VOLVO

DRIVING DOWN COSTS Volvo’s eco-friendly ‘DRIVe’ strategy has paid dividends. Jonathan Crouch looks at the C30 1.6D DRIVe model

Everybody’s talking about low CO2 levels in cars – or at least they are in the company-dominated sector where Volvo sells most of its more compact models. Hence the Swedish company’s ‘DRIVe’ initiative, aimed at showing that you don’t need to buy a very small car to be very green. Proof comes in ‘DRIVe’ versions of the 1.6-litre diesel models in the C30, S40 and V50 line-ups. It’s the C30 we’re looking at here.

This is Volvo’s version of Volkswagen’s BlueMotion models or of BMW’s EfficientDynamics programme. Yet DRIVe variants offer more. Let’s take this C30 1.6D DRIVe as an example, Its CO2 figure of 115g/km easily beats the 119g/km of BMW’s 118d and Volkswagen’s Golf BlueMotion. The fuel economy’s very impressive too, with this car achieving 64.2mpg on the combined cycle and 76.3mpg at motorway speeds. It’s a decent improvement over the standard model – which it needs to be to justify the couple of hundred pounds premium that the DRIVe package will cost you. Volvo's DRIVe cars are all certified according to the mandatory European NEDC standard. In addition, the Volvo C30 has excelled in the ECO test, which carries out even more comprehensive measurements of CO2 and particulate emissions. This certification process relies on stars and points, in a similar way to the Euro NCAP programme for safety. The independent ECO test places the Volvo C30 at the top of its size category, with four stars and 76 points in the overall assessment of the car's total environmental performance. So how have Volvo done it? Well apparently, the Swedish engineers focused on four areas. The first was reduced air resistance. To this end, the chassis height was reduced by approximately 10mm to help reduce drag, then the radiator grille was covered and behind it added a wind-deflecting panel that provides better aerodynamics inside the engine compartment. Wind deflectors in front of the front wheels steer the airflow and there are aerodynamically optimised wheels along with special underbody panels for more efficient airflow under the car. Finally, a special rear spoiler was developed for the car along with a new rear bumper.

"Thinking of downsizing to a cheaper car to lower your running costs? At this rate, you may not have to…"

Next up, the boffins sought to lower the car’s rolling resistance, adopting a set of new generation Michelin tyres designed for that purpose. Higher gear ratios would also help, they decided, so the gearbox features altered ratios for third, fourth and fifth gears. The longer gear ratios contribute to a 1.5% reduction in fuel consumption without, say Volvo, affecting the drivability of the car. Finally, a more efficient driveline was targeted, which meant optimisation of engine cooling, engine management and power steering systems. A different transmission oil which creates much lower friction is used in the gearbox and a gearchange indicator in the information display tells the driver the ideal time to change gears. None of this stuff does much on its own but collectively, it all adds up to a lot. Changing the transmission oil, for example, offers up a 0.75% improvement in fuel consumption. Tyres with low rolling resistance save another 2% and so on. With lower carbon dioxide emissions, the DRIVe models salve Volvo’s conscience by reducing its net contribution to global warming, although the company reckons it was already doing its bit by fitting all its diesel models with a maintenance-free particle filter that traps about 95 percent of all soot particles. Plus of course, if the 1.6D diesel option doesn’t appeal, you could also go green and cut costs by ordering your C30 in Flexifuel form, where it can use part petrol and part bioethanol. Otherwise of course, it’s the usual C30 recipe, this car offering up a shape that you could either see as a coupe or a three-door hatchback. Depending on which of the two views you take (Volvo reckon it’s a coupe, hence the ‘C’ designation), then direct competition comes from either Mercedes’ CLC coupe or hatches like BMW’s 1 Series and Audi’s A3. The C30 is a clever piece of engineering insofar as it is basically an S40 chassis with 22cm lopped out of the middle, reducing the wheelbase. The stylists have smartly kept the front and rear overhangs very tight to give it a foursquare, planted look unlike that which has befallen the rather lugubrious looking Alfa Brera. Despite this piece of chopwork, the C30 shares not one panel with its saloon car progenitor, instead offering a very different look and feel. Some things are reassuringly Swedish. Safety hasn’t been skimped on and as well as the usual airbags and seat belt tensioners, the C30 serves up WHIPS (Whiplash Protection System), SIPS (Side Impact Protection System) and even the option of BLIS (Blind Spot Information System). This acts much like an extra set of eyes and utilises digital camera technology mounted in the door mirrors to monitor the areas 3m to each side and up to 9.5m behind the driver. If a vehicle enters this area, a symbol appears on the windscreen pillar near the rear view mirror to indicate that something’s there when you take a quick look towards the mirror. Active at speeds above 10km/h, this system isn’t the only safety benefit buyers of the C30 enjoy. Special water repellent glass is fitted to the mirrors and side windows. Water beads up on the glass and the airstream quickly clears it, leaving unimpeded visibility. It’s all very sensible – much like the DRIVe package. Thinking of downsizing to a cheaper car to lower your running costs? At this rate, you may not have to.

