V60 World's First Diesel Plug In Hybrid
Discussion
Article
The world's first diesel plug-in hybrid will be unveiled at the Geneva motor show, in the form of a "virtually" production-ready Volvo V60.
It will, says the Swedish firm, have carbon dioxide emissions below 50g/km and will go on sale in 2012.
The firm says that a plug-in diesel hybrid gives the driver the "very best of what an electric and diesel car can offer", namely low fuel consumption and low CO2 emissions combined with long range and high performance.
Volvo says that by pressing a button, the driver will be given options on how they want to drive. They can choose an all-electric mode with a range of up to 32 miles or a "high-efficiency hybrid with carbon dioxide emissions averaging just 49g/km".
Alternatively, says Volvo, drivers can choose a "dynamic and engaging car with a combined output of 215-plus-70 horsepower, 324-plus-147lb ft of torque and acceleration from 0-62mph in just 6.9 seconds".
The front wheels of the V60 Plug-in Hybrid will be driven by a five-cylinder 2.4-litre D5 turbodiesel, which develops 215bhp and maximum torque of 324lb ft.
The rear axle features ERAD (Electric Rear Axle Drive) in the form of an electric motor producing 70bhp, which receives its power from a 12kWh lithium-ion battery pack. The car has a six-speed automatic transmission.
The driver chooses the preferred driving mode via three buttons on the instrument panel: Pure, Hybrid and Power. The interaction between diesel and electric power is handled via an electronic control system.
"The second-generation hybrid is the perfect choice for the uncompromising buyer who wants a superbly carbon dioxide-lean car packed with driving pleasure," said Stefan Jacoby, president and CEO of Volvo Cars. "To get drivers to think green, we have offered both, in one traditional genuine sports wagon."
He added: "The technology is still undergoing development and testing. However the car already points very clearly to what our customers can expect when the plug-in hybrid enters showrooms next year.
"What we've done is to spice it up with spearhead technology that allows the driver to choose: zero emissions, high-efficiency hybrid or full-on performance. Just select the mode that suits best."
The world's first diesel plug-in hybrid will be unveiled at the Geneva motor show, in the form of a "virtually" production-ready Volvo V60.
It will, says the Swedish firm, have carbon dioxide emissions below 50g/km and will go on sale in 2012.
The firm says that a plug-in diesel hybrid gives the driver the "very best of what an electric and diesel car can offer", namely low fuel consumption and low CO2 emissions combined with long range and high performance.
Volvo says that by pressing a button, the driver will be given options on how they want to drive. They can choose an all-electric mode with a range of up to 32 miles or a "high-efficiency hybrid with carbon dioxide emissions averaging just 49g/km".
Alternatively, says Volvo, drivers can choose a "dynamic and engaging car with a combined output of 215-plus-70 horsepower, 324-plus-147lb ft of torque and acceleration from 0-62mph in just 6.9 seconds".
The front wheels of the V60 Plug-in Hybrid will be driven by a five-cylinder 2.4-litre D5 turbodiesel, which develops 215bhp and maximum torque of 324lb ft.
The rear axle features ERAD (Electric Rear Axle Drive) in the form of an electric motor producing 70bhp, which receives its power from a 12kWh lithium-ion battery pack. The car has a six-speed automatic transmission.
The driver chooses the preferred driving mode via three buttons on the instrument panel: Pure, Hybrid and Power. The interaction between diesel and electric power is handled via an electronic control system.
"The second-generation hybrid is the perfect choice for the uncompromising buyer who wants a superbly carbon dioxide-lean car packed with driving pleasure," said Stefan Jacoby, president and CEO of Volvo Cars. "To get drivers to think green, we have offered both, in one traditional genuine sports wagon."
He added: "The technology is still undergoing development and testing. However the car already points very clearly to what our customers can expect when the plug-in hybrid enters showrooms next year.
"What we've done is to spice it up with spearhead technology that allows the driver to choose: zero emissions, high-efficiency hybrid or full-on performance. Just select the mode that suits best."
y2blade said:
I WANT 
Me too.Never understood while the hybrid cars are petrol / electric.
Diesels only issue is the short rev range, which is irrelevant if your merely charging batteries.
(And the pool car Honda Insight is massively less economical than my rattly old Passat, yet my road tax is £200+ and the Honda's is free).
First test drive (In Swedish)
My crappy translation said:
Project 312, as internally named, is still in development stage. Production will not begin until week 46 2012 so what I've been driving for few days is a long time prototype.
It has the same configuration as before - the D5 diesel engine at 215 horsepower driving the front wheels and an electric motor of 70 horsepower that drives the rear wheels. The car is therefore four-wheel drive when needed. One can push a button to put it to permanent four-wheel drive mode, perfect if you're going up a muddy hill or pulling the boat up on the slippery concrete slab.
There are three buttons, these are Pure, Hybrid and Power. Press the Pure, it's pure electric mode.
