Does Volvo sell a Diesel Car in North America?

Is there such a beast?

I would be interested in a diesel AWD vehicle that is not an SUV.

Suggestions? Links?

Thanks,

Tmuld

 

Nope, no diesel at this time, but the XV70 is a AWD wagon.

http://www.volvocars.us/models/xc70/

 

Joe ha scritto:

No, wait a moment.
The new XC70 is sold in Europe since end of July even though its
official presentation will be in September.
Anyway all Volvo websites in Europe had been showing the new model since
May.
The US Volvo website is only showing the old beast, no sign of the new one.
Probably they have a huge old stock to sell before MY08 comes in?

 

Too bad there no diesel Volvos.

A diesel XC70 would get great mileage and would totally make sense in
NA.

What would be a drawback to having a diesel Volvo?

Thanks!

Tmuld

 

I drive one over here in Europe. These Diesel-Volvos would make perfect
sense in an US-environment. On a US-highway at 60mph I would easily get
45 miles/US-gallon on my V70 D5. The other positive side ist the
enormous torque of the Diesel-engine: 400 NM is better than the best V8
would deliver.

Your welcome!

Joerg

 

People in the US don't buy them. Volvo makes diesels and sells them all
over the world. When they tried to sell them in the US, sales were very
sluggish, just like a diesel Volvo.

 

Volvo Canada said there are numerous challenges in meeting
environmental standards of North America.

They said Canadian and American standards (California) are difficult
for diesel engines to meet. I am guess they would have to re design
their engine - which probably is not cost effective.

I thought Europeans standards were better than NA.

In NA - we do have Mercedes and Volkswagen diesels - they must meet
the emission standards.

Quoting Volvo:
"Future minimum emissions standards will make it progressively more
difficult for diesel-powered vehicles to be certified for sale in this
country. Companies like Volvo need to plan for the long term."

The diesel version says 33 600 pound on the UK site - that is about
$70 000 USD. A small fortune.

Importing one from Europe would probably not meet standards of NA and
rejected.

I would think with the rise in gas prices here - diesels would sell
better. Plus their new D5 engine provides more power.

Too bad...would be real nice.

Thanks for all the input!

Tmuld

 

Drawbacks for any diesel car in USA:
1. Depending on your location there may be only a few stations that
sell diesel fuel.
2. Diesel sells for approximately the same as premium gasoline and
sometimes more. More than anything else this reduces the financial
benefits of a diesel motor. Biodiesel could be a cheaper alternative
although there are some conversion costs.
3. A comparably equipped car with a gas motor will probably cost less
than one with a diesel motor.
4. Contrary to popular myth the non-fuel cost of operating a diesel
over the long haul is about the same as a gasoline equipped engine.
They do require maintenance and when something breaks it is usually
expensive.
5. Be sure to drive any diesel powered vehicle before buying. Large
torque numbers at low rpm's notwithstanding they tend to feel
sluggish.

 

The current problem is a matter of emissions regulations, particularly
NOX and particulates. There are a new generation of clean diesels on
the way which clear these hurdles, but the reason there are almost no
diesel cars on the US market right now is regulatory, not customer
preference.

Honda says they will be bringing diesel to the US, probably around 2010.

 

Many people think that the Europeans are "more green" regulation wise
than the US, but it isn't true. Auto emissions standards were in place
in the US long before in Europe. Lead was removed from automotive fuels
in the US more than a decade ahead of Europe. Current European
emissions standards are in fact easier to meet than current California
standards.

The are not available in California nor in the other states which follow
California emissions requirements.

 

I didn't know that, that's too bad really, my friend has a Golf turbodiesel
and it gets great mileage and has decent performance as well. It's an
entirely different beast than the diesel cars of the 1970s that gave them
all such a bad rap around here.

Diesels do emit more particulate, but given they burn so much less fuel per
mile traveled in general I would think this would even out.

 

In fact Mercedes is making a diesel engines for light aircraft for the
US market.

 

You have absolutely no clue, desr. The modern Volvo-Diesels have a much
better driveability than the gasoline-engines.

Sluggish? That shows you never drove one of the direct injection
turbo-diesels.

