Volvo improves its big fuel-savers
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Volvo has improved the eco-oriented DRIVe versions of its big S80 saloon and V70 estate. According to official figures, these cars now emit just 119g/km of CO2, beating all but a handful small runabouts; that puts them into Vehicle Excise Duty Band C, which means they attract road tax of only £35. Combined cycle fuel consumption improves from 57.7 to 62.8mpg.
Of the cars with which the two Volvos might naturally be compared, only the latest version of BMW's 320d incorporating that company's fuel-saving EfficientDynamics technology, does better, with emissions of just 109g/km, although the S80 and V70 are closer in size, if not price, to the 5 Series than the 3 Series.
Volvo has achieved the improvement – previously the big DRIVe models emitted 129g/km of CO2 - by allowing the alternator to recharge the battery only under low load and by lowering friction on the belt that drives the alternator and air conditioning compressor. A similar modification has already been seen on the Ford Focus ECOnetic, which shares its 1.6 litre diesel engine with the Volvos. Volvo probably has scope to improve the S80 and V70 DRIVe variants even further; they have not so far been fitted with the stop-start technology that has already been incorporated into the eco versions of some other Fords and Volvos using the same engine.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments