VOLVO has given us 60, 70 and 80 ranges a visual lift with a new nose treatment and a host of interior tweaks.
There’s good new for business users, too, with the arrival of the V60 Plug-in Hybrid and improvements in fuel consumption on many other models.
The styling changes are aimed at making the big Volvos look lower and wider. Radiator grilles are bigger, and changes to the lights and bumpers are designed to give the cars a visual stretch as well.
The V60 Plug-in Hybrid is the world’s first diesel hybrid
Inside, several models get the TFT-based Adaptive Digital Display already seen on the V40. This uses an LCD screen instead of traditional analogue instruments, and its appearance can be adapted according to the driver’s preference.
There are also enhancements to Volvo’s Sensus in-car infotainment system – in particular, the Sensus Connected Touch accessory provides access to web browsing (when stationary) and several app-based services such as Internet radio.
The V60 Plug-in Hybrid, the world’s first diesel plug-in hybrid, has a 2.4-litre five-cylinder turbodiesel engine producing 215 PS and 440 Nm of torque. It drives the front wheels via a six-speed automatic gearbox, while a separate 70 PS 200 Nm electric motor powers the rear wheels.
In standard Hybrid mode the new car delivers CO2 emissions of 48g/km on the NEDC cycle. Alternatively, in Pure mode, the car has a battery range of 31 miles, while in Power mode, it calls upon the full output of the diesel and electric motors to get from rest to 0-62 mph in 6.1 seconds.
Mainstream 60, 70 and 80 series diesel models get better emissions and fuel economy, with the 1.6-litre four-cylinder 115 PS D2 diesel in the Volvo S80 automatic saloon, for example, delivering 68.9 mpg and emissions of 109 g/km. The Volvo V70 D2 automatic achieves 65.7 mpg and 112 g/km.
Among cars fitted with Volvo’s larger, more powerful, five-cylinder diesel engines, automatic D3 and D4 versions of the S80 now deliver 129g/km while the equivalent V70 estates emit 130 g/km. The XC70 crossover with either the D4 or D5 diesel engine achieves 53.3 mpg and 139 g/km in manual all-wheel drive form.
The smaller 60 series cars enjoy similar advances, with the S60 D2 manual achieving 70.6 mpg and 106 g/km, for example.
New Volvo XC90 SUV on its way
Volvo has said the first product of a huge new multi-billion dollar investment in new cars and engines will be a replacement for the long-serving Volvo XC90.
The new XC90 SUV will feature what Volvo calls SPA – because car companies just love acronyms – for Scalable Product Architecture.
It means that future Volvo models can be designed on one platform which can then be upsized or downscaled depending on the model requirements.
The new Volvo XC90 will also feature the new VEA (here we go again!) – Volvo Engine Architecture.
This means that there will be no future six-cylinder or five-cylinder Volvo models; the new low CO2 emission company car tax friendly VEA range will be four-cylinder units and will included electric hybridisation among the features. Rather like the new Volvo V60 Plug-in Hybrid.
The new Volvo XC90, which is likely to remain a seven-seater, is expected to debut in 2014.
