Thonet, a furniture brand, showed off its first automotive part at the Geneva show: a gear shift lever. Done in cooperation with famous Volvo tuner Heico Sportiv and the Swedish carmaker itself, the launch took place in the exclusive ‘Volvo S60 Lounge’ which was completely fitted out by Thonet.

Jointly developed by Thonet and Heico, the gear lever represents a combination of tradition and modernity, harking back to Thonet’s longstanding tradition of wood manufacturing. The curved shape of the lever “conveys lightness and reflects the design language of the floating centre console”. Crafted from the fine oak, beech or walnut wood and hand made in an elaborate multi-stage process, it’s seen here in the refreshed Volvo C70, with interior fittings by Heico.

The Volvo C70 is a four-seat coupe convertible that sells from RM345,381 (for the 2.4i, T5 goes for RM400K) in Malaysia. It’s a full four seater with a three-piece steel roof that folds in 30 seconds, pretty long for today’s standards. Given a facelift late last year, the C70 now comes with Volvo’s new front end look, as seen on the XC60 and new S60, and a fresh design for the rear light cluster.

For images and a video of the facelifted C70, click here. More pictures of the Heico-Thonet variant and the gear knob is after the jump.

© 2010 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 21 Mar 10 13:14:39 +0000.

Estates, or station wagons as they’re more commonly known here, appeal to a very small segment of buyers in Malaysia. Most associate them with hearses, but there are fans. I for one, love the idea of wagons even though I’m not married with kids or involved in business that requires lugging around goods; favourites include the B5 Audi RS4 Avant and Alfa 156 Sportwagon, cars which shapes I admire more than their saloon sisters.

Not many choices in this market if you’re after one, so the locally assembled Volvo V50 stands out as a sporty and classy European estate that’s relatively affordable. New for 2010 is a 2.0-litre engine and Powershift double-clutch gearbox replacing the old 2.4-litre five-pot. No change in price, but your RM185,950 will buy you more equipment than before. We see if it’s a compelling package.

Continue reading the report after the jump.

The S40 sedan had always looked awkward to these eyes; its compact and stunted dimensions didn’t bring out sleekness from the basic design like its big brothers did. The V50 wagon is a different story, with nice proportions and a sporty look as opposed to the brick like Volvo wagons of old. It’s almost as if the designers had the wagon in mind before adapting the design to make the saloon.

The 2008 facelift gave it a more dynamic looking face, and the V50 doesn’t look like the seven-year old car it is. Fitted with an optional (and very subtle) bodykit and the bicycle rack, I must have gave off the impression of a fit, adventerous, outdoor person, which is at odds with my growing waistline! If this car was mine, the first thing will be to chuck the 16-inch rims for bigger R design alloys to complete the image.

The V50 appears compact, and studying the dimensions reveal that it’s shorter than a Honda Civic. The Volvo is about the length of a 3-Series Touring, although the Swede’s 2,640 mm wheelbase is a good 120 mm shorter than the BMW’s. That doesn’t sound promising, since the current E90 isn’t exactly what one would call spacious at the back; in practice, legroom is far from generous but not constricting either, and there’s room under the front seats for you to tuck your feet into. Typical of Volvo, seats are comfy and the rear bench features built-in child booster seats that pop up. The V50’s boot is capable of holding 417 litres of cargo (expandable to 1,307 litres with rear seats down), not outstanding compared to today’s B-segment sedans, but this is no traditional Volvo wagon, remember?

Now let’s go into what’s new. The discontinued 2.4-litre five-cylinder engine and five-speed auto pairing was quite enjoyable – pokey enough and the unique five-pot warble sounded special – but the drivetrain was old and thirsty. Volvo’s solution is similar to what many European manufacturers are doing today – downsizing. In comes a 2.0-litre four-pot and a twin-clutch Powershift gearbox. Both are from parent Ford, and the engine is similar to the one in the Focus.

Twin clutch boxes are more efficient than torque converter autos – that’s a fact – but the lowering of engine capacity is normally compensated by direct injection and forced induction, neither of which is present here. How does a 145 bhp/185 Nm 2.0-litre fare in hauling a 1.5-tonne car that when loaded should weigh about two tonnes?

Not very well. Acceleration is merely adequate with just the driver onboard and sluggish with a family of four and luggage. You really need to be heavy with the throttle to build momentum from rest, and the process feels slower than the official 0-100 km/h time of 9.9 seconds. This comes as no surprise as I found the same engine to be the weak point in the lighter and nimbler Ford Focus, but it must be noted that Volvo grade insulation means it’s more mild mannered here. Although the engine is working its socks off, it’s quite serene this side of the firewall save for some boominess around 5000 rpm. It’s quite lively at the top end, just that it takes awhile to reach there. Been awhile since we’ve driven a slow Volvo – this car badly needs a turbo.

How about the Powershift? Very good, but just short of the DSG’s brilliance. At crawl speeds in D, there are hints of jerk, with a tendency to hold on to a gear too low. At this point the engine is revving higher than ideal instead of just easing its way along. Don’t get us wrong though, Powershift (in this application) does very well 95% of the time and is a great replacement for the conventional auto, just not as slick as DSG, even if its miles ahead of Italian robotised manuals.

I did have an issue with changing gears manually though. You tap the gear lever to the left (to the passenger’s side), which is more ideal for left-hand drive, and the shift action requires serious effort because it’s rather sticky. Could do with steering paddles or a lighter up/down movement. When self shifting, the engine revs till 7000 rpm, a couple of hundred revs more than in D.

