Dual-clutch transmission for Volvo DRIVe

Swedish manufacturer launches automatic DRIVe diesels — with fuel efficiency to match manuals
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Volvo has announced a PowerShift DCT option for DRIVe diesel models in Europe, at no cost to fuel consumption and CO2 levels as for the six-speed manual versions.

Australia only gets DRIVe in one flavour: the C30 hatch with the super-frugal 1.6-litre oiler. But in Europe it’s available for larger models as well: the S60, V60, V70 and S80.

Senior R&D executive Peter Mertens said in a statement that this is the first auto variant the company has offered with the same fuel consumption as the manual version. The company attributes this to modifications in several areas: ECU and transmission software tweaks; reductions in transmission friction; a stop/start system that doesn’t wait for a full halt but cuts the engine when the car is still rolling (below 5 km/h), and tweaks to all electrical systems to minimise energy consumption.

For the C30, the official combined-cycle figure is 3.8L/100km, but it was not with too much effort that motoring.com.au’s Matt Brogan managed 1550km from its 52-litre tank, which averages out at 3.35L/100km. Over three weeks of a long-term test, he squeezed around 4.0L/100km out of it, city and highway.

Volvo claims the mid-sized S60 sedan with the same engine and PowerShift DCT is good for 4.3L/100km, which translates into 114 g/km. In the V60 and V70 wagons and the larger S80 sedan, the same drivetrain is good for 4.5L/100km and 119 g/km.

A PowerShift option for the C30 DRIVe doesn’t appear in the company’s just-released local MY12 lineup. Asked about the prospect of seeing it here, Volvo Car Australia spokeswoman Jaedene Hudson says the company has no plans to extend the local DRIVe range beyond the single current offering of a C30 manual.

In recent years, Volvo has seized on emissions reduction as an opportunity to re-emerge from the doldrums of the decade from the mid-1990s to the mid-late 2000s. With a substantial cash injection from new owner Geely, it has allocated around 30 per cent of its total research budget into emissions reduction. In 2010, Volvo managed to cut its aggregate CO2 emissions by nine per cent.

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