[Fredvon4]

I know what it is and how it works....

That said on my drive home with new car (see signature) I was on a few roads that surprised me with the loud road noise

the first several miles were quiet. I eventually played with the THX and some of my music (sort of loud)

One of my songs sounded very bad so I turned down the volume and was assulted with some harsh low note road noise from new Michelin tires on a stretch of road with the surface that makes every tire louder

Not much perceptible wind noise so I am wondering if the active noise canceling is actually active

Any way to tell vs driving an hour to a dealer to have some tech plug it in and see

 

[midnite cruiser]

With the dual pane glass, deadening materials, and the noise cancelling so much of the 'upper' NVH is gone from the MKC leaving the tire and road noise pretty much all there is. And since it varies quite a bit with patches, pavement changes and all, it is what we notice.
It feels loud to me too, but when you strike up a conversation in an MKC you really notice how quiet it is-in total noise. Our roads around here are some of the oldest in the lower 48 and I notice which are newer.
Is the MKC having more tire noise than other cars? My wife's Volvo S60 is horrible (Michelins too). Any old body on frame vehicle is always quieter- unitbodies are a challenge for road isolation.
A similar thread asked about a way to turn of the ANC, and nothing seems to be easily switchable. So you might see if you can pull a fuse for the radio and it may knock off the amp feeding our speakers.

 

[ColdH2O]

Our MKC is very quiet on the road, much more so than the Toyota Highlander Limited that it replaced. The low profile Pirelli Cinturato tires that are stock on the 20-inch wheel option make no audible sounds.

 

[DeMarco]

Our MKC is very quiet on the road, much more so than the Toyota Highlander Limited that it replaced. The low profile Pirelli Cinturato tires that are stock on the 20-inch wheel option make no audible sounds.

I don't think that's a fair comparison though, more in line of being on level playing field is the RX vs MKC or the NX.

 

[ColdH2O]

I don't think that's a fair comparison though, more in line of being on level playing field is the RX vs MKC or the NX.

The base Toyota Highlander Limited with AWD starts at $42,000 for 2015. To replace our Highlander with a similarly appointed 2015 model it would have been priced at over $46,000.

By comparison, the MSRP on our 2015 MKC AWD Reserve was nearly $47,000 but we paid $41,000 because of the x-plan and other discounts.

So you decide whether it's a fair comparison to make between vehicles that are similarly priced and equipped. We think it is. And we think the comparison points out what a great bargain the MKC really is.