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Volvo's new V70 wagon combines an exciting driving
experience with benchmark environmental responsibility.
Few automotive manufacturers, if any, have a
better grasp of environmental factors than Volvo.
Every new vehicle it introduces is accompanied
by a declaration, which describes in detail how if affects the environment -
in manufacture, operation and disposal.
Only a company in total control of its entire
process can issue such a declaration. In Volvo's case, it is reviewed and verified
by Lloyd's Register in London.
The Volvo V70 presents new features that take
the environment into account inside and outside.
In particular, the five-cylinder turbocharged
engines have undergone far-reaching changes, according to Silvert Hiljemark,
Senior Vice President in the Engine Division of Volvo Cars.
"Engine development at Volvo Car Corporation
aims at more than just giving our cars higher performance and making them more
fun to drive.
"We see it as a matter of combining the dynamic
properties with pioneering environmental responsibility, in terms of fuel consumption
and exhaust emissions alike.
"We have undertaken to reduce fuel consumption
by 25 percent by the year 2008, taking the 1995 figures as our point of departure.
"With the new Volvo V70, we have taken an important
step in the right direction. We have, for example, achieved cleaner emissions
and lower fuel consumption when driving at speed, as a result of improved materials
and changes that allow higher exhaust temperatures."
Volvo has undertaken to cut fuel consumption
in its vehicles by 25 percent by the year 2008, with 1995 figures as the base
point.
In a major step toward this goal, the high performance
2.3 litre T5 engine in the Volvo V70 achieves consumption as low as 9.3 litres
per 100 kms in mixed city and highway running - while offering the driver 184
kiloWatts of power at 5200 rpm and 330 Newtonmetres of torque between 2400 rpm
and 5200 rpm.
The V70 2.4 litre T engine is equally impressive
on the road or at the bowser. Fitted with a light-pressure turbo, it provides
outstanding driveability with 147 kW of power at 6000 rpm and 285 Newtonmetres
of torque between 1800 rpm and 5000 rpm.
The 2.4 litre Volvo V70 20V, due in August, will
be one of only a handful of cars on sale in Australia that is able to meet the
Californian Ultra Low Vehicle Emissions (ULEV) requirements. With 125 kW on
tap, it also will not be short on performance.
While reducing emissions, the Volvo V70 makes
other contributions to clean air.
It features Volvo's ground-breaking PremAir technology,
in which the radiator is coated with a catalyst that "eats" ground-level ozone,
otherwise known as smog.
Tests have shown that up to 75 percent of ground-level
ozone that passes through the radiator is converted to oxygen. The hotter and
more polluted the air, the more effective PremAir becomes.
Technicians also have devoted attention to the
environment inside the wagon.
The particle filter and ventilation systems are
newly-developed and so effective that the air in the cabin is cleaner than it
is outside.
This practical application of technology extends
to the active carbon filter and gas sensor. If the levels of carbon monoxide
in the cabin become unhealthy - for instance, when driving behind a truck -
the air intake is closed automatically.
All textiles in the Volvo V70 interior conform
to a world-standard eco-labelling system and are free from hazardous compounds
and residual products, an important benefit for occupants who are hypersensitive.
The labelling system also guarantees no hazardous
compounds are used in manufacture and handling.
The luxurious leather upholstery in the new Volvo
V70 wagon is tanned in a process that uses only natural vegetable substances.
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