Volvo has unveiled improvements to its new plug-in hybrid, the XC90. According to the official test results, the XC90 now has CO2 emissions of 49 g/km.
The improvement over the earlier announced figures were achieved thanks to the continuous innovation cycle at the Swedish company. The result of further tuning is a drop of 10 g/km from the initial prognosis and means up to 134.5 mpg fuel economy, while also adding horsepower.
Dr Peter Mertens, Senior Vice President Research & Development at Volvo Car Group said: “We have been working hard to earn our competitive edge and to give our customers the ultimate combination of performance and low fuel consumption.
“Our Twin Engine technology has enabled us to build on our heritage of efficient powertrain development in a completely new way. Thanks to our new scalable product architecture, and our world class four-cylinder engines, we have a clear and leading position.”
The improvement means the new XC90 will comfortably fall into band A for car tax while also attracting the lowest rates for company car tax over the next five years. It also means exemption from the London Congestion Charge.
According to Volvo, no other SUV in this class can deliver 26 miles of pure electric range, 0-62mph in 5.6 seconds and provide combined power of 407 hp – all in a 7 seat configuration.
Currently the only plug-in hybrid SUVs available are the Mitsubishi Outlander and Porsche Cayenne. An Audi Q7 e-Tron is also expected on sale at a similar time to the Volvo which will also feature seven seats.
Newspress