The fuel consumption isn’t fantastic either. Now, we’re being realistic and do not expect a fully loaded, super safe Volvo wagon achieving Vios economy, not with the poor engine working so hard. But we dried the 62-litre tank in 400 kilometres. That distance included my daily routine (mostly highway, with some city driving) and a solo B-road blast to Ipoh. In the latter, although I extended the engine fully when possible, there were plenty of 90 km/h cruising too. Topping up with RM50 of RON95 gave me 300 km of gentle driving, which equates to about 10.8 km/l and nearer to the 12.3 km/l official claim. Any V50 2.4 owners out there who want to share your figures?

Engine and economy aside, the V50 provided an enjoyable drive. It may sound cliched, but the Volvo feels very solid on the move. The controls are all relatively hefty, and the steering would be downright heavy for those used to Japanese levels of effort, but it suited me fine. Sharing a chassis with the Ford Focus means that the V50 has a good foundation, and it displays good stability, body control and agility – although you’re always conscious of the extra weight over a Focus, body roll is not an issue. However, the slightly fidgety ride over patchy roads wasn’t expected by yours truly, so think twice before upsizing the wheels!

Also enjoyable is the cabin, which is minimalist yet very functional. The Swedes are experts in ergonomics, and I wouldn’t want the V50 to work any other way. The “floating console” with its neatly arranged layout still looks good, but the green text displays look very dated with their dot matrix style fonts. The blue-faced dials you see here is optional, and worth it, as they serve as a focus point in an otherwise dark cabin. It’s not colour coded to the exterior, but just a coincidence. Another option worth ticking is the sports pedals with rubber inserts.

I love the idea of the Volvo V50, a classy, sporty looking wagon that’s solid and safe. Even the price is palatable, given the amount of equipment that’s standard (brilliant 8-speaker stereo, electric memory seats, six airbags, DSTC, BLIS blind spot assist, bi-xenons and keyless entry/start – the latter three weren’t previously available on the 2.4), but it’s not completely satisfying. All major issues can be traced back to one source – the underwhelming engine, which is a case study of downsizing not done right.

A modern direct-injection turbocharged engine (such as Volvo’s latest 2.0 GTDi with 203 bhp/300 Nm) or a diesel is what the V50 needs. Volvo Car Malaysia launched the XC90 D5 even before our country switched to Euro 2M, and maintains that none of those cars have issues with local fuel, so that’s a possible solution we’re looking at, or even the 2.0 lump from the Focus TDCi.

Optional equipment (promotion price shown is valid till 31 March, 2010)
Roof spoiler RM1,231
Body kit RM4,575
Sports pedals RM554
Aluminium bicycle carrier RM574
Blue instrument panel RM1,998
Portable navigation system (inc mounting kit) RM2,266

© 2010 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 21 Mar 10 13:14:39 +0000.

An AFP report said that Geely does not plan to move Volvo production of to China. Trade unions in Sweden are fearing job cuts at Volvo Cars, which has 16,000 staff on its payroll in the high cost Scandinavian country and 8,000 more across the globe.

At the same time, news sources from Hong Kong (where Geely is listed) say that the Hangzhou based company is selecting locations in China for Volvo production, with Beijing and Tianjin vying for the project. The reports add that Geely will set up a plant in China with a production capacity of about 300,000 vehicles annually, nearly doubling Volvo’s global output. This move is aimed to steer Volvo into profitability before 2011 through China’s lower manufacturing and labour costs. If this plan works, the fears of the well paid fatihfuls back in Gothenburg is very likely to turn into reality.

Source

© 2010 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 21 Mar 10 13:14:39 +0000.

Volvo has released a few videos of the soon to be available Volvo S60 sedan, and you can catch them all here on this blog, streamed from local servers. The videos cover a few topics such as exterior and interior beauty shots as well as demonstrations of various technology in action such as adaptive cruise control, collision warning and pedestrian protection. Check the videos out after the jump.

VIDEO: Volvo S60 – Exterior

VIDEO: Volvo S60 – Interior

VIDEO: Volvo S60 – Collision Warning & Pedestrian Protection

VIDEO: Volvo S60 – Adaptive Cruise Control

VIDEO: Volvo S60 – Crash Test

VIDEO: Volvo S60 – Driving – City

VIDEO: Volvo S60 – Driving – Highway

VIDEO: Volvo S60 – Pedestrian Detection Log

© 2010 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 21 Mar 10 13:14:39 +0000.

Used to seeing concepts watered down for production, we’re happy to see Volvo sticking to their guns for the new S60. The production version of Volvo’s mid-sized exec, revealed here ahead of its Geneva debut, looks remarkably similar to the S60 Concept the Swedish brand wheeled out at the 2009 Detroit show.

Among the distinctive cues carried over is the XC60 style front end, the wavy signature line on its profile and those inverted L-shaped taillamps, but the basic shape is recognisable as an S60. Volvo says that “the sculpted hood and the short overhangs front and rear also emphasize the sports-car feel.” We’re not sure about the “sports-car feel” but this S60 does have presence. It has grown is size too; longer, wider and with a longer wheelbase, but is less than 45kg heavier than the current car.

Engine choices include a twin-scroll turbo 3.0-litre inline-six with 300 bhp and 440 Nm. Paired to a new six-speed auto (faster shifts) and Haldex AWD, this S60 T6 does 0-60 mph (96 km/h) in 6.5 seconds. Of course following the common trend of ‘engine downsizing’, there will be a new 2.0-litre GDTi engine, which is good for 203 bhp and 300 Nm of torque from 1,750 to 4,000 rpm.

