Volvo has revealed details about their all-new engine line-up, called Drive-E, which includes both petrol and diesel motors.
These new engines, to be launched later this year, are the result of considerable investment by the company in their VEA (Volvo Engine Architecture) program, which aims to improve performance and efficiency using advanced techniques of extracting more from less. Downsizing, forced induction, direct injection, friction reduction and more supplementary technology have all been combined to make this possible. The engines are four-cylinder units with a displacement of 2.0-litres.
The new petrol line comprises the T5 and the new T6. The T5 uses turbocharging to make 245 PS and 350 Nm of torque. The more powerful T6 uses turbocharging and supercharging to produce 306 PS and 400 Nm of torque. Remember, this is a 2.0-litre, turbo-supercharged engine and these figures are + 2 PS and – 40 Nm from the outgoing 3.0-litre, inline-6 cylinder T6; being identical to what BMW offers in their 35i-badged variants using their TwinPower Turbo 3.0-litre straight-six. More variants of the petrol engine, as well as updated versions of the 1.6-litre capacity engine, badged the T3 and T4, are expected to follow with power output figures starting from 140 PS.
The diesel line will include the D2, D3, D4 and possibly even a D5 version. Volvo has confirmed that output figures will be between 120 PS and 230 PS, while torque figures are yet to be announced. The D4-badged engine produces 185 PS. The diesel engines will also feature Volvo’s unique i-ART technology featuring pressure feedback from each fuel injector instead of using a traditional single pressure sensor in the common rail. This makes it possible to continuously monitor and adapt fuel injection per combustion cycle in each of the four cylinders.
The new engines will be offered with the company’s new 8-speed automatic transmission, while some will even receive tweaked 6-speed manuals. No word yet on their intelligent all-wheel-drive system, but we expect an update to follow soon. Volvo has also confirmed an all-new XC90 for MY2015, and it will be revealed late next year. At present, the revamped Volvo model line-up with automatic transmissions have begun receiving paddle-shift systems as well. Major updates in the pipeline, then!
