Volvo claims clean honours for XC90

THE drip-feed of information for Volvo’s XC90 continues, with the Swedish firm confirming consumption details of the upcoming SUV’s new T8 petrol-electric hybrid.

Meanwhile, Volvo’s performance arm Polestar has also announced a range of tuning options for the all-new Drive-E engine family.

The XC90’s range-topping T8 Twin Engine will generate 236kW and 400Nm from a new 2.0-litre, four-cylinder petrol engine, while 64kW and 240Nm will come from an electric motor, for brand-best combined figures of 299kW and 640Nm.

It will feed energy back into a 9.2kWh lithium-ion battery array, which contributes to a claimed EV-only range of 43km. Volvo says it will consume just 2.1 litres per 100 kilometres of petrol, while emitting just 29 grams of CO2 per kilometre.

Initial reports put the T8 Drive-E’s consumption at 2.5L/100km the improvements have resulted from further tuning, says Volvo.

Audi’s recently announced Q7 diesel-electric plug-in hybrid makes 370kW and 700Nm, while returning a claimed 2.5L/100km and “less than 60” g/km CO2.

“We have been working hard to earn our competitive edge and to give our customers the ultimate combination of performance and low fuel consumption,” said Volvo Car Group senior vice president of research and development Peter Mertens.

“Our Twin Engine technology has enabled us to build on our heritage of efficient powertrain development in a completely new way.” Meanwhile, Volvo’s performance arm Polestar has announced overnight that it will roll out its so-called performance optimisation packages for the new range of Drive-E engines from June.

Comprising a reprogramming of the car’s onboard engine control unit, the tune is said to improve throttle response, mid-range performance, improved shift times for automatic transmissions and off-throttle performance.

The existing range of Polestar’s fully-guaranteed tune-ups are popular locally, according to Volvo Australia. Further details of the Drive-E packages are expected next week.