Accord07

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Even my lowly minivan registers 67 dbA when cruising at 70 mph in Car and Driver testing. After all it is mostly wind and road noise, when the engine is revving at only 1560 rpm. Using laminated glass to aid soundproofing isn't exactly new, Honda Odyssey has had it in the windshield on most trim level for four years, and on the top trim that applies to driver and passenger windows as well. When I had to replace the windshield last year, the new one plus labor and calibration (of the windshield mounted camera for driver assistance features) at Safelite cost $1,200.

It is certainly not as quiet as some of the luxury cars, but registering in the low 60s is as good as any vehicle can accomplish when cruising at 70 mph.

Electric vehicles are much quieter when accelerating - my minivan approaches 80 dbA at full throttle - but when cruising the noise level is comparable to that in ICE vehicles.
 

sockmeister

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As @DBC said, they're comparing the wrong car. Why would they compare the Model Y Long Range against the Select trim Mach-e? wtf...
 

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I can confirm that I measured the noise levels in the Model Y with my sound meter to be 74-76 DB. Have never had access to a Mach E yet.
 

SolarAB

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I can confirm that I measured the noise levels in the Model Y with my sound meter to be 74-76 DB. Have never had access to a Mach E yet.
Other measurements from test drives:

2019 Bolt Premier: 82 db
2020 E-tron Technik: 70-74 db
2019 Kona Electric: 72 db

If the Mach E makes it into the 66 db range, that is truly impressive. I just booked a test drive and will report back on the noise levels measured.
 
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DBC

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Other measurements from test drives:

2019 Bolt Premier: 82 db
I'm going to measure my Bolt on the same stretch as I used when measuring the MME. Different year but can't imagine that would matter. It's loud. Not sure 82 dBA loud, my guess is something in the upper 70s.

Will be interesting to see.

It's funny. People say that the Bolt isn't suitable for long trips because it's limited to 50 kW charging. I think it's not suitable because it's so freaking loud. LOL

If the Mach E makes it into the 66 db range, that is truly impressive.
The video is pretty definitive that it did. ;) That's measured on a good calibrated sound meter so the meter is accurate. However, as mentioned, it spent time, maybe more time, in the 67-68 range as well.
 
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jksu

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agreed, price (for comparatively spec'd cars and available tax credit), braking distance, range, and noise level all seem off in the Y's favor compared to real-world reviews.

only places the Y is accurately slightly ahead of mach-e are probably 1/4 mile and acceleration. not sure why having curb weight on there is useful.

Not sure I'd rely on this article very heavily. For starters, contrary to what the article is claiming, I don't think there is any question that the MME gets at least as much range as the MY. The real question is probably how much more, not how much less. Odd because Car and Driver has written about how Teslas never manage to get close to their EPA range and has even has published an article explaining how Tesla games the system to come up with the inflated EPA range numbers.

The other puzzling mistake is claiming the Model Y costs less than the MME. It costs more once you take the tax credit into account. Should be obvious that you have to take the credits into account. Moreover, since Tesla advertised its MSRP after the tax credit when it still had them available, according to Tesla the MME costs $47,200.

AFAIK the 0-60 MPH times are the same. Maybe they used are referring to the Acceleration Boost which Tesla will sell you for $2K?

On the sound test, I don't have a ton of experience with the MY or the Kona, but having ridden in the MY I truly doubt the difference is 1 dB. Might not be 10 but it's way more than 1 dB. In this regard, Car and Driver found the Chevy Bolt to be 1 dB lounder than the Kia. I own a Bolt and I think they need to put the crack pipe down if they think the Bolt is only 2 dB louder than the MME. I'll measure it but I can tell you that is a ridiculous number.

There are reasons why the MME is winning a lot of awards and the MY isn't. Driving dynamics are probably a big part of that, but NVH likely also plays a role.

Seems like an article meant to be provocative rather than informative.
 

highland58

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As mentioned above somewhere, the type of road surface will change the tire noise. New asphalt would be the quietest and older concrete the loudest, so for apples to apples comparison the tests need to be on the same type of surface.
 
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prdude

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Looking at overall noise levels, whether using dBA or sones, can be useful for general vehicle to vehicle comparisons. But such overall noise level measurements don't tell the full story. Reducing road/wind/tire noise can "drain the swamp" and allow one to more easily perceive localized noise sources, such us the instrument cluster noise and windshield header noise that some folks have noted.
 

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dB scale is logarithmic, so a factor of 2 for every 10 dB. The Teslas are more than twice as loud as the Mach E! Very impressive for the MME.
It's actually a factor of 10 for every 10 dB!
So between 60 and 70 it's 1 million vs 10 million "units".
You are both right. An increase of 10db means 10 times more acoustic energy. However, since the human perception of loudness is also logarithmic, 10x increase in power is perceived as twice as loud.

So going from 60dB to 70dB is 10 times the energy, and would be heard as "twice as loud" by a human.
 

SolarAB

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Other measurements from test drives:

2019 Bolt Premier: 82 db
2020 E-tron Technik: 70-74 db
2019 Kona Electric: 72 db

If the Mach E makes it into the 66 db range, that is truly impressive. I just booked a test drive and will report back on the noise levels measured.
Completed the Mach E test drive today. 72 db in residential areas; 78 db on the highway at 130 km/hr
 
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DBC

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Completed the Mach E test drive today. 72 db in residential areas; 78 db on the highway at 130 km/hr
Your measurements don't pass the sniff test. You can have a conversation in a normal voice in the MME even at 85 MPH, something which wouldn't be possible if the ambient was 78 dB. Don't even need a sound meter for that one.

What settings did you use, exactly? And is your sound meter calibrated? Something is seriously wrong. I might buy 72 dB on the highway but I have to call BS on 78.
 

SolarAB

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Your measurements don't pass the sniff test. You can have a conversation in a normal voice in the MME even at 85 MPH, something which wouldn't be possible if the ambient was 78 dB. Don't even need a sound meter for that one.

What settings did you use, exactly? And is your sound meter calibrated? Something is seriously wrong. I might buy 72 dB on the highway but I have to call BS on 78.
This was just a sound meter app on my phone. I came across this interesting comparison of sound measurements from Car & Driver:

Ford Mustang Mach-E Noise Level (dBA Decibels) in Mach-E Interior With Comparison to Model Y EV comparison chart
 
 




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