Comment by gambiting | Hacker News Reader

Comment by gambiting | Hacker News Reader

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>>(XC40 T8 EV).

Such model doesn't exist. Do you mean XC60? And if so then it's not an EV, it's a PHEV.

Anyway, Volvo made a collosal mistake of going with the Android Automotive operating system. It looks good but it's genuienly a pile of steaming crap. When Volvo had Sensus(their own OS) yeah it wasn't pretty but it was stable and it worked day in day out. I have a 2020 XC60 T8 with sensus and I literally have had zero issues with this car. But the new AOSS models? Oh boy, the main advice on facebook Volvo groups is to just start your drive by hard resetting the system to avoid freezes during operation(!!!!!). If you don't have GSM signal you don't get maps since the car doesn't store them locally anymore. The cars randomly lose cameras, sound stops working until full reboot, and whenever there is an OS upgrade(which is often) you have to roll the dice on what else it's going to break today.

>>I just want a luxury car that is grand, silent, feels nice, is nice to drive, and doesn't blast my eyes with screens.

Honestly find the same car but with Sensus instead, you will find the experience a lot more like what you're looking for.

XC40 was renamed to EX40 in 2024 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volvo_XC40.

There is an EX40, that's the EV model. But the XC40 still continues to be sold:

https://www.volvocars.com/uk/cars/xc40/

The wikipedia link literally quotes:

> In 2024, Volvo renamed the battery electric XC40 to the Volvo EX40, aligning it with newer battery electric models such as the EX30 and the EX90.

Which makes me think Volvo sold their cars with the old name but other engine options, electric being one of them. They split "XC40" into "XC40 (ICE)" and "EX40 (BEV)".

The XC40 T8 EV does exist. I know, because I owned one. It was a 2022 model I think, got it late 2021. The renamed it a few times after that. I basically had one of the first XC40 EVs on the local market. I ordered it before they were in the showrooms.

EDIT: I looked up the invoice; they called it a "XC40 Recharge Level III P8 BEV AWD AT". I think it had a P8 TE badge ("Twin Engine"). So it wasn't T8. I got it Sep 2021. It was also the first model with the Android system.

Was just going to suggest it was a P8: T8 was the hybrid system used on 60/90 series.

I disagree with that. I really like the Android infotainment system because 1) voice control actually works and 2) built in Google maps is all I want in a car and they work very well.

As far as I can tell the issues they have had is with their poor software engineering team and picking extremely mediocre hardware that is too slow to run it.

>>1) voice control actually works

English is not my native language so I'm yet to find a car where this works. But it's not a problem with the car, it's Google's voice assistant being useless for anything other than English sounding names. I can say "Google call Janusz Zawadiadzki" and there's exactly 0% chance it will work. It just can't do it. Don't get me started on it trying to read texts that aren't written in English when the system language is set to English, it's hilarious.

>> picking extremely mediocre hardware that is too slow to run it.

It freezing and losing sound and generally being in all kinds of non-operational state isn't due to the hardware being slow, it just doesn't pass muster for automotive-grade software which should never exhibit any of these behaviours no matter what.

I'd be pretty surprised if any other voice assistant would do better in this instance. I can't speak for how useful it is outside of English but I am fairly confident whatever the manufacturer comes up with would be much worse.

Regarding the freezing and all the other issues, I've not experienced any of that at all. It's been rock solid for me. We didn't buy it at release though which is maybe why we have such drastically different experiences. We have also bought a used one for about 50% of the original cost which is why is another reason I'm probably more forgiving than you, if you had purchased it brand new.

My Renault Megane e-Tech has Android and it was far better than whatever the other cars used.

One point Renault did right was use beefy enough hardware. They went[1] with an automotive Qualcomm Snapdragon, while it seems Volvo and others went with an Intel Atom.

All I know is it's smooth like a good tablet.

While voice recognition is not perfect in Norwegian, it was also by far the better one. A lot of room for improvement though, like if I say "call Merete" it won't find my contact named "Merethe", which is pronounced exactly the same here.

[1]: https://9to5google.com/2021/09/06/android-automotive-renault...

As an owner of a 2020 V90CC (which was the last of the Sensus models), I have to disagree. I’m never buying another Volvo based purely on the terrible software experience that Sensus provides. Only being able to use half the screen for CarPlay, random crashes, features that simply don’t work, map updates that are permanently “installing”, blasting me with 1-2 seconds of radio at full volume at random when I’m playing from my phone.. zero acknowledgement from Volvo on the issue (we can’t replicate it).

I’d take the android auto version any day, but I’ve just replaced the car with a different brand. Unfortunately you can’t escape the relentless notifications and beeps no matter what the brand is these days, but at least the software is stable in the new car.

I just want CarPlay and for the car to get out of the way. Where’s the CarPlay 2 vehicles? They can’t come fast enough.

Ha, it's funny how everyone has completely different experiences it seems. I've owned my XC60 for over 5 years not and literally genuienly had zero issues with this car - software or hardware wise. Never had a single software crash.

>>Only being able to use half the screen for CarPlay

I don't know, that just never really bothered me? I use the built-in satnav anyway since it's necessary for the hybrid system optimization to work.

> yeah it wasn't pretty but it was stable and it worked day in day out.

I've driven a V40 with Sensus for 10 years and noticed a 'watchdog reboot' while driving _twice_. Which means the map goes out and comes back in a few seconds; the digital gauges run another OS (QNX I believe) and remain rock solid...

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