The recently updated Volvo XC70 and S80 are now available with Volvo’s latest infotainment and safety technology as well are more refined and efficient drivelines.
The Volvo XC70 and S80 have been updated with a number of new features that further emphasise the company’s focus on cars designed around the needs and wishes of people in modern society. They are designed around you.
The new features include the latest user-friendly Volvo Sensus infotainment system, that makes driving your Volvo even safer and more comfortable, and refined drivelines that offer higher performance and lower fuel consumption.
“These cars mark yet another step forward in our determination to be the brand that best interprets what buyers of modern prestige cars want. Concern for the individual’s well-being is the very core of our Scandinavian origin. On this basis we create a logical, intuitive and ergonomically optimised driver’s environment that promotes a feeling of relaxed control,” says Volvo Cars’ President and CEO Stefan Jacoby.
Volvo Sensus is an excellent example of how Volvo Cars refines the driver environment. The new infotainment system made its debut in the Volvo S60 and V60 in 2010, and now Sensus has been introduced locally in the Volvo XC70 and S80 as well.
The updated XC70 and S80 are now both available in SA.
Volvo Sensus – ergonomic high-tech
In Sensus, all information is presented on a five-inch or seven-inch colour screen in the upper part of the centre stack. The screen is positioned high up to make it easy for the driver to keep his or her eyes on the road.
By pressing the “My Car” button in the centre stack the driver gains access to a wide range of settings for systems such as City Safety, Collision Warning, Pedestrian Detection, Driver Alert System, Active Cruise Control, lighting, door mirrors, climate unit, central locking and the audio system.
If you choose a multimedia audio system, Volvo Sensus is accompanied by a larger seven-inch screen that also displays information and images from the navigation system, phone, reversing camera, panorama camera, DVD player and so on.
The Bluetooth connection has been upgraded to allow not only hands-free phone conversations but also music streaming from your preferred Bluetooth enabled portable music player. Volvo is actually the only brand to offer Bluetooth music streaming throughout its entire vehicle range.
Integrated navigation with voice commands is available as an option, as well as an entertainment system for rear-seat passengers. This package includes among other things a DVD player, two eight-inch screens integrated into the front seat headrests, wireless headphones and remote control.
Full control without distraction
All the functions can be controlled via buttons built into the steering wheel or via touch buttons located just below the colour screen.
“Volvo Sensus does not distract the driver from driving. The idea is that the technology should be so intuitive that the user can manoeuvre the menus without having to first read through the instruction manual. We are one of the few manufacturers to offer the driver access to all the system’s functions via buttons in the steering wheel,” says Lex Kerssemakers, Senior Vice President, Product Strategy & Vehicle Line Management at Volvo Cars.
World-class audio experience
The most advanced audio unit, Premium, has a class D digital 5x130W amplifier, subwoofer, Dolby Digital in combination with Dolby Pro Logic II Surround, the latest MultEQ from Audyssey Laboratories and 10 loudspeakers.
The market-leading MultEQ technology from Audyssey Laboratories eliminates the distortion that might otherwise be caused by the passenger compartment’s particular acoustic properties. The result is crisper and clearer sound for everyone in the car.
In addition to Premium Sound, which is combined with a seven-inch screen, there are three other audio system levels. All have been tailored for the car by Volvo Cars’ in-house experts.
Now also with Pedestrian Detection
Pedestrian Detection with Full Auto Brake, launched locally in the Volvo S60 and V60, is now also available in the Volvo XC70 and S80. It is a support function designed to help the driver detect dangerous situations and it can actively help avoid the nightmare scenario of hitting a pedestrian.
Pedestrian Detection with Full Auto Brake uses radar and a camera to monitor pedestrians in front of the car. The system initially provides a warning to alert the driver so he or she can brake or steer clear of the pedestrian. If the driver does not respond, the car automatically brakes with full force moments before the collision becomes unavoidable. With automatic braking, collisions can in certain circumstances be entirely avoided at speeds below 35 km/h.
If all cars had Pedestrian Detection with Full Auto Brake, it is estimated that the number of pedestrian fatalities could be reduced by more than 20 percent. The reduction in serious injuries would be almost 30 percent. In three out of ten cases, a collision could be entirely avoided.
Adaptive cruise control down to standstill
The collision warning system has also been programmed to respond to vehicles in front that are at a standstill or are moving in the same direction. In certain situations, a collision can be avoided if the speed difference between the two vehicles is less than 35 km/h.
In the area of comfort the XC70 and S80 are equipped with an automatic transmission that can now be specified with the latest version of Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), which automatically helps maintain a constant safety margin to the vehicle in front.
This system now operates all the way down to standstill and the car accelerates automatically once the traffic starts moving again.
City Safety as standard
Another new feature is that City Safety is now standard in both models. This system can lessen the severity of, or entirely avoid, low-speed rear-end collisions at speeds of up to 30km/h.
City Safety monitors the vehicles in front with the help of a laser sensor built into the windscreen at the height of the rear-view mirror. The car automatically brakes if the driver does not respond in time when the car in front slows down or stops – or if the driver is driving too fast towards a stationary, or slower-moving vehicle.
If the relative speed difference between the two vehicles is less than 15 km/h, the collision can be entirely avoided. If the speed difference is between 15-30 km/h, the speed of impact is reduced to minimise the effects of the collision.
