1.5 petrol hybrid engine longevity

[williamwin]

Hi,
I'm looking for a 3-4 year old xc40 PHEV in the UK, and wondering what experience people have of high mileage examples. My current Passat PHEV is very smooth at 100,000 and still plenty of charge held on the battery (up to 26 miles in theory). Ive had 2 x diesel V70's in the past, both which I kept until 200k. With diesel and petrol older Volvos this longevity is well established, I'm wondering if the PHEV and hybrid technology means that engine wear on a small turbo engine is reduced, and I could be braver about buying a high mileage (100k+) vehicle and save on the capital cost. I guess the same question also relates to the other main components esp automatic gearbox.

What experiences do you have of high mileage PHEV's? And especially the 1.5l engine that is at the heart of it (could be non PHEV's)

Thanks

[JimElliott]

I have just purchased a 2023 xc40 T5 recharge , it’s pretty impressive, my question is should I drive it in ‘D’ or in B , what in fact is B can someone explain , secondly the electric battery seems to go down quite quickly , but it still feels like it still drives in electric mode even when it is showing low , thanks

[AldridgeAndy]

In hybrid cars “B” is usually for enhanced regenerative braking. So it will maximise battery charging and is useful when you’re decending a hill as you get “engine braking” and your battery gets a good top up of charge.

[clockworks]

Having owned my 2021 T5 Recharge plug-in for 3 months, I really can't see the point of the "B" mode for general driving. In "D" mode, the battery will still regen while braking. The "power" meter in the cluster makes it easy to see exactly what's happening between regen and friction braking.

Might be easier to use "B" mode on a very long downhill section I suppose

[percymon]

Hi,
I'm looking for a 3-4 year old xc40 PHEV in the UK, and wondering what experience people have of high mileage examples. My current Passat PHEV is very smooth at 100,000 and still plenty of charge held on the battery (up to 26 miles in theory). Ive had 2 x diesel V70's in the past, both which I kept until 200k. With diesel and petrol older Volvos this longevity is well established, I'm wondering if the PHEV and hybrid technology means that engine wear on a small turbo engine is reduced, and I could be braver about buying a high mileage (100k+) vehicle and save on the capital cost. I guess the same question also relates to the other main components esp automatic gearbox.

What experiences do you have of high mileage PHEV's? And especially the 1.5l engine that is at the heart of it (could be non PHEV's)

Thanks

Hopefully a high mileage (company car ??) user will respond, but i wouldn't hold out for many replies of people with 100k mile experiences. Modern engines are a lot more complex, so there is more to go wrong and not something a general mechanic is likely to be able to diagnose easily (same holds true for any maker). I cant honestly say ive seen a review anywhere of a high mileage XC40, maybe there si one somewhere on youtube or similar ?

[m@rk]

I have just purchased a 2023 xc40 T5 recharge , it’s pretty impressive, my question is should I drive it in ‘D’ or in B , what in fact is B can someone explain , secondly the electric battery seems to go down quite quickly , but it still feels like it still drives in electric mode even when it is showing low , thanks

B means the regenerative braking is stronger. When you move to a pure EV, you will come across the concept of one pedal driving where this is even stronger and as you take your foot off the pedal, the car slows down to a point where you never need to touch the brake pedal. Some people (myself included) like this enhanced engine braking. Some don't. Thus you have a choice. Try both and go with what you prefer.

As for the battery, the car will never be in a position where the battery is empty. As you drive, the battery is constantly being topped back up by things such as regenerative braking etc. There is always enough juice in the battery to power the electric motor for long enough to augment the petrol engine so you will ALWAYS have got the engine and the motor available to you. This is a common PHEV misconception in that it's an electric car until the battery is empty then it becomes a petrol car. The idea in reality is that the motors augment the engine (such as when you pull away from the lights) meaning the engine doesn't need to work as hard and thus has lower emissions or when doing stop start around town.

BTW, on that logic, as the load on the engine is much reduced in day to day use, in theory the engine should have an easier and thus longer life

[JimElliott]

Many thanks for the feedback , as I purchased the T5 from a BMW dealership and got it delivered from Sheffield to Scotland , nobody has really explained in detail how the engine and gears work in different modes , I have only had it a few days but was sure it was using electric motor even when electric gauge was showing very low . do you recommend the Parking assist ? I think the car has that , it's not something I have tried , but do love the 360 cameras as well ! Another question regarding recharge , so would you only charge the battery if you wanted to drive in 'Pure' electric mode ? if you were driving in Hybrid mode it would appear it does not matter if battery is charged or not ?

[eugen61]

In theory, you should always plug-in recharge the battery when electricity cost is lower than petrol cost for covering the same distance. Your car should be able to travel around 15 miles in pure electric mode, so charging at night rate at home will result in a cheaper 15 miles drive instead of leaving the engine and energy recuperation to recharge the battery. On the other hand, public charging stations might have expensive rates per kWh, using those on a long drive might not worth the time and money. As rule of thumb do the math for breakeven cost miles per kWh and miles per gallon petrol.

[Greggspies]

15 miles is rather pessimistic, eugene61. In present winter conditions we get about 20. In good weather I've managed 32, but I was trying.. JimElliot if you can charge at home, then take advantage of preconditioning. the car in winter weather. Already toasty and defrosted when you get in it.

[eugen61]

You’re right Greggspies, pure electric range is 28 miles WLTP. I was giving a low estimate for winter usage on the 4 years old car mentioned by the OP solely to calculate cost per mile on electric vs. petrol.