Volvo has revealed two all-new four-cylinder engines and said that within two years the entire range will be powered by variants of the company's own 2.0-litre units.

The first of the new Drive-E range of engines – petrol and diesel – will be available in the S60, V60 and XC60 from January.

The move comes as Volvo attempts to divest itself from Ford, and lower its average emissions.

The diesel D4 engine produces 184hp and, in the S60 with manual gearbox, emits 99g/km of CO2.

A more powerful T6 petrol unit is available, which produces 306 bhp and the company says - with a 0-60 time of 5.9 seconds - it will rival larger engines.

Vice president powertrain engineering at Volvo, Derek Crabb, said: "The sophisticated Drive-E technologies give the customer high performance, improved fuel economy, considerably lower emissions and a powerful sound character. Our four-cylinder engines will offer higher performance than today’s six-cylinder units and lower fuel consumption than the current four-cylinder generation.

"If you take a four-cylinder Drive-E engine versus any six-cylinder engine, there’s a massive weight and size reduction for the same power. Fuel economy savings are anything from 10-30%, depending on which engine you’re comparing it to."

The engine has been designed with electrification in mind – suggesting that more plug-in hybrids like the current V60 will be part of the future model line-up.

Author
Andrew Brady