Volvo V60 Diesel-Electric Plug-in Hybrid Returns 125 MPG, will Debut at Geneva Show

* Standard 2011 Volvo V60 shown in photos

The 2011 Geneva Motor Show will host the world premiere of the Volvo V60 Plug-in Hybrid, a near production-ready model that is said to return a very impressive 125 mpg US (1.9 lt/100 km), with CO2 emissions under 50 g/km. In order to achieve this, engineers entered a new variable into the plug-in hybrid equation: a diesel engine.

The V60’s front wheels are driven by a 2.4-liter 5-cylinder turbo diesel powerplant capable of 215HP and 440 Nm (325 lb-ft) of torque, mated to a six-speed automatic transmission. At the back, there's a 70HP electric motor that powers the rear wheels and a 12kWh lithium-ion battery pack.

According to Volvo, the V60 Plug-in Hybrid “features the very best properties from three different car types in one sports wagon”, including an all-electric driving mode with a range of up to 32 miles (52 km).

“In order to get true car enthusiasts to think green, you have to offer them the opportunity to drive with low carbon dioxide emissions without taking away the adrenaline rush that promotes genuine driving pleasure. The V60 Plug-in Hybrid has all the traditional properties of a genuine sports wagon. What we've done is to spice it up with spearhead technology”, said Stefan Jacoby, President and CEO of Volvo Cars.

Jointly developed by Volvo and Swedish energy supplier Vattenfall, the V60 Plug-in Hybrid is scheduled to enter series production in 2012.

By Csaba Daradics

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U.S.-spec 2012 Volvo S60 T5 Gets Lower Base Price, Special Introductory Lease Rate

Volvo's US division has dropped prices for the S60 T5 FWD model, which starts at $30,795, excluding an $875 destination fee. That’s $450 less than the previous base price. The updated offer is also accompanied by a special introductory lease rate plan of $299/month, available until February 28, 2011.

The T5’s standard equipment includes among other things, power driver seat with memory, power folding rear head restraints, front and rear sport seats, leather steering wheel with metal inlays, dual-zone air conditioning, infotainment and 8-speaker sound system, Bluetooth hands-free phone interface, T-Tec textile upholstery and 17-inch alloys.

There’s no shortage of safety systems as well, such as Corner Traction Control by torque vectoring, Advanced Stability Control, Dynamic Stability and Traction Control (DSTC), Whiplash Protection Seating System (WHIPS) and a host of airbags.

Furthermore, the S60 includes Volvo’s Safe+Secure Coverage Plan, which means owners pay nothing to repair or maintain their vehicles for 5 year or 60,000 miles, minus when replacing the tires.

The coverage plan specifically comprises:

5 years/60,000 miles of New Car Warranty

5 years/60,000 miles of Complimentary Factory Scheduled Maintenance

5 years/60,000 miles of Wear and Tear Coverage

5 years/Unlimited miles of Volvo On Call Roadside Assistance

The S60 T5 is motivated by a turbocharged 2.5-liter 5-cylinder engine, delivering 250HP and 266 lb-ft (361 Nm) of torque – or 295 lb-ft (401 Nm) in “over boost” mode. Power is sent to the front wheels through Volvo’s second-generation 6-speed automatic Geartronic transmission. The 0-to-60 mph (96 km/h) sprint takes just 6.8 seconds, while the top speed is electronically limited to 130 mph (209 km/h).

By Csaba Daradics

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Volvo UK Releases Prices on V60 Sports Wagon and R-Design Models

The new Volvo V60 won't be arriving in the UK before December, but today, the Swedish automaker released pricing and announced that it has begun accepting orders for the so-called sports wagon model.

In Britain, the V60 will be available in four trim levels and with a choice of petrol or diesel engines. Prices range from £23,145 for the 150PS T3 ES model, rising to £37,895 for the flagship 304PS T6 AWD SE Lux Geartronic Premium model. The spunkier R-Design models with styling and chassis upgrades will be available from £25,695.

According to Volvo, with the exception of the D3, all other V60s are priced £1,150 above equivalent S60 models.

