Eco-conscious Volvo customer can now order the Volvo S60 or V60 in a particularly economical 'DRIVe' version (pronounced Drive-e ), with CO2 emissions of 114g/km and 119 g/km respectively.
These correspond to fuel consumption of 4.4 and 4.6 l/100km 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 says this means buyers can now choose from a total of seven models with CO2 emissions below 120g/km, three of them below the 100g/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 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 moddle 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 (115bhp ); D3 (163bhp ) and D5 (205bhp ) plus one petrol engine – T4 (180bhp ) for Irish buyers.
The prices in Ireland for the S60 and V60 D2 DRIVe variants start with the “D2” 1.6D 115bhp 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 120g/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."
