The eco-conscious Volvo customer can now order Volvo S60 or V60 in a particularly economical DRIVe version (pronounced Drive-e ), with CO2 emissions of 114 g/km and 119 g/km respectively. In turn these correspond to fuel consumption of 4.4 and 4.6 l/100 km for the S60 and V60. Both variants fall into tax band A in Ireland for both VRT (14 per cent ) and annual road tax (€104 ).
Volvo tells us that this means that buyers can now choose between a total of seven models with CO2 emissions below 120 g/km, three of them below the 100 g/km mark.
The Volvo S60 and V60’s upgraded 1.6-litre diesel engine also meets the Euro 5 emission standard introduced in January 2011. This further-developed engine in combination with a six-speed manual gearbox and start/stop function, has kept CO2 emissions down.
The Volvo DRIVe range was first launched in 2008, with the DRIVe badge sitting on those models that offer their best environmental performance in their size segments. The upgraded engine is already found in the DRIVe versions of the Volvo C30, S40 and V50, all with CO2 emissions of 99g/km. By the middle of this year the Volvo V70 DRIVe (119g ) and Volvo S80 DRIVe (119g ) will also become available with the further-enhanced Euro 5 diesel engine. There is also unconfirmed word that a V60 plug-in hybrid diesel will also join the range in 2012.
The D2 Engine creates a three diesel engine range - D2 (115 bhp ); D3 (163 bhp ); and D5 (205 bhp ) plus one petrol engine - T4 (180 bhp ) for Irish buyers.
The prices in Ireland for the S60 and V60 D2 DRIVe variants start with the D2 1.6D 115 bhp DRIVe S S60 €30,950 and V60 €32,950, both prices ex-works.
David Baddeley, Volvo Car Ireland MD told the Advertiser, “We have moved ahead very quickly since we launched our first three 119 gram models in Paris in autumn 2008. The fact that we now have seven models below 120 g/km, three of them below 100 grams, emphasises that few of our competitors can match us in the drive for increasingly eco-efficient cars
“This is particularly important for our customers in Ireland, with a very positive impact on buying and running costs.”
