Ford has announced the sale of its Volvo subsidiary to Chinese car-maker Geely for about 2 billion US dollars (approx £1.25bn).
With Ford having also sold Aston Martin, Jaguar and Land Rover over the past three years that leaves the Detroit based car maker with three core brands, Ford, Lincoln and Mercury.
The deal is likely to be completed in the first quarter of 2010.
Top Safety Pick
A new study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) in America has found that Subaru vehicles are among the safest on the road.
The insurance backed organisation conducted a series of stringent frontal, side, rear and rollover crash tests on a wide variety of vehicles and found that Subaru was the only manufacturer to receive enough points to be awarded its “Top Safety Pick” award for every car model it entered. Subaru outperformed other contenders from the likes of Audi, Honda, Ford, Volkswagen and Volvo.
Subaru’s five IIHS Top Safety Pick awards came in four different categories as follows;
- The new Legacy and Outback were recognised in the Midsize car group.
- The Imprezza was picked for the Small car category.
- The Forester was awarded the small SUV section.
- Finally the Tribeca was awarded the Midsize SUV class.
Subaru car leasing prices on all the range are available off the site now.
Volvo XC60 DRIVe
The new Volvo XC60 DRIVe is ideal for any company car driver looking for the benefits of a comfortable raised driving position but likes the idea of low company car tax and good fuel consumption.
The CO2 emissions of this Volvo sits neatly under the 160g/km threshold at 159g/km and the car offers 47.1mpg on the combined fuel cycle as well. Powered by a 2.4-litre diesel engine and front wheel drive, Volvo has been able to offer a premium Crossover that will appeal to the tax conscious company car driver. Volvo car leasing prices on this model are available now.
Win a Volvo XC60
Fans of the new film, Twilight Saga:New Moon, can log onto a website to win Edward Cullen’s shiny new Volvo XC60.
Players can register at www.whatdrivesedward.com from the 2nd November where you will receive clues to help solve a series of puzzles. Fans are also being encouraged to use Facebook, MySpace and Twitter to help solve the game. The competition runs from the 2nd November until the 23rd November 2009.
The website also has trailers from the film, photo galleries and downloadable New Moon-themed desktop wallpapers. Edward drives a Volvo XC60 in Saville Grey metallic with a sandstone beige leather interior, cream steering wheel,19-inch Achilles diamond cut wheels plus extras like side scuff plates,front bumper bar and rear skid plates.
Outback - top SUV
Subaru has won an award for the top SUV with their all-new Outlook. This new model was named as Sport Utility of the Year by a leading American motoring magazine called Motor Trend. The US market is the largest for SUVs so this is a positive endorsement for the new car.
Eleven road testers were involved in the judging and the Subaru saw off other contenders like, the Lexus RX450h, Volvo XC60 and The Audi Q5. The Outback won by a vote of 10 to one.
New 2010 New Outback line-up
| Model | Price (OTR) | CO2 g/km | VED Band | Ins. Group |
| 2.0D SE | £26,295 | 167 | H | 12E/21E |
| 2.0D SE NavPlus | £28,295 | 167 | H | 12E/22E |
| 2.5i SE* | £26,295 | 194 | J | 12E/20E |
| 2.5i SE NavPlus * | £28,295 | 194 | J | 12E/20E |
| 3.6R | £33,295 | 232 | L | 15E/29E |
* Lineartronic gearbox fitted as standard
Subaru car leasing prices will be available shortly.
New Volvo C30
The Volvo C30 is available in four trims, namely S, SE, Lux and R-DESIGN and you will have a choice of six engines including the green 99g/km 1.6D 109 PS DRIVe with Start/Stop technology.
The new Volvo C30 range
| Volvo C30 | Prices OTR |
| S | |
| 1.6D DRIVe (109 PS) | £16,245 |
| 1.6D DRIVe (109 PS) with Start/Stop | £16,710 |
| 1.6 (100 PS) | £14,495 |
| SE | |
| 1.6D DRIVe (109 PS) | £17,995 |
| 1.6D DRIVe (109 PS) with Start/Stop | £18,460 |
| 2.0D (136 PS) | £18,610 |
| D5 (180 PS) | £20,110 |
| 1.6 (100 PS) | £16,245 |
| 2.0 (145 PS) | £17,245 |
| SE Lux | |
| 1.6D DRIVe (109 PS) | £19,245 |
| 1.6D DRIVe (109 PS) with Start/Stop | £19,710 |
| 2.0D (136 PS) | £19,860 |
| D5 (180 PS) | £21,360 |
| 2.0 (145 PS) | £18,495 |
| R-DESIGN | |
| 1.6D DRIVe (109 PS) | £18,245 |
| 2.0D (136 PS) | £18,860 |
| D5 (180 PS) | £20,360 |
| 1.6 (100 PS) | £16,245 |
| 2.0 (145 PS) | £17,495 |
| T5 (230 PS) | £20,235 |
The new Volvo C70 is launched with a more refined appeared plus a number of vehicle specification changes. There are three trim levels available- S, SE and Lux plus a choice of four engines (two diesel and two petrol).
