Volvo's great eco adventure

Nov 9 2009 Chris Russon

FORGET budget airlines for low cost breaks to Europe - Volvo has a new car which can do the job at a fraction of the price.

The Swedish manufacturer is introducing a range of super-economical big cars capable of almost 900 miles on a tank of fuel.

It brings a host of European cities within range for a price cheaper than a low cost airline ticket - and you get to travel business class.

To prove the point, I've just driven a new S80 DRIVe saloon from Milan to Volvo's UK headquarters in Marlow, Bucks, for less than £70 worth of fuel.

With two people on board that works out at almost half the price of an easyJet flight from Italy to London.

Admittedly the journey took some 18 hours, including the Channel crossing, but even with that factored in it is still a bargain.

The trick has been to drop a 1.6-litre diesel engine into the S80 and the even larger V70 estate as part of Volvo's strategy to lower CO2 emissions.

It is the same engine which Volvo has used in its other high economy DRIVe models, including the much smaller C30 coupe which can average more than 70mpg.

While it may sound crazy to put such a little engine into the executive sized S80 saloon which weighs the best part of 1.6 tons, the result is impressive.

Not only is the new DRIVe model the most economical version of the S80 it is also the cheapest priced from £22,245.

Top speed is a claimed 118mph but it is the mid-range power of the 109bhp engine which makes it so acceptable and it can manage 0 to 60mph in 11.7 seconds.

With a five speed manual gearbox, aerodynamic tweaks to the bodywork, higher ratio gears and low rolling resistance tyres the S80 DRIVe can average 57.7mpg with CO2 emissions of 129g/km - a 15 per cent improvement over the two-litre diesel version.

It is more economical than any of its main rivals from Mercedes, Jaguar, BMW and Audi and costs less in tax for business users - a key market for both the V70 and S80.

On the 825 mile drive from Milan the car was driven at normal motorway speeds and according to the onboard computer averaged 57.4mpg - a fraction off the official figure. The average speed was 52mph.

The particular car used for the exercise was a high specification S80 SE Premium priced from £24, 250 and fitted with leather upholstery and sat nav. There was also some £4,000 of extras including Volvo's blind spot warning system which proved very handy in a right hand drive car on continental motorways.

Comfort throughout the journey was excellent despite an annoying amount of wind noise from the sunroof - an £850 option - which although closed sounded as if it was not sealed properly.

The S80 is a full blown executive express with plenty of room in the rear, a good sized boot at 422 litres and even around town Volvo claims it is capable of 47.9mpg.

Not only will the DRIVe appeal to those who want a big car with top rate economy it is also likely to prove very popular in the chauffeur driven VIP market.

But for those who want to drive themselves there's Prague, Berlin, Munich and even Monaco within a one tank range of the Channel ports. Who said eco-driving was not adventurous?