Cleanest Volvo To Be Unveiled

By Anthony Fontanelle

Swedish automaker Volvo recently announced that they will be unveiling their cleanest car model ever at the upcoming Frankfurt Motor Show next month. The automaker announced that they will be calling the new unit as the Volvo C30 Efficiency - a variant of the automakers’ newest car model. This variant of the smallest Volvo car will have less greenhouse gas emissions and will have a better fuel economy.

According to the automaker, the C30 Efficiency will consume a gallon of fuel for every 62.8 miles covered. And since it has less greenhouse gas emissions, it will have less tax and will be exempted from London’s Congestion Charge which will be enforced next February.

Four areas of the C30 have been improved to come up with the Efficiency variant. According to the automaker, these are aerodynamics, rolling resistance, gearing and engine efficiency.

In terms of aerodynamics, the C30 Efficiency is equipped with a roof spoiler, a new bumper and a blanked off front grille. All these modifications increased the ease of which wind flows against the vehicle. Other changes to its aerodynamics includes the 16-inch wheels and underbody panels which similar to skid plates deflect not only stones or gravel but also facilitate the smooth flow of air underneath the car. The C30 Efficiency’s ride height is also lower compared to its siblings.

Rolling resistance is reduced by the use of the new tires which are special compound low friction tires. Other improvement made to the C30 is the re-engineering of the car’s five-speed manual transmission. The third, fourth, and fifth gear ratios have been adjusted to provide more fuel efficiency during cruising speeds. A new transmission fluid is also being used on the revised five-speed manual transmission. The use of this keeps the transmission in its most efficient operating temperature just what like a Volvo S70 radiator does for a Volvo engine.

The power steering mechanism for the C30 Efficiency was also redesigned to make it more energy efficient. An engine management system which involves the use of advanced electronics is also part of the automaker’s revisions on the C30 to come up with the Efficiency variant.
Volvo announced that the improvements that they have made to the C30 resulted to the reduction of power output. The Efficiency’s powerplant produces 104 bhp, 4 less than the conventional C30. But this reduction in power output is not a setback since the improvements made to the C30 were done to make it more fuel efficient and eco-friendly and not to be a more powerful car.

According to experts, the C30 Efficiency may be the answer of the Swedish automaker to Volkswagen’s BlueMotion models. According to Magnus Jonsson, the chief of Volvo’s R&D team in an interview with Autocar, Volvo is “firmly committed to lowering the fuel consumption of its conventional petrol and diesel engines, and continuously reducing the overall CO2 emission level for its whole model range.”

Thus, it is possible that just like BlueMotion, the efficiency badge will be carried by Volvo vehicles and not only the C30.