Other new features in the Volvo XC70 and S80 include:
- New body colours Biarritz Blue (S80) and Twilight Bronze (XC70).
- Redesigned headlamps. Active Xenon lights are optional.
- LED turn indicators integrated into the door mirrors (S80).
- Two new wheel designs for the S80 and one for the XC70.
- In addition there is a new three-spoke steering wheel, enhanced décor inlays and redesigned interior lighting.
Increased performance and lower fuel consumption – upgraded D5 and D3 engines
The XC70 and S80 are the first in Volvo’s model range to feature the new higher performance versions of the five-cylinder D5 and D3 turbodiesel engines.
The S80 is now available with both the new D5 and D3 engines, while the XC70 gets the new D5.
In the D5 engine Volvo Cars’ engine experts have succeeded in boosting performance and torque from
151 kW/420 Nm to 158kw and 440 Nm while at the same time reducing fuel consumption by three percent.
This means that the fuel consumption of a Volvo S80 D5 with automatic gearbox is now just 6.1 l/100 km (EU Combined), corresponding to 159 g of CO2 per kilometre.
The quest for better driveability combined with lower fuel consumption and less environmental impact has led to increased focus on internal friction inside the engine.
“It’s actually all about improvements in several areas that together make the cars both more enjoyable and cheaper to drive. This is the science of the small incremental steps. The engines are already so optimised that it takes many man-hours to identify and refine the tiny details that can make them even more efficient,” says Derek Crabb, Vice President, Powertrain Engineering at Volvo Cars.
Already best in class in 2008
With advanced solutions such as sequential twin-turbo technology, ceramic glowplugs and piezo-electric fuel injectors, the new five-cylinder 2.4-litre D5 turbodiesel had among the best fuel economy figures in its segment when it was presented in the Volvo S80 at the end of 2008. What is more, it was the first Euro 5 engine in its class.
At its introduction, the high-performance D5 engine offered 151kW and maximum torque of 420 Nm.
One new feature was a twin-turbo setup with two different-sized turbochargers operating in tandem to provide added power across a wider rev band. This configuration gives alert response and fast, powerful acceleration high up in the rev range.
Advanced injection technology using piezo-electric fuel injectors was another new feature, ensuring highly precise distribution of fuel in the combustion chamber. This promotes efficient fuel incineration and low emissions. At the same time, this technology and its efficient combustion system help create a pleasant engine note.
Scaled-down D3 with shorter stroke
The medium-performance D3 with 120kW and 400 Nm of torque was introduced in the Volvo S60 and V60. It is in principle the same engine as the 2.4-litre version, but with a shorter stroke that reduces displacement to 2.0 litres.
Its injection system has the same type of piezo-electric fuel injectors as the D5, but tailored for the smaller engine. The injectors reduce combustion with exceptionally quick and precise injection sequences under high pressure. The result is particularly effective combustion.
In order to give the car even better driving properties, it is fitted with a variable-geometry turbocharger.
A range of upgrades
Now upgraded versions of both engines are being launched to coincide with the latest enhancements to the Volvo XC70 and S80.
The refined D5 engine now offers 158kW and maximum torque is no less than 440 Nm, while the D3 remains at 120kW and 400 Nm. However, the two-litre diesel engine’s driveability is now far improved thanks to fine-tuning of the turbocharger. This is an excellent example of the fact that efficiency enhancement in modern combustion engines is now taking place at microscopic levels.
“When comparing modern diesel engines, torque is of far greater interest than the kW figure. It is the available torque that gives the diesel the sort of acceleration and potent driveability that many petrol engines can barely match,” explains Derek Crabb.
The enhancements in a nutshell
Most of the latest engine-related improvements apply to both the D5 and D3 engines:
- Both the camshafts and connecting rods have been weight-optimised, that is to say they do the same efficient job using a smaller amount of steel.
- The new piston rings are of low-friction type.
- The oil pump is chain-driven.
- With the piston cooling valves controlled solely by demand instead of opening regularly, consumption can be reduced.
- The new vacuum pump has been optimised to affect the engine as little as possible.
- The D5 engine now gets the same lighter type of connecting rod that the 2-litre D3 had when it was introduced in 2010.
- All variants are equipped with a six-speed automatic transmission.
Lower fuel consumption
The improved driving properties of the turbodiesels are accompanied by lower fuel consumption figures for both engines. The upgraded D5 engine, for instance, uses around eight percent less diesel fuel than the previous variant in an S80 with manual gearbox.
This means that the fuel consumption (EU Combined) of a Volvo S80 D5 system is now just 4.9 l/100 km (129 g CO2/km) with manual gearbox and start/stop. The corresponding figures for the automatic version are 6.0l/100 km (158 g/km).
Fuel consumption in the XC70 is 6.8 l/100 km (179 g/km) in the AWD version with automatic gearbox.
The corresponding figures for the D3 engine with automatic gearbox are 6.0 l/100 km (158 g/km) in the Volvo S80.
Pricing includes C02 tax and VAT
- Volvo XC70 D5 AWD Geartronic Excel R509 600
- Volvo XC70 D5 AWD Geartronic Elite R523 500
- Volvo S80 D3 Geartronic Essential R426 600
- Volvo S80 D3 Geartronic Excel R431 100
- Volvo S80 D3 Geartronic Elite R443 300
- Volvo S80 D5 Geartronic Executive R531 300