Three suspension setups will be available: Base, Dynamic and Four-C Adaptive. The optional Dynamic uses stiffer springs and bushings, retuned dampers and thicker piston rods, while Four-C adaptive damping aims to provide the best of all worlds.

On the safety front, Advanced Stability Control employs a new roll angle sensor to identify any skidding tendency at a very early stage. Also debuting is Pedestrian Detection with Full Auto Brake, which can detect pedestrians who walk into the road in front of the S60, warn the driver, before automatically apply full braking power if he/she does not respond in time. This system works at speeds up to 35 km/h. This is a development of City Safety, which works the same way, but for vehicles.

Full hi-res gallery after the jump.

© 2010 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 21 Mar 10 13:14:39 +0000.

Following the introduction of the S40 2.0 Powershift last year, Volvo launched the V50 wagon with the same drivetrain this morning. The V50 2.0 Powershift is powered by a 145 bhp/185 Nm 2.0-litre engine (which is essentially the Duratec engine found in the Ford Focus) mated to a six-speed dual-clutch transmission called Powershift, also from Ford. Like the S40, this variant replaces the 2.4-litre five-pot V50 – fuel consumption is reduced by up to 11% with this new drivetrain, says Volvo.

Compared to the V50 2.4i, this new variant has a few new features, such as Blind Spot Information System (BLIS), Dynamic Stability Traction Control (DSTC), bi-xenon headlights, keyless entry and a new Brilliant Blue colour. BLIS is a Volvo innovation which alerts the driver of vehicles “hiding” in his/her blind spot. A warning light inside of the side mirrors illuminate in such a case, so you know when not to change lanes.

The locally assembled V50 2.0 Powershift is priced at RM185,950 (OTR without insurance), which is RM16,000 more than the equivalent S40. The blue car you see here comes with optional extras such as roof rack, a subtle bodykit and blue dials from Volvo’s R-design catalogue – the latter looks good and works well in breaking up the monotony of an all-black cabin.

More pictures after the jump. For more info on the 2.0 Powershift drivetrain, check out our previous post here.

© 2010 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 21 Mar 10 13:14:39 +0000.

Volvo now has a dealership in Sabah, operated by Angkatan Hebat Sdn Bhd. The new showroom is located at the 1 Borneo Lifestyle Hypermall on Jalan Sulaman and will serve the entire Sabah market, since it is the only dealership there. The Angkatan Hebat dealership is in fact the only Volvo dealership in the whole of East Malaysia. Now the people of Sabah will be able to enjoy the Volvo XC90 with a dealership to support the repairs and maintenance.

This was bound to happen. Early last year we got news of the Sabah government replacing their fleet of executive Perdanas to 2.5 liter Volvos through Angkatan Hebat, a majority state-owned company. Angkatan Hebat manages the state’s fleet and last I checked, they are 70% owned by the state government’s investment arm.

© 2010 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 21 Mar 10 13:14:39 +0000.

“If the deal succeeds, nothing will change for Volvo, except the boss turns to Li Shufu,” the head honcho told Xinhua news agency. “Volvo and Geely will be two independently-managed brands.”

He said the Volvo purchase would help Geely, which is China’s largest private automaker, develop “new energy vehicles”, and that Geely would help Volvo reduce production costs and expand in China. “The new energy-powered vehicle will be the future of the world’s auto industry. But based on current investment in research and development, China will be left far behind the pace of developed countries,” the 46-year old Li said.

Ford expects the deal, which is estimated to cost Geely $1.8 billion, to be signed in the first quarter of 2010. Ford paid $6.45 billion for Volvo in 1999.

© 2010 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 21 Mar 10 13:14:39 +0000.

Ford has officially announced that all substantive commercial issues relating to the sale of Volvo to the Zhejiang Geely Holding Group have been resolved. The current owner of Volvo revealed that it expects the deal to be signed in the first quarter of 2010 and the deal is expected to be fully finalized by the second quarter of next year. The sale is said to be worth about US$ 1.8 billion and it would be the largest acquisition of a foreign automaker by a Chinese company.

Ford also said that some work still remain before the deal can be completed and these include final documentation, financing (from Geely’s end) and relevant government approvals. Ford will focus on its core brand and also revealed that it will still continue to cooperate with Volvo in certain areas after the sale but confirmed that it does not intend to retain a shareholding in the Swedish brand.

© 2010 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 21 Mar 10 13:14:39 +0000.

Another day, another electric car previewed ahead of the 2010 Detriot show – this time it’s Volvo with an electric C30. Volvo – with USD 20.7 million support from the Swedish government – will build 50 units that will hit the streets in 2011 for a two-year trial with selected users.

Volvo presented a driveable EV prototype back in September and this C30 goes a step nearer to production reality with a complete interior as well as enhanced battery packaging.

Its lithium-ion batteries can be recharged via regular household power sockets or special roadside charging stations. Full charging takes about eight hours (230V), giving a range of up to 150 km, which meets the daily needs of over 90 per cent of European motorists, says Volvo. Top speed is about 130 km/h while the century sprint takes less than 11 seconds.

Being a Volvo, safety is guaranteed. “The batteries are well encapsulated and the structure around them has been reinforced. An electrically powered Volvo must be as safe as all other new Volvos. And the very same standards also apply to ownership, driving and protection in the event of an accident,” said Thomas Broberg, Volvo’s Senior Safety Advisor.

