Volvo’s eco-friendly automatics

Drivers who prefer the convenience of an automatic gearbox but are still worried about the higher fuel consumption and CO2 emissions may welcome the news from Volvo about their new and improved transmissions.

Volvo’s more environmentally sound DRIVe models now come with the option of the Powershift dual-clutch six-speed automatic gearbox on the S60, V60, V70 and S80. The good green news is that these boxes have the same fuel consumption and CO2 emissions as the manual variants thanks to plenty of hard work by the Swedish automaker’s powertrain experts.

The automatic versions of the Volvo V60, V70 and S80 all have a combined fuel consumption of 62.8mpg and CO2 emissions of 119g/km while the automatic S60 has combined consumption of 65.7mpg and emissions of 114g/km. The engine is Volvo’s newest four-cylinder 1.6-litre turbo diesel which pumps out 115bhp and 199lb-ft of torque.

Improvements to these powertrains include reduced friction, modified engine and gearbox software, a stop-start function to cut off the diesel engine when the car is still rolling below 3mph and brake energy regeneration. The automatics also offer a clutchless manual gear selection for when you want to shift it yourself.

Production on these models will start next February and the order books will open in early 2012.

Prices start at £25,230 for the S60 DRIVe, £26,405 for the V60 DRIVe, £27,730 for the V70 DRIVe and £26,980 for the S80 DRIVe.

www.volvocars.com/uk


By Georgia Lewis

Follow us @TotallyMotor