Volvo had officially released a special range of ultra efficient diesels to the outgoing S40, V50 and C30 models, which will be the center stage of attention at Volvo's booth during the Motor Show. All equipped with 1.6 ltr turbo diesel inline 4 cylinder engines, which is of no relevance to the word 'Performance' but performance is what it truly has, not in the sense of measuring against Time vs Distance covered, but something that rings more bells recently: Cost vs Distance.
Mated to a 5 speed manual transmission (That makes it Europe only I guess?), with the 3rd, 4th and 5th gear coupled to longer ratios, which would mean more linear, progressive acceleration rather than a strong surge of shove to the back. The interesting part that marks this DRIVe range visually different, is the effort Volvo had put in on the aerodynamics.
First of is of course the rims, which were almost all covered to cut down on turbulence, then the front intake grills are partly covered to smooth airflow over the bonnet, diffusers at the back of the car's undercarriage were also there to smooth air flow under the car. The S40 and C30 both gets small spoilers that guides air to glide past smoother, coupled with the low rolling resistance Michelins and a shift indicator for drivers to switch gear at the optimum rev. Using a rather low cost and low tech approach that is able to integrate into existing product portfolios and manufacturing infrastructures.
What does all this brings? An impressive 4.4ltr/100km, or 76 Miles per gallon. Let's wait for the real thing to be unveiled at the 2008 Paris Motor Show.