© 2010 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 21 Mar 10 13:14:39 +0000.

A new Volvo factory in China built by Geely will churn out about 300,000 cars per year for the Chinese market, while other Volvo factories around the world will help bring up the total annual output to a whopping 1 million cars! Yes, you can produce all you want but will you be able to sell all the cars you produce? Apparently this is their aim, to sell a million cars a year by 2013, up from 458,323 they recorded in 2008. That’s an increase of about double.

Our very own Volvo assembly plant in Malaysia produces the S40, V50 and the 2.5T variant of the S80 for the local market. The Malaysian plant exports the S40 and the V50 for sale in Thailand. Hopefully Volvo is being rewarded in terms of various incentives appropriately by our government, otherwise there’s just no point for manufacturers to come in and do anything here if the case studies all go wrong.

The other thing that’s bugging people is of course the possibility of Volvo just going down the drain after Chinese ownership. That seems to be what happened to Ssangyong, look where it is now post-SAIC ownership? On the verge of bankruptcy, recovery plan rejected by creditors, and there is even a lawsuit going on now involving Ssangyong hybrid technology being leaked and transferred illegally to SAIC.

Despite Ssangyong being owned by SAIC, as the Ssangyong hybrid tech was developed using some Korean state grants, the tech is registered as state-owned in Korea and cannot be shared without government approval.

Will something similiar happen to Volvo? Will it be siphoned dry and then left to rot, or does Geely have an actual plan to bring Volvo to new heights? A Geely spokesperson today assured that Volvo would be keeping the rights to its technologies but did say Geely would get the right to use those technologies.

© 2010 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 21 Mar 10 13:14:39 +0000.

These are the first few product photos of the new Volvo S60 officially released by the Volvo PR team as a preview to a full-fledged unveiling soon. The car will make its public debut at the Geneva Motor Show 2010 in early March next year, and production will begin early summer 2010 at Volvo’s Belgian plant.

No other details or specifications have been revealed other than the fact that you can specify an optional feature called Pedestrian Detection that can detect pedestrians in front of the car and brake automatically if the driver doesn’t react in time.

Looking pretty good I must say, though I would prefer if the front end were to be a little sharper. It’s a little soft now, especially with the big soft ‘eyes’ (headlamps) and all. What do you think, do you like it?

© 2010 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 21 Mar 10 13:14:39 +0000.

Volvo has updated the specifications for the Volvo S40 here in Malaysia. The 2.4 liter engine has been replaced by a 2.0 liter unit which is essentially the Duratec unit found in the Ford Focus and the Mazda 3 here in Malaysia. It makes 145 PS at 6,000rpm and 185Nm of torque at 4,500rpm.

But what’s most interesting is the fact that the engine is now mated to a Ford Powershift transmission, which is basically a 6-speed twin clutch transmission. This makes it the first locally assembled (CKD) twin clutch car in the country. Powershift is a development of Getrag Ford Transmissions GmbH, a 50:50 Ford and Getrag JV.

Like VW’s DSG, there are two versions of the Powershift transmission out there – one with wet clutches and another with dry clutches. The unit installed in the S40 is the wet clutch version. Generally dry clutch versions like Volkswagen’s 7-speed DSG (the 6-speed used a wet clutch) are more efficient and lighter because an oil bath is not necessary, Ford/Volvo says wet versions have reduced wear and tear and thus last longer. Ford will use its dry clutch version on smaller cars like the Fiesta.

A twin-clutch transmission basically means the gearbox works like a manual transmission but it has two clutches, one for the odd gears and one for the even gears. While the odd clutch is in 3rd gear and is currently the active gear selected, the even clutch pre-selects 4th gear, so that when the time comes to shift, the switchover is much faster and smoother – an almost continuous flow of power.

0 to 100km/h with manual transmission takes about 9.5 seconds in a 2.0 liter Volvo S40 which is really quite far from blazing. The Powershift model is rated at 9.8 seconds, just fractions of a second slower than a true blue manual. As for fuel consumption, the car is rated for 11.3 liter per 100km in the city, 6.4 liters per 100km on the highway, and 8.1 liters per 100km on combined usage.

Other than the engine change, this new S40 specification also adds dual xenon headlamps and the Blind-Spot Info System that notifies the driver (with a blinking light) of objects in the car’s blindspot zone, which personally I feel is a little too sensitive.

The new Volvo S40 2.0 Powershift retails for RM169,950.00 OTR without insurance, which just happens to be the exact same figure as the 2.4 liter model. But what you’re paying for the Powershift is actually just slightly more than the 2.4 by a couple of hundreds of ringgit. This is because the OTR without insurance price includes road tax, and the 2.0 model naturally has cheaper road tax at RM379.50 as opposed to the 2.4 liter model’s RM815.

Look after the jump for a PDF brochure and pricelist of the new car.

© 2010 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 21 Mar 10 13:14:39 +0000.

There is a new interested party that will be bidding for a Volvo takeover – a new consortium called Crown led by ex-Ford man Michael Dingman. Dingman was a Ford board member for 21 years until he left in 2002. He has partnered up with engineering man Shamel Rushwin, who is both ex-Ford and ex-Chrysler.

So far the Crown offer is reported to be lower than Geely’s US$2.2 billion bid but Crown says they intend to invest another US$3 billion in Volvo if it succeeds in taking over the company. Talk is cheap of course – I hope this is written down in black and white somewhere. Crown is backed by some US investors currently and are looking for some Swedish investors and partners – Volvo being Swedish and all.

