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Difficult question to answer, you just have to compare similar size cars fuel mileage and acceleration times. For example a Toyota Camry Hybrid will get about 50 MPG city and Highway, the Accord Hybrid in top trim level gets about 45 MPG. My experience is that all BMW’s are relatively fast. Any car that does 0-60 MPH in less than 8 seconds is fast enough for every-day use. Overall, it really depends on what you are used to and how aggressively you drive.
The main problem with EV’s is their mass. They are typically 40 to 50% heavier than a similar ICE or hybrid vehicle. Weight is the enemy of everything a car needs to do: acceleration, braking cornering, responsiveness. Remember that acceleration is not proportional to engine power or torque, it is proportional to the power / weight ratio. note that engine torque is meaningless. From my POV, fun-to-drive is inversely proportional to vehicle mass and proportional to the power/weight. EV’s should be more reliable than hybrids since the powertrain is really simple, but many brands/models of EV’s have less than stellar reliability results. I assume that is partly due to the newness of the manufacturing processes, and should be rapidly improving.
It is true that plug-in or full hybrids can let the engine temp drop fairly low during ordinary driving (depending on traffic conditions) when the system switches to electric drive or regen, and that adds some thermal cycles to the engine, but that is not a real issue for engine life and durability because the shut-downs and cool-offs are less damaging than idling. A hybrid hardly ever idles and idling (as I have written about here “Idling”) is tough on an engine. Also, the hybrid systems limit the amount that the coolant temp can drop in cold weather because the powertrain computer prioritizes having enough coolant temp to keep the cabin warm.
Regarding the fun to drive question, compare the vehicle masses and Power/weights. The lighter vehicle should handle better and feel more agile and the lower Kg/HP vehicle will accelerate faster.
The Hybrid system batteries, electronics, and motor are extremely reliable and durable. The batteries are usually Li-ion which have huge lifetimes. My son has a Prius with more than 300,000 miles with the original everything except rear wheel bearings. The starter/generator is more robust than an ordinary alternator. A full or plug-in Hybrid will have better fuel economy than a mild hybrid by a large margin. The disadvantage of a plug-in over a regular full hybrid is the added size and weight of the battery pack. Every vehicle that is available as both a plug-in and a non-plug in hybrid sacrifices cargo space for the larger battery. The full plug-in Hybrid BMW 330 should be as reliable as the mild-hybrid M240i and has the advantage of a pure-electric AC compressor (no belt or clutch). Take a look under the hood of a Toyota, Lexus, or Honda/Acura hybrid (except for some of the trucks and large SUV”s) and you will see that there are not even any belt-driven accessories. Also their transmissions are super simple and robust.
Hybrid systems are generally very reliable (especially Toyota and Honda) and mild hybrid systems (48V) offer typically 5-10% fuel economy benefit. Full Hybrids offer much more fuel economy benefit. The other advantage of a mild hybrid is that the fuel saving stop/start system doesn’t use the noisy starter motor, it uses the hybrid alternator which you generally won’t even hear or feel it restart the engine. All wheel drive generally will cost you a couple of MPG compared to just rear wheel drive. In general the 4-cylinder turbo will yield significantly better fuel economy than the 6-cylinder. As far as the 3.0 engine not working as hard, that is not an issue for normal driving because the average power needed for cruising is only a tiny fraction of peak power for either engine. Overall the X-drive mild hybrid will be roughly as fuel efficient and just as reliable as the 330i, though I do not know if the transfer case is still an issue. The 330 mild hybrid will be the most fuel efficient choice.
Adhesives are basically made of plastic, and they have a fraction of the strength of Aluminum or steel, but make up for that in area. Each spot-weld is fairly small, but you can increase the area or number of them.
The strength of any glue is not even close to that of a weld. Glues are effective in sheet-metal seams to supplement spot-welds and protect against corrosion. Glues can be effective where the total area of the glued joint can be large (like in a long seam) to make up for the relative weakness of the glue.
This is a bit outside my expertise, but if the Prius ABS module does not carry the same part number as your SUV, it is extremely unlikely that it is compatible with your braking system.
If you mean a McPherson strut, the answer is no. The long shiny rod must be perfectly straight and smooth to work as a shock absorber.
the issue can be misalignment due to bent suspension components, or worn out suspension bushings or bearings. the first thing I would so is get the vehicle lifted with the wheels off and inspect everything in the front and rear suspensions. If you don’t see anything obvious, try to align all 4 wheels.
It could be many things. To begin diagnosis, the very first thing to do is hookup an OBD reader at the OBD (Onboard Diagnostics) connector under the dash and read any stored codes. Even if the check engine light is not lit, any engine misfire condition should trip a fault code. Starting this way is much more sensible than just replacing parts.
Dave
