Volvo bullish over new Drive-E powertrain family
Volvo is talking up its new two-litre, four-cylinder Drive-E powertrain family as providing the perfect balance between low emissions and power. When installed under the bonnet of a S60 and coupled to a manual gearbox, the premium D-segment model emits just 99g/km and returns 74.3 miles to the gallon (on the combined cycle), yet with 181 hp on tap it offers the driver an engaging and spirited drive.
“During the development phase of our Drive-E powertrains, we promised to bring efficient driving pleasure into a new dimension. The official European NEDC certification now confirms that we outperform competitors when it comes to power versus CO2 emissions.” said Derek Crabb, Vice President Powertrain Engineering at Volvo Car Group.
The Drive-E diesels feature world-first i-ART technology with pressure feedback from each fuel injector instead of using a traditional single pressure sensor in the common rail. Each injector has an intelligent chip on top of it that monitors injection pressure. The i-ART system uses this individual injector information to ensure the optimum amount of fuel is used during each combustion cycle.
“The combination of injection pressure at 2,500 bar and i-ART technology gives the customer an engine with high performance, improved fuel economy and considerably lower emissions. It is a breakthrough comparable to our invention of the lambda sensor for the catalytic converter in 1976.” continued Crabb.
It isn’t just diesel power that the Swedish carmaker has been working on, a new S60 T6 is set to launch at some point next year and it promises to deliver a whopping 306 horsepower yet is expected to emit under 153g/km of CO2, making it the first car in its segment that delivers over two horsepower per gram of CO2 from a combustion engine only. The car accelerates from 0-62 mph in 5.9 seconds. The new T6 makes use of both turbo charge and supercharger technology, with the latter used to fill in the bottom end of the torque curve. The turbocharger then kicks in when the airflow builds up.
“We have created a range of smaller, more intelligent engines with power curves that give exciting driveability compared with engines with more cylinders. At the same time we continue to reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions,” concluded Crabb.
Available to order now on MY14 iterations of the following Volvo models (S60, V60, XC60, V70, XC70 and S80), it can be specified in either six-speed manual or with a new eight-speed automatic gearbox.