Volvo’s new engine range revealed – and there’s just 2 of ’em!

The new Volvo Engine Architecture range of Volvo engines – now called DRIVE-E – has been revealed, and there’s just one 2.0 litre petrol and one 2.0 litre diesel.

It’s a bit hard to get your head round the idea that a major car maker could offer the option of just two engines across its entire range. But that’s exactly what Volvo are doing.

Out go all Volvo engines from 4-pot to V8 via 5-pot and six-cylinder, and in comes a new range of DRIVE-E engines comprising just two basic engines – one common rail diesel and one direct-injected petrol. But the key to such a limited range is modern engine technology, forced induction and cutting edge fuel injection.

That means Volvo will be able to offer diesel engines with various outputs from 120-230bhp and petrol engines from 140bhp to more than 300bhp, all by varying the forced induction and tinkering with the car’s ECU and injectors.

The diesel version’s new i-Art injectors are key to economy and performance in Volvo’s new oil burner, with each injector getting its own little ‘brain’ to inject the optimum amount of fuel in each cylinder. Hopefully a pressure of 2500 bar (that’s 36,000 psi) won’t prove a barrier to reliability

Further variations in powertrains will come from hybrid setups, with electric motors offering 4WD in some cases – and just driving the front wheels in others – and all drivetrain options will be mated to either an all new eight-speed automatic or a tweaked six-speed manual.

The first Volvos in the UK to get the new DRIVE-E engines will be the S60, V60 and XC60 FWD which will get the new DRIVE-E D4 with 179bhp, and the DRIVE-E T6 with 302bhp for the S60 and V60 and will launch in Autumn this year.

It’s a brave move by Volvo to rationalise its engine range in such a bold fashion. But it does make a lot of economic sense