ERAD Questions

[sk546]

Originally Posted by NB99

My driving is perfect for a hybrid - about 85% driving in city, relatively short distances, 10-15% long driving on motorway. Can plug in easily at home. Hybrid makes a lot of sense I think.

With that sort of driving distribution, a Plug-in Hybrid does sound to be the best option and with multiple manufacturers now making PHEV's with a decent electric range now, its an even better option.

Every manufacturer seems to have gone about the Electric/ICE drivetrain slighty differently and I imagine no-one has come up with the perfect combination that is 100% reliable for 10+ years yet.
Volvo's ERAD is a great system when working correctly and the newer unit (145bhp unit) has much better driving characteristics than the older unit but as its so new, its longevity is still an unknown.

The Hybrid drivetrains that combine the electric motor into the all-wheel-drive system (BMW & Audi/Porsche/VW for example) will likely have similar failure rates as Volvo do but will likely cost less to repair/replace as its a more integrated unit rather than a standalone driven axle like the ERAD is.

Due to the level of complexity of these Volvo PHEV's, I personally would not own one outside of/without a warranty as when things do fail, they are very expensive. However, thats a personal thing and how you choose to go is obviously your choice.
As these drivetrains have gotten more and more complex, the likelihood of these going to 10+ years of usage without a large/expensive component failing gets smaller and smaller so as a used purchase at 4-5 years, you are taking a chance with any PHEV. As I see it, most manufacturers only see PHEV's as a short stopgap between conventional ICE powered cars and the introduction of fully electric cars (as directed by governments etc) so how much money they spend on R&D to make these as reliable as possible is questionable at best but thats only my views on this.

On the plus side, I'm on my second XC60 PHEV and both have been very good with very few issues but I did switch to the newer car at only 2.5 years (and only 22K miles) so I cant really comment too much on older and higher mileage Recharge/T8 vehicles.

[Lozzingers]

Originally Posted by NB99

My driving is perfect for a hybrid - about 85% driving in city, relatively short distances, 10-15% long driving on motorway. Can plug in easily at home. Hybrid makes a lot of sense I think.

Something to consider - do test drive and make sure you think the electric has enough power for your city miles. We had the xc90 with the 87 hp electric, and I was always driving to the limit trying to get max power without the petrol kicking in. I felt like I'd paid for a 400hp car, but could only use 87 of them most of the time. It actually became a bit stressful.
The 2022 onwards with the 155 hp electric I would probably have been happier to keep.
It may be on a V90 87 hp is fine, but with kids, hills etc I found it was quite lacking.
They are great cars, but I prefer my (3 year old, and £20k cheaper) BMW 540i with full power available all the time!!

[sandys]

Originally Posted by sk546

The Hybrid drivetrains that combine the electric motor into the all-wheel-drive system (BMW & Audi/Porsche/VW for example) will likely have similar failure rates as Volvo do but will likely cost less to repair/replace as its a more integrated unit rather than a standalone driven axle like the ERAD is.

I wonder why you think a motor sandwiched in a DSG gearbox would be cheaper to repair than one sat standalone at the rear? replacing a DSG on its own after failure is not cheap, should the motor take that out