Joerg

 

I assume he's talking about the 240 and 760 Diesels we got back in the 80s,
88hp in a 3200LB car, they were slow as molasses, smokey, and very hard to
find anyone willing to work on them. We never got any of the modern diesels
over here.

 

My D5 has a 185 hp / 400 NM engine with a modern 6-gear-automatic
attached to it. Top speed 225 km/h (140 mph) and an acceleration to 60
mph in under 9s. This cannot called be sluggish. Before, I had the
same V70 as a T5 with 250 hp but "only" 340 NM torque. The diesel is
much more driveable in everyday conditions and the T5 was only quicker
at very high speeds above 120 mph and with high revs.
With the diesel I hardly ever use more than 3500 RPMs. In the 6th gear
that is equivalent to 122 mph.

What the environmental aspect is conecerned, the 185 hp version is
equipped with a particles filter and a catalytic converter and
therefore meets the highest international standards.

Joerg

 

That's probably a large reason diesels are so out of favor in the US,
emissions aside. I understand the new common rail diesels have overcome many
of the drivability problems of diesels and at least have the potential for
reducing the clatter, but the diesels we have on the road now are still
miserable beasts.

My work truck is a Ford diesel (TDi) and I love/hate it. The fuel economy is
twice what the previous gasser offered, which translates to twice the
range - a crucial consideration when far from civilization. The power on the
open road and for towing is also very nice; amazing what 25 PSI boost will
do. Off-road, especially in soft spots, the steady torque delivery is a big
improvement over the fluky delivery of gas engines (as long as I don't let
the turbo get going!) Coupled with the manual tranny, though acceleration
from a stop is the stuff of nightmares. Even a slight upgrade means several
seconds to reach walking speed, and bicyclists usually beat me across
intersections. I pretend I'm pulling a heavy trailer when planning a turn
across traffic or for merging from a side street. The engine is horribly
noisy and has been very troublesome; Ford is having trouble with the
injectors in their Cummins diesels and now demands from us 1500 mile service
intervals to keep the warranty in force. Don't even remind me of the
problems from that tank of low-cetane fuel I got. <8^O

Mike

 

Anyone catch the American Le Mans series road race at Road America last
weekend?
Them Audi diesels are no slugs...

 

Neither are other European makes. The market share is going up quickly
because of the better economics and also the superior characteristics.
Even in countries where Diesel is not subsidised by lower taxes like
here in Switzerland.

And this year the Diesel-Audis won the 24h-Le-Mans-Race for the second
time in a row.

 

Right you are for older models. Diesels in general have a steeper torque
curve than gasoline engines. These days the manufacturers compensate for
this with very short 1st gears and more gears in total. In the case of
my D5 there are 6 gears and the spread between 1st and 6th is roughly 6
to 1 which is very high compared to older transmissions with usually 4
gears and spreads of 4:1 or even less.

Joerg

 

I only see Volvo Diesels when I pass them in Europe with my gas powered
Volvos which I buy over there. Volvo diesels will go fast, but they
don't have the quickest acceleration. There aren't any new Volvo
diesels in the USA.

For a real comparison:

2007 Volvo C70 SE Lux D5 (2.4 litre turbo) Geartronic takes 9.5 seconds
to reach 60 mph (38.7 mpg)
2007 Volvo C70 SE Lux T5 (2.5 litre turbo) Geartronic takes 7.6 seconds
to reach 60 mph (31.0 mpg)
2007 Volvo C70 SE Lux 2.4 (2.4 litre turbo) Geartronic takes 9.1 seconds
to reach 60 mph (31.4 mpg)

The make the statement: "At £29,420 for the cheapest 'port' version, the
D5 is £3,195 pricier than the 2.4-litre petrol. So petrol choosers
effectively get more than 21,000 miles of free motoring, while from the
D5 has to notch 64,000 miles before that premium begins to return a
benefit."

from
<http://cars.tiscali.co.uk/nuovo/Auto/visualizza.php?arrayid=12123&op=int
ro>,
<http://cars.tiscali.co.uk/nuovo/Auto/visualizza.php?arrayid=12121&op=int
ro> and
<http://cars.tiscali.co.uk/nuovo/Auto/visualizza.php?arrayid=12123&op=int
ro>