XC40 1.5 PHEV

[stevepil]

Hi All

new to the site, as looking to get Volve CX40 1.5 PHEV but have some questions from some experienced drivers rather than sales teams and hope you some straight answers.

1. Does the PHEV self charge itself when driving?
2. What sort of MPG is realistic, I do a 40 mile (each way) commute to work, its primarily motorway driving so did look at diesel but we are not allowed to buy diesels anymore for our company cars, only hybrid or petrol. The trouble is I am not sure if that will be as efficient. I currently get 60 mpg from my Honda HRV
3. Does the tyre pressure monitor show you the pressures in the tyre or just warn you there is a problem?
4. Is the climate pack worth it?

Finally, is it a nice car to drive, any recommendations?

I did want to do some test drivers but there are none available due to COVID and I need to get it ordered, hence any advice be fab

Thanky ou

[goi]

Hi stevepil,

1. Does the PHEV self charge itself when driving?

Yes, but the regeneration part of the charging is only marginally. You can enhance this by switching to gear mode "B" or directly switch to "Charge" mode fot he cost of more petrol. After now approx. 170 km driven, we used 48,2 kWh electrical energy and gained only 2,3 kWh of this by regeneration. Nevertheless this small amount sums up into some considerable petrol saving.

2. What sort of MPG is realistic, I do a 40 mile (each way) commute to work, its primarily motorway driving so did look at diesel but we are not allowed to buy diesels anymore for our company cars, only hybrid or petrol. The trouble is I am not sure if that will be as efficient. I currently get 60 mpg from my Honda HRV

The battery capacity is to small to cover 40 miles completely. We are in the lucky situation, that our daily ride will be around 25 km per day which is covered perfectly by the capacity. Due to the high car weight, i would expect (considering, you can charge your car at work) a mileage of about 50-55 mpg. It might go to 60 mpg if you use the "pre climate" function while charging, to heat the car before use.

3. Does the tyre pressure monitor show you the pressures in the tyre or just warn you there is a problem?

Oops, i did not look at this information so far, will do this tomorrow and tell ya...

4. Is the climate pack worth it?

I don't know what components are included in the UK climate pack. In germany it is only the 2nd row seat heating and the auxiliary heating. Because we use the pre heating while charging, we needn't the auxiliary heater. I've simply ordered the 2nd row seat heating separately.

Finally, is it a nice car to drive, any recommendations?

After 1 week we are still enthusiastic about the car. We have a electric / fuel ration of 95% / 5% which is great. The electric engine has more than enough power although we could force the car to use the petrol engine to deliver even more power, but we needn't so far.

We've ordered a XC40 Recharge T5 Inscription ("Pro" as it is named in UK) with nearby all features except the aux. heating. I've heard if you are audiophile, you should order the Premium Sound option (Harman Kardon), it's definitely worth it's money: It's not perfect but it's quite good and worth the money.


Regards

[stevepil]

Great thanks so much for the feedback really appreciate it and seems I can get some good mpg from it

[goi]

Great thanks so much for the feedback really appreciate it and seems I can get some good mpg from it

Just added some information about the car we've ordered... Take a look to check the audio options...

[Peter8642]

3, it just warns there’s a problem. There’s no actual pressure sensor, it uses the anti lock brake sensors to detect if one wheel rotates fast relative to the others due to the reduced radius of a soft tyre.

[goi]

3, it just warns there’s a problem. There’s no actual pressure sensor, it uses the anti lock brake sensors to detect if one wheel rotates fast relative to the others due to the reduced radius of a soft tyre.

Just looked at the info system:
Yes only warning, BUT not by lock brake sensor, but by TPMS sensor in the tires which measure the pressure inside the tire and send this by NFC to the car. I could read the TPMS sensor data with an external TPMS reading unit.

[katanel]

Just to answer to each question

1. Yes, in automatic mode you have Hold( keep battery ar desired level) and Recharge battery functions. Also in mode B (full manual) is possible but never tested.
2. Battery has a range of 40 km and my consumption is around 6.5 l/100km - calculated from full to full - petrol consumption. Car shows me 7.1 l/100km which I think is higher and maybe it
takes in account electric consumption ?!

3. TPMS system will give you a warning if something is wrong but you don't see the real pressure

4.
I bought only windshield and front seats heated. I think was cheaper like that

[Sadsong]

3, it just warns there’s a problem. There’s no actual pressure sensor, it uses the anti lock brake sensors to detect if one wheel rotates fast relative to the others due to the reduced radius of a soft tyre.

Just looked at the info system:
Yes only warning, BUT not by lock brake sensor, but by TPMS sensor in the tires which measure the pressure inside the tire and send this by NFC to the car. I could read the TPMS sensor data with an external TPMS reading unit.

This is incorrect, at least from the manual of my car.

To quote the Mandalorian - "this is the way" :

From the car's manual:

System description
The tyre pressure monitoring system measures differences in rotation speed between the different wheels via the ABS system in order to be able to determine whether they have the correct tyre pressure. If the tyre pressure is too low, the tyre's diameter is changed and, as a result, so is its rotation speed. By comparing the tyres with each other the system can determine whether one or more tyres have pressure that is too low.

[Salmonfisher]

I am no expert but there are definitely TPMS sensors in the tyres but they just warn you of low pressure. I had a puncture and they warned me of low pressure (but not what it was). Tyre was beyond repair and replaced. However after 100 miles new tyre suddenly lost pressure again and when I filled it up I could hear air rushing out of valve. Played with valve and it stopped. Limped to dealer (luckily nearby) where tyre had been replaced and they unscrewed TPMS valve which had stuck. They replaced it and no more problem. Apparently it is not unknown for them to stick when tyre replaced as a tiny piece of dirt can get in. Dealer said TPMS valves were the bane of their lives.

[goi]

3, it just warns there’s a problem. There’s no actual pressure sensor, it uses the anti lock brake sensors to detect if one wheel rotates fast relative to the others due to the reduced radius of a soft tyre.

Just looked at the info system:
Yes only warning, BUT not by lock brake sensor, but by TPMS sensor in the tires which measure the pressure inside the tire and send this by NFC to the car. I could read the TPMS sensor data with an external TPMS reading unit.

This is incorrect, at least from the manual of my car.

To quote the Mandalorian - "this is the way" :

From the car's manual:

System description
The tyre pressure monitoring system measures differences in rotation speed between the different wheels via the ABS system in order to be able to determine whether they have the correct tyre pressure. If the tyre pressure is too low, the tyre's diameter is changed and, as a result, so is its rotation speed. By comparing the tyres with each other the system can determine whether one or more tyres have pressure that is too low.

I don‘t know if the TPMS pressure sensors are only required in the German market but my manual says there are dedicated pressure sensors in the tires. additionally I could read these sensor values with an external TPMS reader.