Hybrid button is the most widely used, clear as a bell in city driving when the diesel engine and electric motor interact optimally, but when you start with the first few meteres extra load you have to be really easy so the diesel engine will not kick up.
Power button does not mean a nitrous oxide injection, however, it means that the diesel engine works on its own for full power, but for example in kick-down the electric motor licks in and helps for extra boost.
Here it seems clear that the V60 plug-in hybrid has 70 extra horses compared to a conventional V60 D5. -
A scenario I see before me is that you are on the freeway or highway on the way to the big city. A distance of about 150/200km. You drive on efficient hybrid or with the power button in. Once you are in town, press the Pure button and run on electric power as much as possible.
How far can you drive on electric power alone, then? - 50km, but that's calculated with air conditioning off, stereo to the normal level and more restrictions. So I can well imagine that with normal driving environment the distance would be 30 km.
Electric power is taken from lithium-ion batteries to 12 kilowatt hours. These can be recharged via a regular electrical outlet.
Is it as fast as they say? - On paper it should do 0-100 km / h in 6.9 seconds and it feels fast. Michelin people clocked it earlier in the day and then came down to 7.2 seconds, clearly approved.
When you can buy V60 Plug-in Hybrid? - As production starts week 46 next year, I predict first cars that around Christmas 2012
Hans Hedlund
It has the same configuration as before - the D5 diesel engine at 215 horsepower driving the front wheels and an electric motor of 70 horsepower that drives the rear wheels. The car is therefore four-wheel drive when needed. One can push a button to put it to permanent four-wheel drive mode, perfect if you're going up a muddy hill or pulling the boat up on the slippery concrete slab.
There are three buttons, these are Pure, Hybrid and Power. Press the Pure, it's pure electric mode.
Hybrid button is the most widely used, clear as a bell in city driving when the diesel engine and electric motor interact optimally, but when you start with the first few meteres extra load you have to be really easy so the diesel engine will not kick up.
Power button does not mean a nitrous oxide injection, however, it means that the diesel engine works on its own for full power, but for example in kick-down the electric motor licks in and helps for extra boost.
Here it seems clear that the V60 plug-in hybrid has 70 extra horses compared to a conventional V60 D5. -
A scenario I see before me is that you are on the freeway or highway on the way to the big city. A distance of about 150/200km. You drive on efficient hybrid or with the power button in. Once you are in town, press the Pure button and run on electric power as much as possible.
How far can you drive on electric power alone, then? - 50km, but that's calculated with air conditioning off, stereo to the normal level and more restrictions. So I can well imagine that with normal driving environment the distance would be 30 km.
Electric power is taken from lithium-ion batteries to 12 kilowatt hours. These can be recharged via a regular electrical outlet.
Is it as fast as they say? - On paper it should do 0-100 km / h in 6.9 seconds and it feels fast. Michelin people clocked it earlier in the day and then came down to 7.2 seconds, clearly approved.
When you can buy V60 Plug-in Hybrid? - As production starts week 46 next year, I predict first cars that around Christmas 2012
Hans Hedlund
Sounds like a step in the right direction as long as the price doesn't get silly, which is usually the death of this sort of thing. 12kWhr sounds quite a lot for a hybrid but then it is a plugin.
Just a quick gander at the Volvo website suggests that the base V60 with a D5 is £28,320, so this would be maybe another £10K above that.
The V60 D5 is currently 129CO2/km, 57.6mpg and 7.4s to 60 so its hardly a planet killer or a slow coach.
Is the extra £10K worth it? I guess that depends on what it gets for the mpg on the tests, what company car tax balances out at and the price of electricity relative to diesel. But it definitely sounds interesting and if you want occasional awd (which seems to be all most ppl want of awd) it might be a no brainer.
Just a quick gander at the Volvo website suggests that the base V60 with a D5 is £28,320, so this would be maybe another £10K above that.
The V60 D5 is currently 129CO2/km, 57.6mpg and 7.4s to 60 so its hardly a planet killer or a slow coach.
Is the extra £10K worth it? I guess that depends on what it gets for the mpg on the tests, what company car tax balances out at and the price of electricity relative to diesel. But it definitely sounds interesting and if you want occasional awd (which seems to be all most ppl want of awd) it might be a no brainer.
Shadow R1 said:
I like the sound of this.
6.9 to 60, is the same as my T5.
The normal D5 is only 7.4 to 60, half a second yes but I'm sure someone will say remap soon...6.9 to 60, is the same as my T5.
ATM said:
Thread hijack but sort of related:
Is it true you can convert some diesels to run on lpg?
Yes you can but AFAIK its complicated as obviously the lpg goes in through the inlet and you can't run 100% lpg as you still need to keep it low enough to prevent it igniting/detonating before the diesel is injected. It's probably hideously complicated on a modern diesel to avoid breaking something what with all the fancy valves, vanes and filters they have.Is it true you can convert some diesels to run on lpg?
Gassing Station | Volvo & Polestar | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff