Greg & Wayne’s eXCellent XC40EV adventures

Had a not-so-excellent adventure early this AM as I had to drop the EV off at Melb City Volvo for some warranty work. Driver’s heated seat, shark fin antenna coming adrift, and software update that will hopefully resolve the sporadic car mobile data connectivity issue. Apparently fairly common according to the XC40 and Polestar 2 forums. Have an XC60 T6 Polestar Enhanced as a loaner...has the 21-inch wheels and air suspension. The whole thing feels a bit agricultural compared to the EV to be honest. The stop-start is a bit jerky, the engine noise is just that - noise - not very melodious, and the road noise is about the same as the XC40. Oh, and it has this odd thing called a multi-speed gearbox that causes the engine to rev its tits off then drop down a bit and repeat multiple times when you put your foot down! ;) The ride feels a bit more “jiggly” and you feel more of the small bumps than in the XC40. I was also shocked that the XC60 has a conventional gear lever - I would have thought it would be the electronic style. This is a pre-MY22 so it is still running the Sensus infotainment system (not Android Automotive OS). The driver’s instrument display is incredibly busy - I found it quite distracting compared to the relatively sparse display in the XC40...anyway, different cars! Of course the range on 1/3 tank petrol in the XC60 is about the same as the range on a full charge in the XC40! Hmm.... Hopefully the dealer will be able to fix the issues on the EV and we’ll have it back soon.

Philia_Bear

@carnut222

You missed the bit about it being stupidly slow by comparison

LOL yeah, I don’t want to rub salt into the wounds of “petrol-heads” but TBH this XC60 feels plenty fast...I suppose it sounds faster than it is with the 4-cylinder engine wailing away...the XC40 is so freaking silent that it doesn’t register in that respect. Oddly the XC40 does have sort of a “rumble” when you really floor it - almost like there’s some harmonic or “beats” going on between the two motors - maybe because they’re identical but not going the identical speed due to slight differences in the tyre diameter or something? Or maybe it’s some sort of resonance in the mountings? Not sure! I noticed that in particular this AM when I undertook some idiot in a Mitsubishi SUV who looked like Mr Mole driving slow in the fast lane. When I had my chance (I was doing about 90) I hit it and left him for dead LOL! But yeah, I heard that “rumble” for sure that time. Hopefully it’s normal and not something about to implode! ;)

Well, I see it’s been a while since our last update. A lot has happened - my parents visited for a month so we used it to pick them up and drop them off at the airport, plus a bit of local touring. I had to laugh as when we picked them up, we put most of their luggage in the back, but dad put his large backpack in between them in the back seat. I said we should have used the frunk (froot?) On the way back to the airport to drop them off, I said put it in the frunk, which he did. When we got to the airport and parked and unloaded everything, I said to Dad “Where’s your backpack?” He panicked as he forgot we put it in the front LOL! I didn’t let him go too long as I didn’t want him to have a heart attack.

We miraculously also got our first over-the-air (OTA) update in February. Interestingly we got notifications through the Volvo Cars app on our phones that the OTA update was ready to install. The app generally is pretty useless for the Android Automotive Operating System - AAOS - cars, compared to the Volvo Cars app for the Sensus infotainment systems, but they seem to be improving the functionality with updates. When we took the car to the dealer they updated it to V1.8.1 software, which includes an app on the car’s centre screen called “Range Assistant”. All it basically does is tell you what’s contributing to the energy usage - with 3 small dials - “Speed”, “Climate”, and “Driving Style”. It also gives a range estimate (previously you had to ask Google “what’s my range?”) and an upper and lower bound on that predicted range. It also allows you to turn on eco climate, which limits the amount of heat/AC and I think puts the climate system into the recirculate mode. We never really use that function, and in fact I found with the temperate weather, we can set the AC to “off” and the temperature to “LO” and the fan speed to 1, which basically just draws in fresh outdoor temp air at low fan for some circulation. This means the heat pump isn’t running at all so you’re basically not wasting any energy. I found that if it’s say 17C outside, and you set the climate to 20C, the heat pump will actually run and bring the temp up to 20, so you waste a bit of battery when in a typical car you’d be using excess engine heat to do that, or in a 240 you’d have the heater control jammed over to the left and hope you don’t bake LOL!

Anyway, a few updated statistics. The average energy consumption as reported by the trip meter is about 216 kWh/100 km in just over 5000 km. We’ve charged 95% at home using excess solar, with a few public charges just to try it out. We’re laughing now not having to stop for petrol with the high prices, but of course it is false economy having spent so much on the car. I figure the petrol savings will take close to 100,000 km to make up for the difference in price between the XC40T5 R-design and the EV version. That’s at $1.80 a litre and assuming 10 L/100 km in the petrol version, both of which might be a bit optimistic!

Most of our driving is 110 kph freeway or 80-100 kph rural roads…at those speeds the max range from 100% to 0% would be about 350 km. Of course you’d not want to do that, so the practical range is about 300 km if you charge to 90% and drop down to 15%. In city driving at slow speeds, the max range would be about 400 km. I do know I can make it from our place down to the Volvo Club meeting in Moorabbin with about 20% remaining when I get home (from 90%). If it were winter and using the heat, that might be a stretch unless I charge to 100% before leaving.

We pretty much keep the car charged to 80% so it’s ready to go, plugging in at about 10AM when the solar cells are producing enough excess solar to cover the charging. The slow charging works fine for us as we don’t take long drives back-to-back so we can charge up over a few days after we take a long drive.

I did look at what it would take to get to Sawtell - would be easily doable with a few charging stops, but I decided it’s too much driving since we already committed to the SA Cruise/Rally in Broken Hill/Quorn/Adelaide at Easter. So hope everyone has a great time iN Sawtell and I look forward to the pics! Unfortunately we can’t take the EV to the SA Cruise as there’s no charging stations between Broken Hill and Quorn, so we’d have to backtrack to Mildura, then cut across to Adelaide and back up to Quorn. If we were just heading from Melb to Adelaide, it would be no drama. Early days yet - let’s hope the charging infrastructure grows faster than the number of EVs on the road or all hell will break loose when trying to take a road trip!

Waiting for these to pop up all around Australia - “Electrify Australia” would do!

Took a drive down the Great Ocean Road yesterday. The car performed well with great efficiency (for what it is LOL!) On the way down to Lorne we got 17.5 kWh/100 km and on the way back (more uphill and higher-speed roads) we got 22.2 kWh/100 km. The total trip 332 km average was 19.2 kWh/100 km. We're happy when we get 20 or better LOL! Enjoyed a picnic lunch in Lorne and walked along the trail where they had some interesting art installations. On the return, we stopped for a quick charge at the RACV resort in Torquay and had a coffee and dessert there. We had only intended to add 10% or so that would have gotten us home at a comfortable SOC, but by the time we had our snack and a toilet break we got back to the car and it was at the 80% limit already (from 41%). We were even on the "slow" 50 kW charger as it's cheaper. They have 350 kW chargers there too, but the Volvo can only charge up to 150 kW. Still, it would have meant we probably could have charged for about 5 minutes and been on our way back home if we didn't want to stop for a coffee. I think that allays my fears about "range anxiety" a bit, although the big deal now will be are the charge stations available (they may either be occupied or broken)...and given the rapid increase in the number of EVs on the roads here, I worry the charge network won't keep up. It's no issue if you can charge at home like we do for the majority of our charging, but if you want to jump in the car and drive to Adelaide or Sydney, you might run into strife due to the sparse charge network on the freeways.

Oh, and on the Great Ocean Road, I NEVER touched the brakes! One Pedal Drive is awesome! The only time I used the brake was when coming up to a roundabout on the way home and I had to stop abruptly as somebody came flying through at an unanticipated speed.

