Volvo is offering a dual-clutch gearbox called Powershift.
For now, it comes exclusively with a new 2-litre engine variant for its S40, V50 and C30 models.
The gearbox, which is supplied by Getrag and tweaked for Volvo, comes from Ford, as is the 2-litre engine.
(Ford offers this same combination for its Ford Focus in Thailand, among other places.)
There’s no denying that the 2-litre displacement makes the 2-litre V50 more attractive entry proposition than the 2.4-litre inline-5.
The new variant is claiming significant weight savings over the 2.4 – it’s a good 123kg lighter on the S40 and V50.
As a result of having less heft over the front axle, the V50 that was tested seemed much more keen to change direction and had less of that sticky feeling about the wheel.
Dual-clutch transmission promises extremely high efficiency levels, with advanced electronics achieving consumption figures that beat even an experienced hand with a traditional manual gearbox.
But after the likes of everything from the Nissan GT-R, Porsche 911, Ferrari California and, of course, the VW Golf GTI, the technology has become more synonymous with high performance than extreme frugality.
It may not sound very sexy, but Volvo is claiming a significant 8 percent fuel savings from the Powershift over the traditional automatic.
Powershift dual-clutch gearbox does a brilliant job of emulating a torque-converter automatic.
Against the 2.4, this 2-litre V50 gets 13 percent more – a significant amount, for sure.
On the performance front, the 6-speed Powershift is a good change (yes, pun intended) from the 5-speed torque converter automatic that Volvo has been offering.
The V50 shifts are neater, while the manual sequential shifting function is far more responsive.
Those who come from the Volkswagen/Nissan/et al camp will be surprised to find that Powershift does an even better job at pretending to be a traditional automatic.
It certainly creeps like one (stronger than the Golf’s), and engages quickly enough to almost never experience any roll back when starting off at an incline.
As with the Porsche PDK in the “Normal” setting, Powershift seems to allow a minute bit of clutch slip at cog changes – effectively slurring the changes – as opposed to the rapid whipping that the other dual-clutch transmission is so fond of.
The philosophy behind Powershift’s tuning makes perfect sense in the 2-litre Volvo, allowing for far better efficiency than possible with the automatic but not demanding any change in habit or perception from the driver.
There’s more.
Powershift in this “wet clutch” form (Ford is introducing a “dry clutch” version for its smaller cars, due in 2010) is designed to take up to 450Nm of torque.
So the scope is there for the transmission to be paired with more powerful Volvos in the future.
2009 Volvo V50 2.0 (A)
ENGINE 1999cc, 16-valves, inline-4
MAX POWER 145bhp at 6000rpm
MAX TORQUE 185Nm at 4500rpm
GEARBOX 6-speed dual-clutch with manual select
0-100KM/H 9.8 seconds
TOP SPEED 205km/h
CONSUMPTION 12.7km/L (combined)
PRICE INCL. COE $102,988
Group Test: Subaru Levorg GT-S 1.6 vs Volkswagen Golf Variant R-Line 1.4
