BIG cars can be green – and now you can get an executive saloon or big estate with annual road tax of just £35.

Volvo has revealed 119g/km DRIVe versions of its S80 executive saloon and V70 premium estate, the fourth and fifth body styles it has launched delivering CO2 emissions below 120g/km.

Delivering 109bhp and 240Nm of torque, the modified 1.6-litre turbocharged diesel engine provides improved fuel economy by 5.1mpg to 62.8mpg on the combined cycle, increasing both cars’ range to nearly 1,100 miles.

Both cars fall into Vehicle Excise Duty Band C – costing motorists just £35 per year – and Volvo estimates the new 119g/km engine reduces annual carbon emissions by 150kg over the S80 and V70 DRIVe’s previous low of 129g/km.

Volvo believes the two new cars offer the best environmental performance in their respective classes. Both cars provide lower Benefit-in-Kind tax bills for company motorists and fuel savings – 60 litres per annum – equivalent to receiving a free tank of fuel each year.

Like all DRIVe models, drivers do not have to compromise on high levels of comfort and specification with both models being available to order in SE, SE Premium, SE Lux and SE Lux Premium trim levels.

Volvo has employed two main techniques to reduce CO2 emissions further on both cars.

Intelligent battery recharging ensures that the car’s control system only allows the alternator to charge the battery when the engine is operating at low load, for instance when driving downhill.

In addition the belt that drives the alternator and air conditioning compressor benefits from reduced friction helping lower fuel consumption and emissions.

Volvo Car’s president and chief executive officer Stephen Odell says: “There has been a swift pace of development since the launch of our first 119-gramme models in Paris in autumn 2008.

“Now that we have brought two of the larger models in below the magical 120g/km limit, few of our competitors can match us when it comes to offering customers an extensive range of low emission cars.”