Order now or wait for Mild Hybrid?

[Lexman8]

Originally Posted by familymangreg

I can say with confidence that under harder acceleration (and moderate revs when cold), the D5 in my Volvo is noisy and rattly.

Granted, the Volvo does settle down and becomes barely audible on a cruise, but when under any pressure, nobody could argue that it either sounds nice or refined.

Completely agree; it's almost embarrassing.

[jonnyu]

Originally Posted by Deman77

B4 and B5 are diesels.

Not necessarily true. Please check the info here:
https://www.media.volvocars.com/glob...id-powertrains

"On the XC60, customers will be able to choose between a B5 mild hybrid petrol or diesel variant, a B4 diesel mild hybrid as well as a B6 petrol mild hybrid. The B5 petrol will be available with front wheel drive or all-wheel drive."

B5 can be either Petrol or Diesel in the XC60. On XC90, the B5 is Diesel only.

Again, I stand by my opinion. I would wait for these engines to come out before making a decision.

[MaDProFF]

Quite frankly after a short read of the so called mild hybrid, it is a move backward, a Marketing Con to get as many more diesels sold as possible.

This sort of hybrid in my opinion should have no benefits at all.

[Quacker]

Originally Posted by Lexman8

Completely agree; it's almost embarrassing.

Mine must have better insulation. There's nothing wrong with my ears. It is a far quieter engine than the BMW 3.0 I had in the Range Rover and on a par with the V6 I had in the Q7, although it was a fairly early Q7. Outside, the pedestrian noise is another story and I agree it is noisy when pulling.
It is also much quieter inside than the 'Earth Dreams' 1.6 twin turbodiesel that is in my other car. About on a par with the 1.5 diesel in my Qashqai which is exceptionally refined for a car in its class.

I have run some large variety of diesel and petrol cars and while diesel's are not as refined as some of the best petrol engines, the XC90 is as good as any. I'm sure that the current Q7 and BMW X5 and 7 series and Mercedes might be 'better' but the Volvo certainly isn't embarrassed. I often travel in a friend's GLS [used to be GL Class] Mercedes so do know what to reference it with.

If you had said that the tyre noise in some Volvo's was embarrassing, I would agree with you wholeheartedly.

[Quacker]

Originally Posted by MaDProFF

Quite frankly after a short read of the so called mild hybrid, it is a move backward, a Marketing Con to get as many more diesels sold as possible.

This sort of hybrid in my opinion should have no benefits at all.

The claim is for up to 15% overall consumption improvement. That's a modest and believable claim and a bit less than Honda and Toyota get extra from their similar [in concept] mild hybrids.

The mild hybrid is available, or soon will be on Volvo petrol engines as well as diesel and Volvo are to be commended for making it available on the diesel. So are Jaguar/Land Rover.

[Deman77]

Originally Posted by Quacker

The claim is for up to 15% overall consumption improvement. That's a modest and believable claim and a bit less than Honda and Toyota get extra from their similar [in concept] mild hybrids.

The mild hybrid is available, or soon will be on Volvo petrol engines as well as diesel and Volvo are to be commended for making it available on the diesel. So are Jaguar/Land Rover.

I don’t think Toyota hybrid is mild - they are proper battery (triple digit voltage) and decent bhp electric engine. Mild hybrids are just glorified starter motors with 48v battery. It’s quite impressive if they can get 15% improvement out of that. But the biggest advantage of course is the instant torque from standstill and smoother driving experience. If Mercedes reviews are to be believed it works quite well.

[Duri13]

Originally Posted by familymangreg

Having test driven 6 cylinder versions of a Discovery, Q7, Touareg and A6, I can say with confidence that under harder acceleration (and moderate revs when cold), the D5 in my Volvo is noisy and rattly. Honestly, the 6 cylinder engines are so much quieter and smoother and make the vehicles they are in feel a whole load more premium than the Volvo.

Granted, the Volvo does settle down and becomes barely audible on a cruise, but when under any pressure, nobody could argue that it either sounds nice or refined.
:wq

When I tested D5, I had exactly the same feeling and it almost diverted me away from Volvo. But I bought it anyway and I am surprised how quiet my D5 is. It is like driving a different car compared to the one I tested (which was MY2019 as well). The only difference is that I have laminated side windows and they should help the sound insulation. If that is the case, then money well spent

[Haldex]

@Deman77: You’re both right in a way.. Toyotas (non plugins..) are not mild hybrid, as they use a high voltage system. But in concept, as Quacker said- they are alike.. neither can drive on electric alone- the electric motor is used to maintain speed, once in motion.. You are right though- in a sense they are “glorified starters”.. but they work well.

[Haldex]

Originally Posted by familymangreg

Really? I'm not so sure. A bit of a sweeping statement perhaps, but I'm trying to decide on whether or not to change my nearly 3 years old XC90 D5 PowerPulse. My main reason for looking at other brands is that I'm so underwhelmed with the D5, particularly from a refinement and power perspective.

Having test driven 6 cylinder versions of a Discovery, Q7, Touareg and A6, I can say with confidence that under harder acceleration (and moderate revs when cold), the D5 in my Volvo is noisy and rattly. Honestly, the 6 cylinder engines are so much quieter and smoother and make the vehicles they are in feel a whole load more premium than the Volvo.

Granted, the Volvo does settle down and becomes barely audible on a cruise, but when under any pressure, nobody could argue that it either sounds nice or refined.

:wq

Are you seriously comparing V6s and 4-pots?..

If you compare like and like- 4 cyl volvo diesels are butter smooth compared to VW tractor units. And I currently have one of each parked in my garage so I should know what I’m talking about..

The reason I went for an XC60 instead of an XC90 (which was my first choice at the time..) other than the overly porky body- was that the strongest diesel felt overstrained and buzzy. It was when I tested the XC60 that I realized that the engine is perfectly refined- it’s just not a good choice for such a heavy car as the 90..

[Haldex]

Originally Posted by Ringthane

As for less desirable, all fossil fuel engines will be less desirable, it just depends on what time frame you are looking at.

There are some People that think the death of diesel will be next year, and would tell you Petrol will follow soon after. They will also have forked out on a Hybrid car, sometimes at great expense. Also, that all the major cities will be banning diesel cars very soon, so don’t buy one because you won’t be able to drive it anywhere.

In my opinion, the diesel and petrol engines will be here for a good few years yet; bought and sold on the second hand market, so long as they are maintained well, simply because we can’t afford to penalise the voting public, by taking away their everyday transport. No government would do that.

And that’s that. Nicely said. I’ll just add- electric range comparable to petrol/diesel cars will not happen in our lifetime. Charging times will remain 10x the time needed to refuel a fossil burning car- and that’s pure physics (transfer of energy without transferring mass..). Price of electricity can only go one way with the increasing demand, etc, etc. As such- electrics will remain pricey toys for the rich with their purpose limited to commuting to/from a golf club..