At launch, two diesel and four petrol engines will be available to UK customers. The diesel range comprises of a 2.0-liter D3 unit producing 163PS and 400Nm, and a 2.4-liter D5 engine delivering 205PS and 420Nm torque.

The D3 engine returns 51.4mpg UK for the manual version (46.3mpg UK in Geartronic) and 144g/km of C02, while the D5 unit, 52.3mpg UK on the combined cycle (manual version) with CO2 emissions of 142g/km.

The entry-level petrol engine is a 1.6-liter T3 unit churning out 150PS and 240Nm. Available only with a six-speed manual gearbox, the T3 will return up to 42.2mpg UK on the combined cycle and emits 156g/km CO2.

Next up is the more powerful 1.6-liter T4 variant with 180PS and 240Nm, which is available with either six-speed manual or Geartronic transmission. The manual model goes from 0 to 60mph in 8.0 seconds and up to a top speed of 137mph, while delivering up to 42.2mpg UK with 156g/km CO2.

Further up the petrol range is the 2.0-liter T5 variant with 240PS and 320Nm torque. The T5 emits 189g/km CO2 in manual guise (194g/km Geartronic) and will return up to 34.9mpg UK on the combined cycle.

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FAIL No2: Volvo V60 Safety System Flub Ends with a Dead Dummy Named Bob

This is officially the second safety system demonstration in as many "Look at this!" announcements that has gone horribly wrong for Volvo. That's right, two. The first one was back in May and led to a new S60 estate crushing itself into the back of a truck - see the video here. This latest mishap occurred during a media demonstration to Australian journalists in Europe.

Now that the known-as-safe Volvo brand is officially owned by the Chinese, is this a sign of things to come?

The mechanism in question is part of Volvo's pedestrian avoidance technology, which makes use of cameras and radar in the nose of the vehicle to control the brakes and stability control system in order to reduce driver/pedestrian injuries. The object that the system was meant to detect was Bob the Dummy; as you can see in the vids below, it didn't detect a damn thing.

That's not to say the system is terrible; after all is said and done, it worked 75% of the time. Of the twelve runs, only one ended with Bob getting the full force of the Volvo unleashed on him, with the other two still being less than perfect. Some of the blame has been placed on a camera that doesn't work well in low-light conditions (infrared / night vision, guys?).

Volvo's Jonas Tisell, Active Safety Systems manager, told journalists, "The failure of the test was due to the dummy not being set up properly, therefore it did not give an echo enough for the system. So the dummy was not relevant in this situation." So...blame it on the dummy? And "not relevant"? How does being to blame (according to Volvo) translate as irrelevant?

More like Volvo just got caught with its pants down...again.

By Phil Alex

Via: Drive and Autoblog.com

Paris Preshow: New Volvo S60 and V60 R-Design

Volvo is trying to further enhance the appeal of its new 2011 S60 sedan and V60 station wagon models with the presentation of a new R-Design styling and handling package that will be available in autumn 2010. The Swedish firm's take on the BMW M Sport and Audi S-Line kits combines sporty visual upgrades inside and out, and a tweaked chassis for a sharper drive.

"These cars have been specially developed for buyers who want to put their very own stamp on their car," says Magnus Jonsson, head of Product Development at Volvo Cars.

"And with R-Design, we are attracting a younger target group. We expect that 10 percent of all S60 and V60 customers will choose the R-Design option on markets where it is available. We aim to win over one-third of these customers from competing brands."

On the outside, the R-Design treatment adds a front grille painted in glossy piano black, a more aggressive front bumper detailed in a matt black finish, a discreet boot lid spoiler (sedan) or roof spoiler (Estate) and a distinctive rear diffuser that houses twin exhaust tailpipes.

A new set of unique 18-inch five-spoke alloy wheels shod in sport tires completes the list of exterior changes.

Moving into the interior, the package includes a pair of body-hugging sport seats up front, special leather/textile upholstery available in off-black and ceramic light, or in an all-black, both with contrasting stitching, plus an R-Design steering wheel, gear selector, sports pedals and floor-mats.