© 2010 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 21 Mar 10 13:14:39 +0000.

The C30 hatchback has been updated to feature Volvo’s new front-end look, as per the convertible C70 recently. Most of the changes are aesthetic and also include new colour choices for the exterior and interior – total configurations thanks to the various options results in 2,561,328 possible combinations.

Other than the looks, the other most significant change to me is the new ’sports chassis’ option which basically means stiffer bushes, a 10% lower steering ratio, and suspension parts (these include new monotube stiffer dampers, stiffer springs and stiffer roll stabilizers) that are stiffer by 30%.

The star engines of the range are the T5 and D5 models. The petrol T5 puts out 230 horses and 320Nm of torque from its 2.5 liter inline-5 while the D5’s 2.4 liter turbodiesel makes 180hp and 400Nm of torque, yet consumes only 6.2 liters per 100km.

Look after the jump for photos and videos of the C30.

VIDEO: Volvo C30 – Part 1 of 4

VIDEO: Volvo C30 – Part 2 of 4

VIDEO: Volvo C30 – Part 3 of 4

VIDEO: Volvo C30 – Part 4 of 4

© 2010 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 21 Mar 10 13:14:39 +0000.

The Volvo C70 coupe-cabriolet has received a facelift, giving it a new front end inspired by the S60 Concept Car unveiled earlier this year. This design update brings the marque closer to consistent family-look similiar to the XC60’s face. At the rear, the C70 gets new LED lamps. Other than that, there are not much changes. Being a CBU model, it should be easy for Volvo Cars Malaysia to bring this new facelit in. It only has to wait for the current stock of C70 to finish, if any. The C70 currently goes for about RM346k for the sedate 2.4i up to RM400k for the turbocharged T5 version – prices without insurance.

© 2010 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 21 Mar 10 13:14:39 +0000.

The XC60 does look good but despite the hot turbocharged engine under the hood, the owner may feel a little jealous of his peer with an Audi Q5’s numerous bodykit and tuning options. No worries, Volvo’s new R-Design package for the Volvo XC60 will help buyers of Volvo’s sporty SUV spice it up a little. The changes are actually really really subtle though. Look after the jump for a gallery of the XC60 R-Design as well as another of a normal XC60 so you can “spot the difference”.

GALLERY: Volvo XC60 with R-Design kit

Exterior:

* Grille in silk metal finish with R-Design badge
* Front fog lamp décor in silk metal finish
* Door mirror housings in silk metal finish
* Five-spoke 18-inch aluminium wheels – Cratus (20 inch optional)
* Sill mouldings in aluminium look
* Twin chromed tailpipes
* Colour-matched lower body mouldings.
* Chrome-plated rear skid-plate with black mesh
* Sport chassis
* 7 body colours to choose between including the R-Design unique colour Passion red

Interior:

* Sport seats for great cornering support and comfort
* Unique upholstery in smooth leather with a choice of two colour combinations: off-black with soft beige inserts or vice versa
* Embossed R-Design emblem in the front backrests.
* Watch Dial instrument with blue gauges, unique to the R-Design model
* R-Design sports steering wheel trimmed in perforated leather
* Sports pedals in aluminium
* R-Design centre stack trim with a unique décor pattern
* Gear selector trimmed with perforated leather
* Off-black sports mats

GALLERY: Volvo XC60 with original body

© 2010 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 21 Mar 10 13:14:39 +0000.

The new Volvo XC60 is here, available in two variants but both with a 3.0 liter turbocharged six-cylinder T6 engine producing an exciting 285 horsepower and 400Nm of torque from just 1,500rpm, mated to a 6-speed Geartronic auto. The two variants are called the XC60 T6 LE and the XC60 T6 SE, and they retail for RM360k and RM330k respectively, OTR without insurance. It’s a rather handsome and dynamic looking car actually, a far departure from the Volvos of the past. Think of it as a smaller XC90 on steroids, buffed up and more toned.

The more expensive LE version is the one with all the goodies. For an additional 30k, you get a panoramic sunroof, a 12 speaker Dynaudio premium sound system, Adaptive Cruise Control, Collision Warning with Auto Brake, Lane Departure Warning, and Drive Alert Control. Collision Warning with Autobrake actually alerts the driver if the distance to the car in front of you suddenly decreases. If the driver does not react in time, the system brakes at up to 50% maximum braking power automatically.

The cheaper SE version gets an 8 speaker sound system. Both sound systems feature a 6-CD changer with AUX, USB, Bluetooth and iPod connectors. The interior leather can be had in either soft beige/espresso brown, or offblack. The trim inlays can be had in either a sporty brushed aluminium trim, or for something more classic, you have classic wood or Nordic light oak.

Here’s the rest of the equipment that comes with both LE and SE versions: dual stage driver and front airbags, dual chamber front SIPS (side impact protection system) airbags, Inflatable Curtain airbags, all-wheel drive, whiplash protection system, a 40:20:40 splitting rear seat, ABS, EBD, brake assist, ready alert brake, fading brake support, dynamic stability and traction control, roll stability control, rollover protection system, hill descent control, blindspot information system, rain sensor wipers, active bending lights, headlamp washers, ISOFIX points for the rear seats, speed sensitive power steering with 3 manual settings, electric seats for the front with memory for the driver, auto-dimming rear view mirror with integrated compass, powered tailgate, B-pillar ventilation vents, and a Personal Car Communicator for keyless entry and drive.

