Going for a test drive

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Fastnf

Fastnf

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I will be going for a test drive in a Volvo XC40 Recharge next Tuesday and comparing it to a Mach E which I will also be test driving. If any one has any questions about the car that they want me to ask the dealer or items they would like to see or know about let me know and I will try to get the information and post it after the test drive. The dealer has two demos available for test drive at this time on the lot.
 
Sorry for the slow response. The dealers were 2 hours from my house, toss time for lunch and a DCFC and a little Los Angles rush hour driving and it was an all day trip. Then I got busy with work this morning

Overall very impressed with both cars that I drove. I did back to back test drives in two EV's. The first was a Mustang Mach E all wheel drive, extended range, Premium edition with an EPA 270 miles. The Second was the Volvo XC40 Recharge P8, 208 miles EPA range. I will cover XC40 Recharge P8 here and have added the Mach E in Mach E forum

The car looks like and SUV and feels like you are sitting up high which is interesting since it is about the same size as the Mach E which feels more like a sedan. The XC40 is only about 2 inches taller than the Mach E. The car is very comfortable and roomy. The salesman opted not to go with us because of Covid so he just gave me the key and let me drive off. The XC40 will easily carry four large adults with plenty of legroom and headspace. The seats adjust nicely for fit. Over all they were comfortable, firm and supportive for street driving. The panoramic sunroof actually opens like a regular sunroof. When closed it has an electric sunscreen that actually blocks out 95 % of the sun and was quite comfortable for rear passengers even on a warm day. It was about 80F in Thousand Oaks, California the day of the test drive. The steering can be adjusted up or down and in or out so that helps with finding the ideal position.


With the car set up I took it out and started with a few acceleration test. Wow!!! This car is quick and I am used to race cars. The Mach E was quick but nothing like the Volvo. At first I thought it was be cause of the weight of a four full size adults in the Mach E, and that may have contributed to it. The salesman for the Mach E was 6'3" and probably 300 lb, football tackle size. I now think maybe it is drive gearing. The Volvo has a top speed of 112mph and the Mach e has a top speed of 130mph. I think its the lower gearing in the Volvo that gives it its acceleration. It will be interesting to see how the Mach E GT compares. It was much quicker then the AWD Mach E. Next I looked for some nice twisty road corners. I found one and ahead of me was a Porsche Macan. I had no problem keeping up with it through the tight corners and when the opportunity presented itself I was easily able to pass him. The Volvo was very neutral with no hint of oversteer or understeer when pushed hard. It was comfortable on the freeway and easy to maneuver in tights spots in rush hour traffic given the handling and acceleration. The one pedal driving work well and presented no issues.


I liked its drive ability better then the Mach E. I just wish it had more range. We will have to see how it turns out in real world driving test for range. Will it be like the Taycan with significantly more range than the EPA rating or will it be lower?


The Volvo XC40 Electric is still on my lists to consider when my lease is up next year.
 
Fastnf said:
Sorry for the slow response. The dealers were 2 hours from my house, toss time for lunch and a DCFC and a little Los Angles rush hour driving and it was an all day trip. Then I got busy with work this morning

Overall very impressed with both cars that I drove. I did back to back test drives in two EV's. The first was a Mustang Mach E all wheel drive, extended range, Premium edition with an EPA 270 miles. The Second was the Volvo XC40 Recharge P8, 208 miles EPA range. I will cover XC40 Recharge P8 here and have added the Mach E in Mach E forum

The car looks like and SUV and feels like you are sitting up high which is interesting since it is about the same size as the Mach E which feels more like a sedan. The XC40 is only about 2 inches taller than the Mach E. The car is very comfortable and roomy. The salesman opted not to go with us because of Covid so he just gave me the key and let me drive off. The XC40 will easily carry four large adults with plenty of legroom and headspace. The seats adjust nicely for fit. Over all they were comfortable, firm and supportive for street driving. The panoramic sunroof actually opens like a regular sunroof. When closed it has an electric sunscreen that actually blocks out 95 % of the sun and was quite comfortable for rear passengers even on a warm day. It was about 80F in Thousand Oaks, California the day of the test drive. The steering can be adjusted up or down and in or out so that helps with finding the ideal position.


With the car set up I took it out and started with a few acceleration test. Wow!!! This car is quick and I am used to race cars. The Mach E was quick but nothing like the Volvo. At first I thought it was be cause of the weight of a four full size adults in the Mach E, and that may have contributed to it. The salesman for the Mach E was 6'3" and probably 300 lb, football tackle size. I now think maybe it is drive gearing. The Volvo has a top speed of 112mph and the Mach e has a top speed of 130mph. I think its the lower gearing in the Volvo that gives it its acceleration. It will be interesting to see how the Mach E GT compares. It was much quicker then the AWD Mach E. Next I looked for some nice twisty road corners. I found one and ahead of me was a Porsche Macan. I had no problem keeping up with it through the tight corners and when the opportunity presented itself I was easily able to pass him. The Volvo was very neutral with no hint of oversteer or understeer when pushed hard. It was comfortable on the freeway and easy to maneuver in tights spots in rush hour traffic given the handling and acceleration. The one pedal driving work well and presented no issues.