First pic is figures for trip down to Torquay via Lorne, and 2nd pic left side is trip back from Torquay to Daylesford, right side is total trip:

Finally, with the flat front grille blanking plate (and flat front in general) this car really collects the bugs. I was thinking I wonder what "bug slayer" is in Swedish, and whether it would make a good nickname for the car. Now I know:

I love it - "insects do dare" get in the path of this car! Although when doing it in the reverse, it's not quite right. Oh well, it was the thought...

Major Ledfoot

The Great Ocean Road is awesome, as your pics show. Ms Wife and I had planned to take the S80 V8 along there on the way back from Adelaide after getting to the National Rally, but unfortunately we won't get to it nor Oz Volvo this year.

Bugger we'll miss seeing you at the rally!

Had a visit today by the 2nd person to take delivery of a Polestar 2 in Victoria. Looks like a nice car! Dropped in for a cuppa, chat and to compare cars.

jamesinc

@carnut222 what do you make of it, as compared to the XC40?

I was pleasantly surprised. The seats sit a bit closer to the floor, so the seating position is a bit more sedan than SUV of course, and leg room and headroom is tight in the back seat. The front centre console with side buttresses didn’t impede my knee room as I had expected it to…the centre console itself is very high compared to the XC40, and the cupholders are pretty crap (one is usable, the other is hidden by the centre console elbow rest/lid). Overall the quality looks great. Some materials seemed a bit more plasticky than the Volvo’s, but there’s a lot of parts sharing between them (switchgear etc). The centre screen is larger and has a more modern appearance/layout, but the driver’s display is similar. We didn’t drive the car but I know they drive similar based on reviews. Overall I’d say it could be a good option if you want a non-SUV EV for a small family or singles/couples. I think the Tesla Model 3 has quite a bit more rear seat space, but in the 3 your knees are up in the air back there, so with the Polestar 2 the seating position in the rear is more comfy if you have enough knee room. Oh, the “frunk” seal lip seals directly against the underside of the bonnet, unlike the Volvo which has a separate lid that you have to open after you open the bonnet. Minor difference but I guess the P*2 would be a bit more convenient. TBH we rarely open the bonnet and frunk - usually just to show people what it looks like! Of course you can get into a P*2 at a much lower price point than the XC40 as you can get a base version without all the safety and luxury touches, so that could be a bonus if you don’t want to spend $75-85K on the Volvo…HOWEVER, if you spec up the Polestar to the same level of features as the Volvo, it will end up costing more than the Volvo.

PaddlerEd

Sorry for the highjack, but given this is the main EV thread here, and the article is about a Polestar 2, it does sort of fit - and shows the international coverage of some solutions:

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/features/ev-across-outback-charging-polestar-2-chip-fat

All good! Not sure how you get from Adelaide to Caiguna though…charging options limited! Guess there must be some 15 amp power points…must have a look at Plugshare.

Philia_Bear

https://ozvolvo.org/discussion/comment/204360#Comment_204360

The 200/300 series landcruiser being used as a camera crew car is towing a 15kw silenced 3 phase diesel generator for 11kw ac charging

Haha interesting! I know people have driven across from Perth to Adelaide etc in EVs, but I guess they have to use slow charge at roadhouses etc. Plugshare shows nothing between Adelaide and the SA/WA border!

This looks like pretty good news for charging in rural VIC...can't come soon enough!

https://www.energy.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/word_doc/0027/551961/DCAV-Recommended-Projects-DELWP-Website-Updated-5Apr22.docx

While we were on our SA tour (in the dinosaur-juice burner) We did see a couple chargers...including one at our rest stop in Wedderburn on the way to Mildura, and a new one at Broken Hill. Of course we also saw some in places like Horsham, Tailem Bend, Keith etc. including a lot of Tesla Superchargers.

More chargers coming - YAY!