Optional over the prices above are various styling accessories which consist of larger 19 inch wheels, front bumper bars in matte aluminium, running boards, side scuff plates, and a rear bumper skid plate.

© 2010 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 21 Mar 10 13:14:39 +0000.

Nevertheless even that news report is skeptical about how such a deal can pull through successfully. Geely’s market value is over 30 billion yuan, which is about 4.3 billion USD, and a Volvo buy would also require several billion USD, claims the site. They are saying Geely might take government loans and other financial assistance. And given Ford’s improving financial health, it will be less desperate to sell Volvo, which might raise the Swedish manufacturer’s price.

Elsewhere in media reports, people are still talking about another Chinese car company recently deciding to join the race to buy Volvo from Ford – Beijing Auto Industry Holdings. Beijing Auto currently has joint ventures in China with Mercedes-Benz and Hyundai. Other names mentioned before in the press said to be interested in Volvo include Renault, Chery, and Changan.

© 2010 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 21 Mar 10 13:14:39 +0000.

Volvo and Swedish energy company Vattenfall will be cooperating on producing plug-in diesel-electric hybrid Volvos that combine electric motors with high capacity lithium ion batteries and turbodiesel powertrains by 2012. Volvo will manufacture the cars and Vattenfall will develop the charging systems as well as supply the cars with electricity for plug-in charging.

Three Volvo V70 demonstrator cars will be presented in summer this year by the joint venture. These demo cars will be used to gather information about the wishes and demands that drivers may have on the new technology, to determine their driving habits and to establish how they want to charge their cars.

Vattenfall will be using these demo cars to test various concepts for high-speed home charging and also for charging stations in public places, where owners pay to charge up the car with electricity instead of refueling it with fossil fuels.

Determining charging behaviour patterns are very important in order to plan and deploy a charging infrastructure that works. Conducting focus groups and verbally finding out what potential drivers may think they want is one thing but real life requirements may change once someone is actually driving a plug-in car, thus these demo cars are actually quite important.

Look after the jump for some shots of the V70 demo car.

© 2010 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 21 Mar 10 13:14:39 +0000.

Heico Sportiv displayed this kitted up Volvo XC60 at the Essen Motor Show last year, and it’s the world’s first complete tuning program for Volvo’s baby XC90.

Other than aesthetic enhancements which include either a twin or quad tailpipe exhaust at the rear and sports springs which lowers the car by 30mm, both the petrol and diesel variants have an engine tuning program. The XC60 2.4D and XC60 D5 have engine outputs of 163 PS and 185 PS respectively but Heico tunes both up to 210 PS. The T6 turbocharged 3.0 liter inline-6 variant gets boosted up from 285 PS to 315 PS.

The XC60 will share some technical underpinings with the latest generation Freelander. It is set to join Volvo Cars Malaysia’s product line-up in either Q2 or Q3 2009. Look after the jump for more photos and a video featuring the diesel HEICO XC60’s exhaust note. You’ll be amazed that it’s a diesel!

Related Posts:
2009 Volvo XC60 to be unveiled at Geneva
VIDEO: Volvo XC60 Driving Shots Footage

VIDEO: HEICO Sportiv Volvo XC60 D5 Sound Test (turbodiesel)

VIDEO: HEICO Sportiv Volvo XC60 T6 Sound Test (petrol)

© 2010 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 21 Mar 10 13:14:39 +0000.

Ford-owned auto maker; Volvo will launch the 2010 Volvo S80 at the upcoming motor show in Geneva which is set to take place next week. The refreshed S80 now gets a new front grille featuring a larger iron mark on the front fascia. There are also new bright work on the air intakes, lower part of the doors and under the tail lamps. The new treatment on the outside help give the S80 a slightly lower, longer and wider stance.

On the inside, the new S80 gets exclusive aluminium dials with decor trim with silk matte metal-effect finish on the four-spoke steering wheel which is also found in the gear selector, around the starter button.

Under the hood, the new S80 receives a brand new engine. Called the D5 power plant, it is a twin-turbo 5 cylinder 2.4-litre turbodiesel that is able to produce 205HP a nd 420Nm of torque. The new engine only consumes 6.2 liters per 100 kilometers while releasing 164 grams of emissions per kilometer. Potential buyers can also opt for the new 5 cylinder single turbo 2.4-litre diesel engine which is good for 175HP and 420Nm of torque. Fuel consumption is slightly lower at 5.8 liters per 100 kilometers while it releases 154 grams per kilometer.

Potential buyers can also choose between two chassis options including a standard chassis that is tuned to offer better comfort and a sports chassis that is well-suited for spirited driving. The standard chassis now features softer springs which is good for customers who would prefer a comfortable car over a sportier variant.

With the more rigid sports chassis, the car has been lowered by 20 millimeters at the front and 15 millimeters at the rear which also gives the car a more aggressive stance. Other improvements made to offer better handling include; shorter and firmer springs, shock absorbers with greater damping abilities, harder bushings on the sub-frame as well as firmer anti-roll bars.

Also offered as standard with the sports chassis is the automatic self-leveling system that raises the car when it is fully loaded. Continue reading to view an image gallery.

© 2010 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 21 Mar 10 13:14:39 +0000.

Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Haji Aman says his government has switched from the Proton Perdana V6 Executive to new “black Volvo 2.5″ cars as the state’s new official cars. Once again as with Perak (Camry) and Terengganu (Mercedes-Benz E200K), the reason given was the high maintenance cars for the Perdanas.

