New Volvo S80 and V70

February of this year will signal the introduction to the market of the newest luxury sedan from the world's leader in automotive safety - Volvo. The luxury vehicle is the 2007 version of the company's best selling Volvo S80. The car, just like its predecessor, promises to give the best safety features available in any vehicle out there. Along with that, the vehicle also is expected to come bearing the high quality of performance that can be expected from a Volvo. The Volvo S80 will be up against some tough competition like the Audi S6, the BMW 5-Series and Mercedes-Benz' E-Class. The competition may be tough but the car packs a really great performance and an even luxurious interior so as to be a serious competitor in their class.

The interior design of the car shows off the "Scandinavian luxury" design concept which shows the company's loyalty to its roots. The entire concept is based on the simplicity and functionality of the interior which in reality gives the interior a very luxurious feel that only Volvo can offer. The wood grain strip paneling looks immaculate and very much in tune with the rest of the interior. Controls and handles inside the vehicle are designed to be attractive yet also very functional. One such design is the functional graphic which can be found at the center of the climate controls that allows the occupant to choose the direction of airflow through its stylized head, torso and legs.

Buyers can opt for the trim package which includes a V8 engine for the Volvo S80. Such an option allows the company to be capable to drive the car against the best in its class. The quad-cam, 32-valve, 4.4-liter V8 engine can churn out 311 units of horsepower. The powerplant transfers the power of those 311 horses to all the four wheels of the car for this car has an all-wheel drive configuration. The configuration gives the car a better traction especially during nasty bouts of weather. The power finds their way to the wheels via a six speed automatic transmission that provides a smooth transfer of gear ratios and can thus give the car a decent acceleration. The precise engineering of the gearbox allows the car to go from a standstill to 60 miles per hour in just 6.5 seconds. The car's engine is also equipped with a Volvo oxygen sensor to increase its fuel efficiency by keeping the air and fuel mixture at the standard combination

Thanks to a few minor tweaks, Volvo has managed to further reduce CO2 emissions and improve fuel efficiency on its S80 and V70 DRIVe models from the 2009MYs 129 g/km and 4.9 lt/100 km (48mpg US) to 119 g/km and 4.5 lt/100 km (52.3mpg US) on the 2010MYs respectively.

Both cars continue to use a 1.6-liter diesel with 109HP and 240Nm of peak torque that's hooked up to a five-speed manual gearbox.

However, Volvo's engineers employed a smart battery recharging system that 'forces' the alternator to charge the battery only when the engine is operating at low load (e.g. when driving downhill), while they also redesigned the tensioner and alternator pulleys.

"Smart battery recharging is the most important measure," says Ulf Nordström, Technical Project manager at Volvo Cars.

"It is primarily thanks to this that we have dipped below the 120-gram level that gives car owners tax breaks and other benefits in a number of European countries. What is more, one might say that we offer the normal driver one free tank of fuel a year," Nordström added.

The Swedish automaker said that the reduction in fuel consumption from a combined 4.9 lt/100 km to 4.5 l/100 km means that someone driving 15,000 km a year will save 60 liters of diesel or as Nordström put it, one fuel tank.

Volvo did not disclose any performance figures for the updated 2010MY S80 and V70 DRIVe, but just to get an idea, the 2009MY S80 DRIVe accelerates from standstill to 100km/h in a claimed 12.4 seconds and reaches a top speed of 118mph or 189 km/h.

We say that, while any efforts to improve CO2 emissions and fuel consumption are more than welcome, fitting a puny 1.6-liter diesel engine in cars of the size and weight of the S80 and V70, isn't exactly pioneering anything new...