If you are still thinking only using 4-cylinder engines across the 4500lb+ SUV product line is a very revolutionary behavior, you are apparently not on the same page as Volvo’s upper management.
In fact within Volvo, they are thinking 4-cylinder engines to be equivalent to V6/V8, and they have even planned to use 3-cylinder engines to replace 4-cylinder engines.
According to Volvo’s product plan, in 2016 they are going to use a 1.5L turbocharged 3-cylinder engine in the S60 and V60. However, the 3-cylinder engine will not be used in heavier models such as the XC90, due to its physical property limits its low-end torque delivery.
In the future years, Volvo cars will see two families of engine: the 1.5L 3-cylinder and the 2.0L 4-cylinder (the Drive-E series). There will be gasoline and diesel variants, and there are also single-turbo, supercharged + turbo, supercharged + turbo + electric motor hybrid variants too.
From my point of view, Volvo’s plan of downsizing its engines and using very few engines across all product lines is revolutionary, but it is also a bet on the future of auto industry. If it is correct, then Volvo will have great advantages ahead of other competitors in the next 10 years; but if it does not, then the aftermath will be catastrophic.
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