Now, if you’ve been eyeing getting yourself a Swede ride this year, well, Volvo Car Malaysia is ushering in the lunar new year with some festive deals involving rather attractive monthly repayments, ones that’ll have you beaming like Thumper, what with the Year of the Rabbit just around the corner.

Until March 31, it’s all syrupy where the S40 2.0 Powershift, V50 2.0 Powershift and the S80 2.5 Turbo is concerned, with the deals – which are available through all Volvo dealerships – bagging monthly installments starting as low as RM1,690 for the S40, RM1,897 for the V50 and as RM2,830 for the top-of-the-range S80. So, doe hop along to check out these meaty bunnies at the rabbitry.

Volvo Car Malaysia has begun a unique tyre promotion that’s set to ensure Volvo owners wheel keep their rides rollin’ nicely during this holiday and festive season.

Yup, from now to February 14 next year, you only need to drive your Volvo to any authorised Volvo service centre to enjoy a free tyre inspection, free wheel alignment and balancing (with the purchase of at least four new tyres, that is) and up to 20% discount on “Tyre Off” items, in this case five major components, namely brake disc, brake pad, shock absorber, ball joint and tie rod end. The purchase of a pair of new tyres also gets you an attractive gift.

The year-end promotion, which VCM is offering exclusively with Continental tyres, is a gesture of goodwill to Volvo owners for the festive and holiday period, says VCM president Goran Larsson. “The Volvo tyre promotion is part of our on-going campaign to ensure that drivers have the safest journey possible during the holiday season,” Larsson said.

“As your car tyres play an integral role in keeping you safe, it’s only natural that we at Volvo keep an eye out for your tyres, as well as all other aspects of your car, to make sure you leave and arrive safely,” he added.

You can find out more details and information on the Volvo tyre promotion here.

Volvo Car Malaysia has launched a second XC60 model, and this one is in 2.0 litre turbocharged form. The XC60 2.0 Turbo Powershift, to give the SUV its full moniker, follows in the trail blazed by the XC60 T6, which arrived on the scene in June 2009 in LE and SE forms. Its arrival brings to an end the journey of the T6 variant in the country, of which 150 units have been sold.

Where the T6 version was fully-imported, the 2.0 Turbo Powershift happens to be a CKD version – it’s assembled at Volvo’s plant in Shah Alam, and joins the seven-seater XC90 2.5T petrol and XC90 diesel D5 versions on the lineup of locally-assembled Volvo SUVs.

The vehicle is powered by a four-cylinder 2.0T GTDi (Gasoline Turbocharged Direct Injection) engine offering 203 hp at 6,000 rpm and 300 Nm of torque, the latter available from 1,750 to 4,000 rpm, mated to a six-speed, dual-clutch Powershift tranny.

Performance specs include a 205 kph top speed, 0-100 kph sprint time of 8.9 secs and 8.5 litres per 100 km combined cycle fuel consumption. Among the standard kit are Xenon headlamps, front fog lamps, power tailgate and 18-inch Merac-design alloy wheels wearing 235/60 series tyres.

The CKD car is comprehensively equipped – there’s City Safety, which helps avoid low-speed collisions by automatically slowing or stopping the vehicle, Collision Warning with Auto Brake (CWAB), Blind Spot Information System (BLIS), Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), Dynamic Stability & Traction Control (DSTC) as well as Roll Stability Control (RSC) and Roll-Over Protection System as part of the package.

All these, in addition to the host of TLAs strapped on – ABS with Hydraulic Brake Assist (HBA), Ready Alert Brakes (RAB) and Fading Brake Support (FBS), Electronic Brake Distribution (EBD) and Active Bending Lights (ABL) along with Advanced Stability Control and Traction Torque Vectoring as part of DTSC.

Prior to the launch, VCM opened bookings for the SUV in a pre-launch campaign early last month, and more than 80 units of the vehicle have been sold. The XC60 2.0 Turbo Powershift is priced at RM281,950 (on the road, without insurance).

