Owners opinions on T5 Recharge PHEV

All Volvo XC40 related discussions
lfpcorreia
Posts: 99
Joined: Thu Aug 01, 2019 11:53 am

Post by lfpcorreia »

Logical Rhubarb wrote: Fri Jan 01, 2021 2:26 pm PHEV cars are nothing more than tax solutions for companies, both the car manufacturers and the companies that drive them.

Any perceived climate benefit is what the car manufacturers are pushing but in reality the majority of company car drivers don't ever plug them in. This removes any climate or economy benefits and makes the car's much more polluting that petrol, or even diesel.

The true magic bullet for economy or climate will be the fully electric, but not at present technology.

I'll give it another 10 years before the tech is there, and another 10 years after that before the country's charging infrastructure is up to spec.

Obviously there are some exceptions, and some people will plug their PHEV in to try and make the most. But they're really trying to make the most of a bad job.

https://www.bbc.com/news/amp/science-en ... t-54170207

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/business-46152853
Well, I disagreed...

Since I’ve bought the t5 phev I’ve only been to the pump after long journeys. That is expected!

Meanwhile I’ve been doing my daily routine on electric only.

I bought the phev (momentum plus) over the gasoline (T3 r-design) with my own money and the difference in price was around 5k€ Matching the r-designs specs. According to my estimations I would break even after 4,5/5 years and drive a significantly faster and cheaper (daily costs) car.

After a few months I can say the car is greatly exceeding the initial estimation. Both in costs and performance ( see from 2:00 onwards)

Those studies you mention are averages comprised of sparse and very different drivers. Can give you a loose idea but in my case it surely aren’t true.

Cheers
T5 Twin-engine Momentum Plus

DavidDE56
Posts: 1
Joined: Fri Jan 01, 2021 9:28 am

Post by DavidDE56 »

Had my T5 Recharge R Design Pro since 20 Dec. Was going to order a B5 but the lead times were too long and I needed to get into a car sooner. Saw a listing for a demo Sept 20 with less than 3k miles and fully loaded. I'm a private buyer so BIK not relevant. I do a lot of daily <10 miles journeys, with occasional 200-350 mile trips. Expected 10-12k p.a. So far, I’ve enjoyed driving mostly locally, 50% on electric and been getting an average 53mpg over 350 miles. I recharge daily and will be getting a wall box soon. I came out of an MX5 RF and find this car a very relaxing, well equipped and enjoyable drive, even on 21” wheels.
goi
Posts: 82
Joined: Thu Aug 27, 2020 1:49 pm

Post by goi »

Logical Rhubarb wrote: Fri Jan 01, 2021 2:26 pm PHEV cars are nothing more than tax solutions for companies, both the car manufacturers and the companies that drive them.

Any perceived climate benefit is what the car manufacturers are pushing but in reality the majority of company car drivers don't ever plug them in. This removes any climate or economy benefits and makes the car's much more polluting that petrol, or even diesel.
I fully disagree: We have our XC40 Recharge T5 now for 5 weeks and have driven 500 km and 95% electric!
since 2023: XC40 Pure Electric Twin Motor Ultimate MY24
since 2020: Mirai II Fuel Cell, MY21
2020-2023 XC40 Recharge Inscription (Pro) T5 (132+60 kW), MY21 late
hillocklane
Posts: 18
Joined: Wed Nov 18, 2020 12:25 pm

Post by hillocklane »

2100 miles completed with mine and its a 60:40 split petrol to electric according to the Volvo app, also showing 68.8 mpg overall which I am pretty happy with. Motorway cruises return 40+mpg, which though no match for a diesel, is good for a petrol SUV and 10mpg better than my last car.

Coming from a Mitsubishi PHEV with 2 x 80bhp electric motors (Front & Rear), and the XC40 feels almost as lively to me most of the time. Performance on Electric only driving feels perfectly adequate the vast majority of the time, though never quick. It does seem strained getting up to motorway speed on slip roads in Pure mode and sometimes seems to struggle to cruise at 70mph using EV only on an incline.

I don't use pure mode now - have set individual mode up to be EV drive train as the eco heating in Pure means screen & windows mist up (even with heated windscreen!) and I prefer it this way as I can weight the steering a little too, even though I loose a few miles of EV range over using Pure.

Overall it is good to drive, if a little lacking in feel for brakes and steering. Surprisingly good grip and body control when pushed and (though i definitely miss the 4x4) it managed very well when driven smoothly in recent snow and ice. Saw some other stuck FWD car's and was a little concerned, but its traction control system seemed to be quite good at getting the car rolling... though I wasn't trying to challenge it and have no desire to find its limits!

Reasonably comfortable too, only done a couple of 3/4 hour stints in it but no complaints. Looks and feels plush enough, but has some quality issues. Has already had some suspension components replaced and there are still issues. Software is glitchy too... can't leave auto main beam on as get a 'headlamp malfunction' error on next start up, tyre pressure reset doesn't seem to work, lane departure can be annoying in the wet as it picks up water reflection in tramlines as 'lines' and vibrates the steering wheel, so has to be turned off. Collision system doesn't like residential areas - becomes anxious when you head towards a car that is letting you through an obstructed road. .... nothing major, but annoying none the less.

Biggest niggle.... and the thing which would push me towards a proper EV... is the power transition between EV and Petrol. In the XC40 the gearbox rarely handles the transition smoothly and only ever if you are driving sedately... which of course if you're in hybrid mode and calling on enough power to kick in the engine, you probably aren't. There is often the feel of a power drop resulting from the switch and this can be quite disconcerting the first few times, but you can work around it.

The other thing to be aware.. even in Power mode... though plenty quick enough, it's not smooth at all. The delivery is no where near linear, it surges then plateau's then builds again. Though the Mitsubishi's lack of gearbox meant high revving engine acting as a generator, the power was always linear.

Personally I don't think the power train was ready for launch... but as others have said earlier in this thread, any hybrid system is trying to make the best of an imperfect solution. My opinion is that they are (environmentally) a step in the right direction, but only when in the hands of someone who wants to make the most of it.

I'm an admitted petrol head / biker / OCD person - my polar opposite other half drives the car regularly and totally loves it; just leaves it in hybrid mode and drives it normally with zero complaints.
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