I liked its drive ability better then the Mach E. I just wish it had more range. We will have to see how it turns out in real world driving test for range. Will it be like the Taycan with significantly more range than the EPA rating or will it be lower?


The Volvo XC40 Electric is still on my lists to consider when my lease is up next year.
Click to expand...
Great review, thanks for that... hopefully the range issue (lack of... ~208 combined EPA) will be addressed/upgraded in future models. I really like the idea of the opening panoramic sunroof c/w sunscreen (thanks Volvo). I wish other manufactures would take notice.
Perhaps the Porsche driver was curious to see what vehicle was in pursuit:D
 
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Thanks for the review. It was #1 on my list until the range was revealed. Really holds it back for living out west were drives are going to be fairly big distances.


Sent from my iPhone using Inside EVs
 
The top speed is not from gearing.

Volvo announced today that all of its 2021 model-year cars will have a top speed limited to 112 mph and come with a Care Key that allows owners to set an even lower top speed before loaning it to another driver or letting a younger family member drive.​

To understand the difference in acceleration maybe look instead at the HP and especially torque numbers.

SAE Net Torque @ RPM
Mach E: 317 XC40: 486

SAE Net Horsepower @ RPM
Mach E: 290 XC40: 402

However:
2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E GT Performance to Have 480 HP, 634 LB-FT

Considering that Mach-E is lighter, the GT would be a real screamer.
 
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Stephen Cerruti said:
The top speed is not from gearing.

Volvo announced today that all of its 2021 model-year cars will have a top speed limited to 112 mph and come with a Care Key that allows owners to set an even lower top speed before loaning it to another driver or letting a younger family member drive.​

To understand the difference in acceleration maybe look instead at the HP and especially torque numbers.

SAE Net Torque @ RPM
Mach E: 317 XC40: 486

SAE Net Horsepower @ RPM
Mach E: 290 XC40: 402

However:
2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E GT Performance to Have 480 HP, 634 LB-FT

Considering that Mach-E is lighter, the GT would be a real screamer.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info on hp.

I knew the Volvo was speed limited. As an engineer if you told me you were going to limit the speed my first thought would be "ok there is no need for tall gears then, so lets give it some real kick with lower gearing." Who knows maybe its both.

I just saw that Volvo is increasing the range via an over the air update. Didn't say how much increase though.
 
I went on a test drive yesterday. I came away impressed with the acceleration (it's almost too much, but who in their right mind would say a car is too fast??). The seats are very comfortable. The ride wasn't stiff, the car rode very well. I love that you sit up high and it feels almost like a real SUV (which seems to be the kiss of death for an EV's efficiency). The car is easy to get in and out of. There are enough of what I would call differentiating features: great seats, nicely finished cabin, lots of hooks and storage areas, commanding view of the road, Volvo's well regarded safety systems, and nice touches such as shaded sunroof, that in my mind - elevate the car.
Yes, I couldn't pair up my I phone, and the infotainment system gave me a warning that it had overheated. And yes, the range could be an issue if you are a distance driver. The price is too high, even after taking into account the Fed credit. Would I buy it new? Probably not, unless Volvo came up with a screaming deal. I would, however, look at it hard in two to three years, when they start to come back from lease, the bugs have been worked out with the info system, and the car depreciates. As an around town, "special/different" vehicle it would suit me just fine.
 
I have driven the Mach-E extended range AWD and I have a few annoyances with the Mach-E. First the ground clearance is stupid low. It rubs my driveway which has a hump at the top. Next is the seats seem like crap, could never find a good comfortable position especially without the center console digging into my leg. Lastly I found the ride a bit unrefined on less than optimal roads.

As for the Volvo P8 the ride was far better, seats were better and and more comfortable while still being supportive. The ground clearance is better on the P8. The big hit against the Volvo is the range and inefficient battery usage. We took out a 100% charged car and did a really small loop, I am thinking less than 5-6 miles and had used 2%, granted we were not driving in the most frugal manor. The Mustang was easy to get 3-3.5mi/kw where as the Volvo everything I have seen usually gets more like 2 mile/kw, maybe 2.5 if you drive like granny. That and the smaller battery really makes the Volvo a hard sell. Probably explained the lease deal I was just offered with $11K of incentives.
 
Hdtvkeith said:
I have driven the Mach-E extended range AWD and I have a few annoyances with the Mach-E. First the ground clearance is stupid low. It rubs my driveway which has a hump at the top.
Click to expand...

That's likely just the air-dam scraping. If so, it's not a concern, it's just there to decrease drag and extend range. The car will likely be on its second owner before needing to be replaced for minimal cost.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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