He says the arrangement for the purchase is through a company called Angkatan Hebat Sdn Bhd (a company which the state government holds 70% of through its Warisan Harta Sabah Sdn Bhd investment arm), which will then lease the cars to the state.

The Perdana V6 is still in use as official cars for some senior officers including permanent secretaries and heads of departments. The new imported Volvos are for the 12 Sabah Ministers only. A 2.5 liter Volvo sedan would most likely point to the Volvo S80, the 2.5T model in particular, which offers an effortless drive thanks to its torquey 2.5 liter inline-5 turbocharged engine. The Volvo S80 2.5T has also been spotted being used by the PDRM as part of its police car fleet. But if it is not a sedan (New Sabah Times sources only revealed it was a “car”, did not specify any bodyshape), an XC90 would make sense.

The only question right now is, how will the S80s be maintained well when according to the Volvo Cars Malaysia “Find A Dealer” page, there are no authorised dealers or service centers in Sabah? I hope Volvo Cars Malaysia will be able to provide training to Angkatan Hebat technicians or some other kind of arrangement, otherwise it might end up being “high maintenance” all over again. A quick check with Angkatan Hebat’s company profile (page 14) shows it already maintains a fleet of 38 Volvos and 14 service centers around Sabah so hopefully it should be sufficiently equipped.

Source

© 2010 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 21 Mar 10 13:14:39 +0000.

© 2010 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 21 Mar 10 13:14:39 +0000.

The Volvo XC90, Jeremy Clarkson’s choice of people mover for his family (he bought 3 in a row, the latest this month after he sold his 2nd one in October last year), now comes in diesel. Under the hood of the new diesel facelifted XC90 is an inline-5 2.4 liter turbodiesel engine producing 185 horsepower at 4,000rpm and 400Nm of torque between 2,000 to 2,750rpm, which should be adequate for moving the 7-seater around through the Geartronic transmission’s 6-speeds and all-wheel drive.

Naturally being a Volvo, there are adequate safety equipment. Three-point inertia-reel seatbelts with belt pre-tensioners and head restraints are available on all 7 seats. A feature called Roll Stability Control activates if the car risks rolling over. RSC reduces engine power, increases anti-roll bar stiffness, and automatically applies the brakes to help stablize the car. The all-wheel drive system is supplemented with Dynamic Stability and Traction Control. There are plenty of airbags all-around, with an Inflatable Curtain airbag on both sides of the car that inflates all the way from the front row until the third row.

The XC90 D5’s selling price is exactly the same as the 2.5T petrol version – RM 355,000 OTR without insurance. The vehicle’s road tax is actually cheaper than the petrol version at RM760 a year compared to the 2.5T’s RM873.60. The petrol version makes more power at 210hp, but less torque at only 320Nm. Its slower to accelerate though, taking 11.5 seconds to get to 100km/h compared to the 2.5T’s 9.9 seconds. However it makes up for that in fuel economy, rated to consume only 8.5 liters per 100km on the comnbined cycle compared to the petrol version’s 11.8 liters per 100km.

All other equipment are exactly the same except the D5 doesn’t have Dual Xenon Lights, but the 2.5T only has a 5-speed auto compared to the D5’s 6-speed unit.

© 2010 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 21 Mar 10 13:14:39 +0000.

If you think the Evo X is the only expensive turbocharged police car added to the PDRM fleet recently, you’re wrong. Reader Kevin Lee spotted this Volvo S80 2.5T around the Sunway area. I’m not sure how high you have to go in the police force to be able to drive one of these police Volvo S80 luxo-cruisers, but 200 horsepower at 4,800rpm and 300Nm between 1,500 to 4,500rpm matched with a 6-speed Geartronic sure sounds nice. The interior is a nice place to be in as well. It’s really wide and feels the most luxurious of anything under RM300k, or even RM400k I dare say.

The turbocharged inline-5 engine takes the car up to 100km/h in 8 seconds and goes on to a top speed of 210km/h. These Volvo S80 2.5T luxury cars cost about RM 285,000 OTR without insurance for us peasants, but a police vehicle would likely be tax-free. And that retail price is even cheaper than the Evo X! Are we heading back to the days of PDRM Volvo 850 T5 wagons keeping the highways in check?

© 2010 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 21 Mar 10 13:14:39 +0000.

The Volvo SC90 concept was panned by Nouphone J. Bansasine during his internship at Volvo in Summer 2007, and it was essentially a Volvo entry into the fray of “4-door coupes” being launched one after another by nearly all car manufacturers who ever use the word luxury in any of their marketing material.

In the designer’s imaginary world, the SC90 concept would go into production by the year 2015 against the Aston Martin Rapide and the Porsche Panamera, and according to current Volvo nomenclature it would most likely be called the Volvo C90. Perhaps it’s because it would probably take that long for anyone to find a Volvo entry in THAT segment sexy enough to purchase – 4-door coupes aren’t as practical as sedans and are usually a purely emotional choice.

Have a look at a photo gallery of the concept after the jump.

© 2010 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 21 Mar 10 13:14:39 +0000.

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the REAL mother trucker! The most powerful truck in the world as of today is the new Volvo FH16, which can proudly display a 700 horsepower badge thanks to its D16G engine, which puts out a massive 700 horsepower and 3,150Nm of torque in its highest state of tune. The 16 liter engine is also Euro 5 compliant, which is important since that regulation will come into force in October this year.