Gallery of launch photos after the jump
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Volvo dealer Swedish Marque now offers its waiting customers the use of an Apple iPad in their waiting lounge. Apart from the variety of complimentary gourmet teas, coffee and snacks that are available throughout the day, customers can now connect to Swedish Marque’s WiFi network using the iPads. Time should pass by faster this way!

“This new acquisition of the iPad is just one of the many new and novel ways we try to make Volvo customers’ visits to Swedish Marque a pleasant and enjoyable one,” said Aftersales General Manager Charles Lim.

Located at Jalan Dua in Sungai Besi, Swedish Marque’s well-appointed facility provides a complete range of in-house services. Having won the Volvo Dealer Excellence Awards for five consecutive years, Swedish Marque provides “cutting-edge customer care” through its brand promise of delivering delightful experiences.

They can be contacted at 1-800-88-2222.

Volvo has announced that a locally assembled version of its XC60 will be launched late next month, and that dealers have opened their order books. The CKD XC60 will be in 2.0T Powershift spec, and a look at Volvo Singapore’s website shows that this drivetrain combines a 203 hp/300 Nm (from 1,750-4,000 rpm) turbocharged four-pot mated to a six-speed twin-clutch gearbox. With this, Volvo Car Malaysia (VCM) will stop bringing in the CBU XC60 T6, of which 150 units were sold since mid 2009.

Those who pre-book the car will take delivery by year end. The first 60 customers will also enjoy a free accessory package worth RM6,000. The pack consists of décor trim air intake, skid plate rear bumper, load organiser, sports pedals and a dirt cover bumper. The final pricing isn’t confirmed by the authorities yet, which is why Volvo won’t provide us with an estimate, but we reckon that a call to the dealers (Federal Auto, Swedish Marque or Angkatan Hebat in KK) will get you a ballpark figure. The CBU 3.0-litre T6 started from RM330K so this should dive below the RM300K mark.

The CKD car will retain all the safety features that makes it unique in the class. Collision Warning with Auto Brake (CWAB), Blind Spot Information System (BLIS), Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), Dynamic Stability & Traction Control (DSTC) and City Safety are standard. The latter helps avoid low-speed fender benders by automatically slowing or stopping the Volvo to minimise damage.

The all new Volvo S60 is coming our way “in 2011″ according to Volvo Car Malaysia (VCM). The statement from VCM also mentions the “possibility of offering the T3 and/or T4 for future Volvo models offered here in Malaysia”. The new 1.6-litre GTDi engine badged as T3 and T4 will make its worldwide debut on the S60 and V60, so these cars could be the “future models” VCM is talking about. It’s likely that the S60 will be locally assembled in Shah Alam.

Before we proceed, note that the “T” designation is no longer reserved for performance range toppers. Volvo has a new naming system in place that “ranks” the engines for each model – T6 is more powerful than T4, which is more powerful than T3, for instance. The same thing applies for the diesel “D” variants.

The GTDi name makes one think of a diesel, but is actually a four-cylinder turbocharged direct injection petrol range, downsized like how the Europeans like it. The 1.6 GTDi T3 has 150 hp and 240 Nm while T4 spec gives it 180 hp and 240 Nm, which rises to 270 Nm on overboost. VVT on both inlet and exhaust valves are employed. These engines can be paired to either a six-speed manual or a six-speed Powershift twin-clutch unit – no prizes for guessing which we’ll get!

For the 1.6-litre GTDi, Volvo positioned each injector centrally above the piston, just beside the spark plug. The injectors have six holes each, somewhat unusual for centrally positioned injectors. This gives particularly uniform and finely atomised fuel distribution and greater control on fuel dosage.

In cold starts, the fuel is sprayed into the middle of the combustion chamber prior to ignition. The high fuel injection pressure of 100 bar means that preparation is perfect and less fuel ends up on the cold combustion chamber walls. This helps cut emissions and reduces the amount of fuel consumed. Another benefit is reduced soot particulates compared with a side-positioned injector. In cold starts, this injection style also contributes to quick heating of the catalytic converter, which in turn speeds up the exhaust cleaning process.

Click here to view the S60 and here to read the V60 post.