifications (fully loaded car), only options were Sunroof or Harman Kardon Premium Sound.
The test drive ticked off all my wants in the XC40, including:
Soft ride on the road
Quiet in side
NZ Autocar have done reviews on all 3 cars, I have included an E Pace and XC40 summary page from the magazine.
Decibel readings (ambient cabin noise) at 100km:
XC40 69.8dB
E Pace 71.5dB
Both of these vehicles are on 20” wheels.
Vehicle weight with full tank of gas:
XC40 1746kg
E Pace 1881kg

I hope this is of some help.

Sorry for the poor quality photos.

Cheers

[Salmonfisher]

interesting reviews. Why can't UK reviews give hard facts like noise levels etc?

[Boxybutgood]

interesting reviews. Why can't UK reviews give hard facts like noise levels etc?

The problem is there are so many permutations of all the variables involved that a single representative figure would be impossible. Factors such as engine variant, wheel/tyre size, speed, reaction to different road surface, and make of tyre all play a part. You would soon get to hundreds of possible combinations. Individuals also vary in the frequency or quality of noise they find most noticeable.

It would be good to have some form of objective comparison but ultimately a test drive in something as close as possible to your desired spec is the only way to be reasonably certain.

The other option of course is just to play music at an appropriate volume at all times.

[johnd]

The problem is there are so many permutations of all the variables involved that a single representative figure would be impossible. Factors such as engine variant, wheel/tyre size, speed, reaction to different road surface, and make of tyre all play a part.

Agreed. Other factors include whether the car is at a steady speed (presumably the quietest regime but depending on speed) or accelerating hard when some cars (?XC40) may be more vocal than others and exactly what the dB measurement means. So is eg a 1.5dB difference in noise important or not - I guess only a noise engineer really knows!

[Boxybutgood]

I'm not an engineer, but a Google search indicates that plus/minus 3dB is an objective doubling/halving of volume. Subjectively however the human ear needs a 10dB change to equate to doubling/halving.

My subjective impression of the T4 on 19 inch wheels is that it is quiet at steady speeds, but the engine noise is quite noticeable under stronger acceleration or climbing steeper hills.

[millview]

I posted this last month in another thread: So, a lot of views on wheel size and road noise. In a vaguely scientific way, I measured the noise from my other half's Rdesign pro (20 inch wheels) as she drove along the A1 yesterday. Took two measurements, each for several minutes, on a stretch with noisy tarmac and one where the road appeared to be much quieter. The first average reading was 73 decibels. The second was 72 decibels.

[ChrisLF]

I've had the car a week now and today gave it it's first decent run which included dual-carriageway so was able to up the speed. It was also raining which increases road noise.

I didn't give it any hard acceleration but with the wafting along and some mid-range acceleration out of islands and overtaking I found the engine noise very acceptable.

With 18" wheels there is some road noise but it was never intrusive and fortunately not of the whining type that I've had on some previous cars and get to a small extent with the TT.

So for me the XC40 is not a noisy car.

Chris

[Silver Moose]

Noise, particularly engine noise, is VERY subjective.

I think my T4 is quite quiet in absolute terms but, to my ears, it's not a nice note. I love my car to bits but I won't use Dynamic mode for anything but overtakes and today, when I needed off-road mode setting up a course for a charity run, I was glad to get it back into comfort mode.

To put it into context, I'm also a motorcyclist and the sound of a screaming triple at full tilt is music to my ears, I just don't like the note of the T4 working hard. I'm the same with Little Mix.............they're always too loud

In summary, the T4 has enough pull for me to not strain it 99% of the time - in that respect, it's one of the most refined engines I've ever had. If you want to drive the balls off it, a Jaguar is more tuneful (though probably higher dB).

[ChrisLF]

Yes, one of the reasons I went for the T4 is sufficient power for effortless performance without having to rev it too much and it delivers on that for me.

I have a Tiger 1050 and Thunderbird Sport so I know where you are coming from with the sound of triples!

Chris