“The Volvo FH16 is intended for the very heaviest and most demanding of transport operations. It is also a highly prestigious truck for the customer who is looking for something truly out of the ordinary. Now, with 700 hp, the Volvo FH16 sets itself apart from everything else in the industry,” says Staffan Jufors, President and CEO of Volvo Trucks, clearly very proud of the new truck.

Despite the power increase, Volvo has rated the new 700 horsepower truck to consume the same amount of fuel as the previous edition which puts out 660hp. The FH16 is also available in 540hp and 600hp versions, which come with 2,650Nm or 2,800Nm of torque respectively.

These kind of trucks are a rare sight in Malaysia. There aren’t that many uses for such a powerful engine, plus it could be that our displacement-tied tax structure forces some people who want to save ob road tax costs to use underpowered trucks for hauling way more than they were designed for. That is why you can see trucks stranded on a slope sometimes, usually thanks to a burned out clutch from the strain they have to pull.

Look after the jump for a video of the truck in action.

Video: 700 horsepower Volvo FH16

Click for enlarged image

Click for enlarged image

© 2010 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 21 Mar 10 13:14:39 +0000.

Volvo is the latest car manufacturer with a new high-powered twin turbodiesel engine that has good power, loads of torque and at the same time, low emissions and good fuel economy. The new Volvo D5 inline-5 twin-turbodiesel has 2.4 liters of displacement and uses two differently sized turbochargers installed in a sequential arrangement to produce 205hp and 420Nm of torque, while achieving 45.6mpg and 164g/km of emissions, meeting Euro 5 standards.

The formula is a well-known and used one, a small turbocharger to rapidly spool up and provide lag-free boost from idle that hands over the job to a larger turbocharger at higher revs, up to 1.8 bar of boost. It also allows using exhaust gas recirculation over a wider range than before, helping reduce harmful emissions. Fuel is delivered via piezoelectric fuel injectors, and the engine also uses ceramic glowplugs that improve cold-starts because they can reach 1000 degrees Celcius in just 2 seconds.

Another feature of the engine is the elimination of an oil dipstick for the owner to check his engine lubricant levels. Instead, an information display in the car shows the status of the engine oil and if it needs replenishing, the owner is even informed of exactly how much oil to pour in.

This new all-aluminium D5 twin turbodiesel engine will first be used in the Volvo S80 from mid-2009 onwards in the UK, but specs and price of the new twin turbodiesel S80 have not been revealed yet, only to be announced nearer to the showroom launch date.

© 2010 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 21 Mar 10 13:14:39 +0000.

Despite it’s BMW X6-like looks, this isn’t a crossover coupe kinda thing, it’s actually a C-segment executive sedan, set to be Volvo’s new weapon against the likes of the BMW 3-Series and the Mercedes-Benz C-Class. We’ll see it on the roads in 2010, but for now let’s have a look at the concept version.

Under the hood is a new 1.6 liter GTDi engine. GTDi stands for Gasoline Turbocharged Direct Injection and it can produce 180 horsepower from such a small displacement engine. The GTDi engine also has start-stop function, and is mated to a Powershift twin clutch transmission. CO2 emissions are rated at 119g/km and fuel consumption is pegged at 5.0 liters consumed per 100km travelled. Some technical features that help achieve this fuel consumption and also contribute to better aerodynamics are flat underbody panels, the use of lightweight materials, and a grille shutter which closes to reduce air drag whenever there is less need for air cooling.

The exterior is clearly derived from the aggressive styling of the Volvo XC60, but there are little touches here and there which make you feel they really paid attention to detail with the car. For example, the headlamps have Scandinavian influences in it. Apparently they create the image of two miniature Viking longboats sailing side by side, one for the main beam and one for the dipped beam. This will probably be dropped in the production version for a conventional projector and reflector combination.

Volvo says the lines on the car do not end abruptly but instead flows continuously from the front to the end of the car, inspired by fast sweeps of a race track. The X6-like stance is probably due to the large 7-spoke wheels which are 20 inches in size and wrapped with low profile tyres. Hiding behind the wheel spokes are brake calipers which are painted bronze to match the exterior “Warm Liquid Copper” colour.

The interior is much more experimental, and according to Volvo Cars design director Steve Mattin, it indicates Volvo’s future interior design direction. The floating center stack has been revealed previously and is made of solid Orrefors crystal, but we probably won’t see such luxury in the production version. This center stack flows from the instrument panel all the way to the rear seat’s backrest.

Anyway, enough of the design details, as sometimes a designer’s justification of the themes that inspired his design does not make sense. Let’s have a look at the safety features that Volvo has built into the new Volvo S60 Concept. which hopefully will cross over to the production model, or another production Volvo at least if they are too expensive to include with a C-segment car.

Volvo has allowed the car to automatically brake to avoid collisions with the car in front of you if the difference of speed between the two vehicles is less than 25km/h. This is because apparently studies show that half of all drivers who hit another vehicle from behind do not brake prior to the collision.

In an emergency, the driver gets an audible warning with a white flashing light in the windscreen’s HUD. It looks like a flashing brake light coming on in front. This is an enhancement over the current system found in cars such as the S80 where a light on top of the dash flashes, but now its changed to a flashing in the heads-up display. If the driver does not respond to this warning and collision is imminent, the car brakes with full braking power. However the main idea is still to warn the driver of the impending collision and let him take evasive action on his own, with the auto brake to be used only at the very last minute as a last resort.

View a collection of hi-res photos and a video after the jump.

Photo Gallery: Volvo S60 Concept

Video: Volvo S60 Concept

© 2010 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 21 Mar 10 13:14:39 +0000.