New Volvo C70
New Volvo C70 range
| Volvo C70 | Prices OTR |
| S | |
| 2.0D (136 PS) | £25,995 |
| SE | |
| 2.0D (136 PS) | £28,245 |
| 2.0D (136 PS) SE Premium | £30,245 |
| D5 (180 PS) | £29,995 |
| D5 (180 PS) SE Premium | £31,995 |
| 2.4i (170 PS) | £27,995 |
| 2.4i (170 PS) SE Premium | £29,995 |
| SE Lux | |
| 2.0D (136 PS) | £29,595 |
| 2.0D (136 PS) SE Lux Premium | £30,845 |
| D5 (180 PS) | £31,345 |
| D5 (180 PS) SE Lux Premium | £32,595 |
| 2.4i (170PS) | £29,345 |
| 2.4i (170 PS) SE Lux Premium | £30,595 |
| T5 (230 PS) | £32,345 |
| T5 (230 PS) SE Lux Premium | £33,595 |
Volvo XC60
Volvo picked up the £25,000 to £32,000 price category at the Caravan Club Towcar of the Year Awards 2010, beating rivals from Isuzu, Skoda, Honda, Subaru and Toyota.
The Volvo XC60 D5 AWD SE was praised for its sure-footed handling, flexible power and all-wheel drive capability. Grenville Chamberlain of the Caravan Club said,”This vehicle has an extra powerful version of Volvo’s excellent five-cylilnder engine as well as AWD. Gear changes are smooth and speed builds up rapidly”.
The D5 delivers 205PS and comes with a choice of 6-speed manual or 5-speed Geartronic (auto) transmission and is also fitted with Trailer Stability Assist (STA) to counteract “trailer snaking”.
Volvo C30 BEV
Volvo is evaluating a new C30 BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle) which unlike some other battery-powered cars, offers the same space and comfort as the standard car, including four seats. The new electric car emits zero carbon dioxide emissions, has a range of up to 93 miles and reaches 0-62mph in less than 11 seconds.
The car is solely powered by a Litium-ion battery, which can be charged from a regular household supply (230V) and takes eight hours to fully recharge. Volvo’s main focus over the mid-term will be plug-in hybrids (combustion engine and electric propulsion) but longer term as battery sizes reduce, fully-electric cars will be more practical to build and run. Volvo has also recently announced the launch of the Volvo C30 1.6D DRIVe which offers 99g/km and is available shortly.
Volvo C30 1.6D DRIVe
The new Volvo C30 1.6D DRIVe with a Start/Stop facility has now been launched and offers great fuel economy, plus low CO2 emissions. The car emits only 99g/km CO2 and returns up to 74.3mpg on the combined cycle and on a fuel tank of diesel, is capable of upto 875 miles on one tank.
The low fuel consumption is not the only new feature of this car as Volvo has given the C30 an extensive facelift including the entire front. The new car will be available to order in October 2009.
New C30 SportsCoupe
Volvo is launching a new C30 SportsCoupe which will be unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor show later this month. The front of the bonnet has had a complete re-design giving the new car a radical appearance, with body panel changes to the wings and bonnet giving it a really distinctive look.
New C30 SportsCoupe
In the grille, the new car has a larger iron mark, as seen in the the rest of the Volvo range and the air intake has also been enlarged, which resembles the XC60. New exterior features include an Orange Flame Metallic colour, visible tailpipes in the T5 and D5 models plus two new wheel options.
A new accessory styling kit can also be ordered which includes foglamp decor, front skidplate, side scuff plates and a rear skid plate with an aluminium look.
Inside a new range of interior colours is also being offered with Espresso/Blond consisting of a dark brown upper section and a blond fresh shade on the lower door sides, being one. The new also car offers a wide variety of engines including the new 1.6D DRIVe with Start/Stop technology.
|
Model |
Fuel consumption – combined cycle |
CO2 |
|
Diesel engines |
|
|
|
D5 |
45.6mpg |
164g/km |
|
2.0D |
49.6mpg |
151g/km |
|
1.6D DRIVe |
62.8mpg |
119g/km |
|
1.6D DRIVe Start/Stop |
72.4mpg |
104g/km |
|
Petrol engines |
|
|
|
T5 |
32.5mpg |
203g/km |
|
2.0 |
38.2mpg |
177g/km |
|
1.6 |
40.4mpg |
167g/km |
Volvo car leasing prices on this model should be loaded shortly or you can look for any other Volvo model now.