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Volvo S60 L plug-in petrol hybrid heading for Beijing Motor Show

The Volvo S60L Plug-in (pictured) heading for Beijing The Volvo V60 Plug-in is already doing good business for Volvo – despite a price tag of £50k – but the V60 plug-in is a diesel hybrid which doesn’t suit all markets. So Volvo are ploughing ahead with a petrol engine based plug-in hybrid with the debut at the Beijing Motor Show next week of the Volvo S60 L Plug-in, a petrol hybrid version of the long wheelbase S60. At first glance the S60 Plug-in looks just like its regular ICE sibling, but under the skin sits a 2.0 litre Drive-E petrol engine with 238bhp and 258lb/ft of torque – which drives the front wheels – and a 68bhp electric motor with 147lb/ft of torque that can drive the rear wheels, which can be recharged in 4.5 hours.

Volkswagen Golf Economy Range launched

Volkswagen has released a range of Eco cars - The VW Golf Economy Range With the obsession by car makers with CO2 emissions (but only because Governments structure their targets on CO2 levels) the aim of these Eco Golfs is to trim CO2 levels down, and they’ve succeeded in getting the whole Golf Economy Range under 120g/km, and the Golf BlueMotion down to 107g/km. Three versions of the 1.6 TDi are offered – a 90PS version, a 105PS version and a 105PS BlueMotion version. VW has achieved the lower emissions with aerodynamic tweaks, longer gear ratios and regenerative braking.

Ford and GM reliability ratings dip in Consumer Reports survey

Consumers rated Ford's new Explorer, Fiesta and Focus models at less-than-average reliability during their first year, according to Consumer Reports' annual auto survey. Poor reception of the new models bumped Ford's overall reliability rank from the 10th spot in 2010 to the 20th this year among the 28 major nameplates included in the survey. Findings are based on responses from 1.3 million vehicle owners or lessees who subscribe to the magazine.