AN additional diesel engine, the 180bhp Volvo D5, is now available for the Volvo S40 saloon, pictured, and V50 Sportswagon in Sport, SE and SE Sport trim levels.

On-the-road prices start at £23,205 for the S40 D5 Geartronic Sport and £24,565 for the V50 D5 Geartronic Sport.

The five-cylinder, 2.4 litre turbo diesel is a version of the already proven Volvo D5 engine available with the Volvo S60, V70, XC70 and XC90.

In the Volvo S40 saloon and V50 Sportswagon it delivers 180bhp with high levels of torque (350Nm) from just 1,750rpm and a top speed of 140mph with 0-60mph possible in 7.9 seconds.

It will initially be available with Geartronic transmission as standard, which is the first time Volvo has offered the combination of diesel power and automatic transmission for the S40 and V50 models.

A six-speed manual transmission is due to be available in mid-2007.

Corporate drivers will be particularly keen to know the Volvo S40 D5 and V50 D5 also offer excellent fuel economy and emissions.

The official fuel consumption figures show 29.1/51.4/ 40.4mpg for the urban/extra urban/combined cycles with emissions of 184g/km for both models.

John Wallace, corporate sales and leasing manager, Volvo Car UK, said: "We believe the introduction of the range-topping D5 turbo diesel to the Volvo S40 saloon and V50 Sports-wagon ranges gives corporate motorists who are downsizing the inherent benefits of a larger diesel engine in a smaller car."

The D5 (180bhp) joins the 1.6D (109bhp, 129g/km) and 2.0D (136bhp, 154g/km) four-cylinder diesels currently available in the Volvo S40 saloon range and the 2.0D in the V50 Sportswagon range