Volvo mulling over more green cars

Volvo Australia has already confirmed its ultra-efficient DRIVe version of the C30 hatchback will be arriving locally in March along with a mid-life upgrade for the entire C30 range.

But the expanding range of low emission DRIVe models from Volvo, which now includes the S40, V50 and the recently announced S80 and V70 variants, have not been confirmed for Australia yet. The Swedish car maker has decided to take a 'wait and see' approach in Australia, using the C30 DRIVe as a litmus test of sorts.

Volvo expects the C30 DRIVe model to be in the top three of Australia's most efficient cars, behind the Toyota Prius and Ford Fiesta ECOnetic, with an anticipated fuel consumption figure of 3.9L/100km. Carbon dioxide emissions are likely to be equally low, with Volvo claiming less than 100 grams per kilometre.

Laurissa Mirabelli, the Public Affairs Manager for Volvo Car Australia, told the Carsales Network that other low emission DRIVe variants, such as the S80 and V70, were not a forgone conclusion for our market.

"We will see how customers respond to the Volvo C30 DRIVe before we make a decision on other DRIVe models," said Mirabelli.

"Other models [in the DRIVe range] are available if we want them, but we will do more research and wait for the response to the C30 DRIVe."

The Volvo C30 DRIVe is powered by a 1.6-litre turbodiesel engine outputting around 105kW/240Nm, and like all models in the DRIVe range it features various fuel saving modifications, such as improved aerodynamics (lower ride height, low drag wheels etc) and a modified engine control unit to suit economic driving.

Volvo has yet to finalise the pricing and specification on the C30 DRIVe.

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