Volvo C30 DRIVe building a class act

... despite a raft of ultra-efficient innovations that deliver an official best-in-class fuel consumption figure of just 3.8 litres per 100km.  The Australian International Motor Show in Sydney is a perfect opportunity to see this incredibly efficient car, which emits just 99 grams of CO2 for every kilometre driven. 

The C30 DRIVe is the first Volvo to reach Australia featuring the latest generation of Volvo’s fuel-efficient diesel technology – a 1.6-litre four-cylinder with miserly thirst acting in concert with strong performance in the form of a flat torque curve delivering 240Nm at its peak.  The result is sporty performance plus an enviable cruising range of more than 1300km on a single 52-litre tank of diesel fuel.

Performance with economy is possible thanks to a range of efficiency advances like intelligent stop/start technology that switches off the engine automatically whenever the car is at a standstill in traffic – increasingly a feature of driving in our congested cities.

Volvo says this innovation alone can cut consumption by as much as 4-5 per cent depending on the prevailing driving conditions. The system uses an auxiliary battery that enables fast, smooth and unobtrusive automatic restarts, leaving other vehicle systems – like lights, wipers and audio systems – fully operational.

The C30 DRIVe also incorporates regenerative charging to keep the battery topped up. Basically, the system utilizes the car’s otherwise superfluous kinetic energy to recharge the battery – which means additional fuel doesn’t have to be burnt to perform this essential function, realising a fuel saving of 2-3 per cent.

Incremental savings like these can make a big difference. Designers that can recoup just two per cent from 10 different aspects of a car’s performance can bask in a 20 per cent total fuel saving.

When you add electro-hydraulic power steering, an efficient cooling system, and even low-friction oil for the transmission, you can see how the C30 DRIVe achieves outstanding economy without blowing the budget or compromising on driving enjoyment.