Underneath the sheetmetal, Volvo's engineers have given the S60 and V60 models stiffer springs (+15%) and bushes (+20%), a lowered ride height (-15mm), new monotube dampers at the back, and a strut brace under the bonnet.

Stefan Sällqvist, manager of vehicle dynamics at Volvo Cars says: "The challenge was to boost the dynamics without making the chassis feel raw. If the chassis is too firm, even smooth tarmac can feel bumpy. We wanted a distinct yet plush feel. The car now has a more solid feel to it, which in turn helps make the steering feel even more responsive with a distinctive contact with the road."

The R-Design package can be combined with all available engines, ranging from the 115HP DRIVe 1.6-liter diesel unit to a 3.0-liter turbocharged-six petrol with 304 horsepower.

New Volvo V60 Sports Wagon: 2011 S60 gets Practical

Revealed ahead of its Paris Motor Show debut, the all-new Volvo V60 is the estate version of the recently launched 2011 S60 sedan. Aimed almost squarely at European buyers as Volvo projects that "no less than 90 percent" of the annual V60 production of 50,000 cars will find a home in Europe, the sporty-looking estate model will go on sale this fall.

Volvo describes the low slung V60 as a sports wagon with a coupe-like roofline. "The typical sports wagon customer is an S60 buyer who would like some extra space and flexibility, but without the slightest compromise on sporty design and exciting driving properties," says Volvo Cars President and CEO Stephen Odell.

However, Volvo's focus on looks come with a cost as the V60's boot space is a mere 430 liters with the rear seats up. That's compared to 460lt of the BMW 3-Series Touring, 485lt of the Mercedes C-Class Estate and 490lt of the Audi A4 Avant. The car will come equipped with a 40/20/40-split rear seat and the fold-flat front passenger seat.

Volvo has no problem admitting that the V60 isn't going to satisfy traditional estate buyers.

"From the design viewpoint the focus was on making the car as close to a coupe as possible, while retaining that handy extra space at the rear," say Örjan Sterner, head of exterior design for the new Volvo V60. "Our sports wagon does not aim to compete with the traditional estate car. For the customer who wants a lot of load space, there is our V70 or XC70."

Being a "sports wagon", Volvo claims the V60's handling and dynamics match those of the S60. The estate model will be offered with a choice of two chassis set ups, the standard in Europe dynamic chassis and the touring chassis. The difference between the two chassis concerns the dampers and the front and rear subframes, with the touring variant featuring a somewhat softer setting.

In addition to the two standard chassis, all variants of the V60 can be specified with the optional FOUR-C (Continuously Controlled Chassis Concept) active chassis, while there are also AWD versions of the V60.

The V60's engine lineup mirrors that in the S60 sedan and includes a variety of petrol and diesel units. There are five gasoline units, spanning from the 150HP 1.6-liter turbo to the flagship 304HP 3.0-liter turbocharged straight-six that propels the V60 to 100 km/h (62mph) in 6.6 seconds while returning a combined fuel consumption of 10.2lt/100km (23mpg US or 27.7mpg UK).

The diesel lineup includes three engines, a 1.6-liter with 115HP, a 2.0-liter with 163HP and a 2.4-liter with 205-horsepower.

The new V60 will come equipped with a raft of safety features such as Advanced Stability Control, a new Corner Traction Control, which is a further refinement of the Dynamic Stability and Traction Control (DSTC) system and Pedestrian Detection system.

Engine range

Petrol engines	Displacement	Configuration	Output	Torque
T6	3.0	6-cyl in-line	304 bhp	440 Nm
2.0T	2.0	4-cyl in-line	203 bhp	300 Nm
T5	2.0	4-cyl in-line	240 bhp	320 Nm
T4	1.6	4 cyl in-line	180 bhp	240 Nm
T3	1.6	4-cyl in-line	150 bhp	240 Nm
Diesel engines	Displacement	Configuration	Output	Torque
D5	2.4	5-cyl in-line	205 bhp	420 Nm
D3	2.0	5-cyl in-line	163 bhp	400 Nm
1.6 D DRIVe	1.6	4-cyl in-line	115 bhp	270 Nm