PHEV... just me or does anyone else love the sound of the engine and transmission

[Nick72]

Sone fol say they cznt stand the sound. Saying it is a whine.

Doesn't sound like to me. Love the instant power, hardly any wind up sound. It's just full on each reasonable depress of the throttle.

[ernieb]

I find it reassuring that there is a sound, especially one that relates to the speed of the car.  It's certainly not intrusive but enough to help the old brain relate to the cars movement.

[spicyhotone]

Definitely agree that I love the instant power, but I still find the sound somewhat disconcerting. My observation is that the engine speed/sound is not in proportion to speed (unlike a conventional gearbox) - the revs I think are more of a function of the power requested, and that clever planetary gearbox in combination with an electric motor transforms that constant speed into the speed required at the wheels. So, put your foot down, and you get an instant roar of full power, rather than the spin up as the car accelerates you'd normally expect. It's disconcerting because I'm conditioned to the traditional gradual spinup of an accelerating engine/gearbox.
I guess it feels almost embarrassing as to an external ear it sounds almost as if you've selected the wrong gear, ploughing along in 1st gear at maximum revs! Still, the "external ear" will be left far behind in a few seconds, so who cares!

[Flatcoat]

I just turn up the volume on the radio….. 

[Catlover]

1 hour ago, spicyhotone said:

Definitely agree that I love the instant power, but I still find the sound somewhat disconcerting. My observation is that the engine speed/sound is not in proportion to speed (unlike a conventional gearbox)
I guess it feels almost embarrassing as to an external ear it sounds almost as if you've selected the wrong gear, ploughing along in 1st gear at maximum revs! Still, the "external ear" will be left far behind in a few seconds, so who cares!

Hi Paul, do you fancy going back to a manual gearbox?   

Doesnt bother me what others think, in fact "external ears" probably never hear it.

It obviously means you put your foot down pretty hard, and you right the sound is not proportional to speed so I just ease off and let normal sound that is proportional to speed take over. Must admit, it doesnt happen often in my car..... boy racer days well gone, I just like to move at a good pace with ease.

[Flatcoat]

There are occasions I miss having a manual and the growl of a straight 6 or V8…… driving is becoming a bit like piloting a computer. And a RAV hardly sets the standard for handling and back road chuckable enjoyment….. I miss my 944T! 

[ernieb]

Joe, I think you’re correct ‘external ears’ probably don’t hear much. I’ve found even with the front speaker sound at low speeds people still get surprised the car is there especially in EV drive. 

[Nick72]

12 hours ago, ernieb said:

I find it reassuring that there is a sound, especially one that relates to the speed of the car.  It's certainly not intrusive but enough to help the old brain relate to the cars movement.

True. Same.

[Nick72]

10 hours ago, spicyhotone said:

Definitely agree that I love the instant power, but I still find the sound somewhat disconcerting. My observation is that the engine speed/sound is not in proportion to speed (unlike a conventional gearbox) - the revs I think are more of a function of the power requested, and that clever planetary gearbox in combination with an electric motor transforms that constant speed into the speed required at the wheels. So, put your foot down, and you get an instant roar of full power, rather than the spin up as the car accelerates you'd normally expect. It's disconcerting because I'm conditioned to the traditional gradual spinup of an accelerating engine/gearbox.
I guess it feels almost embarrassing as to an external ear it sounds almost as if you've selected the wrong gear, ploughing along in 1st gear at maximum revs! Still, the "external ear" will be left far behind in a few seconds, so who cares!

Yeh I think that's the thing. Took me a few months to get used to. I love it.

[Nick72]

8 hours ago, Flatcoat said:

There are occasions I miss having a manual and the growl of a straight 6 or V8…… driving is becoming a bit like piloting a computer. And a RAV hardly sets the standard for handling and back road chuckable enjoyment….. I miss my 944T! 

Well it's an SUV at the end of the day. Had quite a few and I find this car handles better than the majority. There are better of course. 

But I cant go 80mph around a roundabout, on an A&E run like the AMG Merc. But the Merc wouldn't even go up our sloped drive it was so low. Had to park on the road.

[Cyker]

I really like the whine of an electric motor spinning up - I think it's a carryover from aircraft as I've always loved the sound of a jet engine spooling up, same with a turbo (Never liked the dump valve sound tho'!). It just sounds like a really powerful thing getting ready to go to me!

I'm also trying to retrain my brain to associate the engine sound with power instead of speed; It's not so bad at 'launch', as driving that gutless Mk2 meant I'm used to needing a smegload of revs to get it to shift from a standstill (Or go up a hill) anyway, and the noise helps curb my tendencies to waste loads of fuel by over-accelerating (That point where sure you can push the accelerator down more but there's not point as you won't accelerate any faster, just waste more fuel!) when I'm just hooning around for the sake of it.

I really like the sound of the 3-pot in the Mk4 tho - It's surprisingly refined with a slight burble at low RPM, but also sounds suitably grrrr at higher RPM  

I'm sure I'll grow up at some point...  

[Nick72]

1 hour ago, Cyker said:

I really like the whine of an electric motor spinning up - I think it's a carryover from aircraft as I've always loved the sound of a jet engine spooling up, same with a turbo (Never liked the dump valve sound tho'!). It just sounds like a really powerful thing getting ready to go to me!

I'm also trying to retrain my brain to associate the engine sound with power instead of speed; It's not so bad at 'launch', as driving that gutless Mk2 meant I'm used to needing a smegload of revs to get it to shift from a standstill (Or go up a hill) anyway, and the noise helps curb my tendencies to waste loads of fuel by over-accelerating (That point where sure you can push the accelerator down more but there's not point as you won't accelerate any faster, just waste more fuel!) when I'm just hooning around for the sake of it.

I really like the sound of the 3-pot in the Mk4 tho - It's surprisingly refined with a slight burble at low RPM, but also sounds suitably grrrr at higher RPM  

I'm sure I'll grow up at some point...  

All part of the driving experience. Got to enjoy it. 😉

[Lawnmowerman]

14 hours ago, Flatcoat said:

I just turn up the volume on the radio….. 

WHAT?................CAN'T QUITE HEAR YOU...........