Volvo has announced its first ‘Drive-E’ powertrains will be launched in Europe later this year and will make their way to Australia in time. The four-cylinder petrol engines use supercharging and turbocharging while the four-cylinder diesels are twin-turbocharged.
First-up in Europe will be the 228kW petrol turbo T6, the 182kW T5 and the 135kW D4 turbo-diesel – all for the S60, V60 and XC60. The T5 and D4 are also available in the V70, XC70 and S80. The new powerplants have been developed in-house and are manufactured at the Skovde, Sweden plant.
As well, Volvo has introduced an eight-speed automatic transmission and the six-speed manual has been improved.
Volvo says the new four-cylinder engines deliver better performance than current six-cylinder powerplants and fuel consumption less than current four-cylinder units.
The Drive-E diesels debut ‘i-Art’ technology – which replaces the usual single pressure sensor in the common-rail injection unit with sensors in each injector. Running up to 2500bar in injector rail pressure, Volvo’s i-Art system means the new twin-turbo diesels are both more powerful and more fuel-efficient.
All Volvo Drive-e engines are configured for future hybrid development – the compact size of the four-cylinder engines means the electric motor can be fitted fore or aft and the battery pack will be located in the centre of the vehicle.