Facts At A Glance CAR: Volvo C30 1.6D DRIVe PRICE: £15,410-£18,410 – on the road INSURANCE GROUP: 8 CO2 EMISSIONS: 115g/km PERFORMANCE: Max Speed 118mph / 0-60mph 11.3s [est] FUEL CONSUMPTION: (combined) 64.2mpg / (extra urban) 74.3mpg STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Twin front and curtain airbags, WHIPS seats, side impact protection system WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: Length/width/height 4248/1780/1450mm

BOXING CLEVER Forget the setsquare stereotype of Volvo cars. This time round, the Swedish company is letting its hair down a bit. Andy Enright takes a look at the C30…

No matter how hackneyed a stereotype, there’s usually a nugget of truth in there somewhere. One of the things that always puzzled me as a teenager was how Swedes, the hardest drinkers and biggest partiers of all western Europeans, could end up turning out cars like Volvos. Was there some sort of switch that tripped as soon as they reached the age of 21 whereby they turned into Sven-Goran Eriksson? The development of cars like the Volvo C30 shows that there is a real spark in contemporary Swedish car design.

It’s impossible to consider the C30 without at least a passing reference to the old P1800 ES. That was it. On with the new stuff. Based on the chassis of the S40 saloon, the C30 takes Volvo’s contemporary design direction and smashes it out of the park. If you’re still not quite comfortable with the concept of a sexy looking Volvo, this one will leave you wondering exactly when the sands of motoring fashion shifted under your feet. This is the fourth car spawned from the S40 platform, the others being the V50 estate and the C70 convertible. Volvo had long earmarked this fourth model but weren’t quite sure what it was going to be. Taking a wait and see approach, the company consulted its customers, looked at the way the industry was moving, consulted its magic 8-ball and came up with the C30 ‘SportsCoupe’, a model that will doubtless drive down the average age of Volvo buyers by a good few years. The company is keen to stress the C30’s similarity to the P1800ES, although they are a little more reticent about comparing it to a model a little fresher in most customers’ minds, the 480 series, built between 1985 and 1995. The design brief was formed from various customer clinics and when it took shape, it was loose and relatively easy to fulfil – customers wanted something desirable, low and wide with big wheels and four seats. They also fancied lots of standard equipment and a punchy stereo. Given that latter day small Volvos have had a rich design element to their interiors, translating that to the exterior wasn’t a tough job for Volvo’s stylists.

"The C30 has that instant ‘I want-one’ pull"

The first inklings that Volvo was going to pull something out of the hat came in January 2006 at the Detroit Motor Show when the C30 Design Concept was unveiled. Skilled industry types can usually separate pure concepts from virtually production-ready cars and this Volvo definitely leaned toward the latter. The chassis, engines and production capacity were all in place, all the car needed was the green light. The reception the car received on the show circuit was enough to give the project that green light. Engine selection is agreeably broad, taking in the modest, a 100PS 1.6-litre petrol unit, to the decidedly immodest in the shape of a 230PS T5 turbo five-cylinder powerplant more widely renowned as the engine that flings the Ford Focus ST up the road. In between these two in the petrol line-up lie 125PS 1.8, 145PS 2.0 and 170PS 2.4i engines. Diesel drivers get the choice of a 109PS 1.6D, which also comes in eco-friendly ‘DRIVe’ guise. Plus there are 136PS 2.0D and 180PS D5 units. Your only other option is the 1.8-litre FlexiFuel engine that can run non normal unleaded or renewable E85 bioethanol. There’s a choice of five trim levels. The SE and SE Lux derivatives tred the more conventional path while buyers seeking extra visual flamboyance can pick the R-Design Sport and R-Design SE Sport models. Some things are reassuringly Swedish. Safety hasn’t been skimped on and as well as the usual airbags and seat belt tensioners, the C30 serves up WHIPS (Whiplash Protection System), SIPS (Side Impact Protection System) and even the option of BLIS (Blind Spot Information System). This acts much like an extra set of eyes and utilizes digital camera technology mounted in the door mirrors to monitor the areas 3m to each side and up to 9.5m behind the driver. If a vehicle enters this area, a symbol appears on the windscreen pillar near the rear view mirror to indicate that something’s there when you take a quick look towards the mirror. Active at speeds above 10km/h, this system isn’t the only safety benefit buyers of the C30 enjoy. Special water repellent glass is fitted to the mirrors and side windows. Water beads up on the glass and the airstream quickly clears it, leaving unimpeded visibility. All models now come with sporty R-DESIGN trim as standard. Here, the exterior incorporates an exclusive sports bodykit, a rear spoiler, plus an R-DESIGN logo on the grille and alloy wheels. Inside, the unique interior is upholstered in off-black T-Tec fabric with contrasting cream leather embossed with the R-DESIGN logo and is complemented by eye-catching blue instrument dials, a leather sports steering wheel, aluminium ridged sports pedals and a gear knob with aluminium inserts.  Volvo has high ambitions for the C30 and hopes to convert around 65,000 cars per year with 75 per cent of buyers coming from Europe. Italy, Germany, Spain and the UK are being touted as key markets. Built at Volvo’s Ghent facility in Belgium, the C30 SportsCoupe has room for four adults, the rear seats folding flat to form a useful loading space. The stereo choice is also worth mentioning. As well as some quality basis systems, there’s the option of something even the most pernickety audiophile would enjoy. The Premium Sound system features a digital 5x130w Alpine amplifier with Dolby Pro Logic Surround Sound and no fewer than ten Dynaudio speakers, Volvo now challenging Lexus as the prime exponents of quality car audio. Although it shares the same wheelbase as the S40, the tape measure shows the C30 to be fully 22cm shorter. It scarcely seems possible that so much has been pared from the overhangs of the saloon car but such is the wheel-at-each-corner stance of the C30 that it measures just 4,248mm from stem to stern. There are fascinating design touches everywhere you look around the car, from the floating instrument panel to the horseshoe tail lamps, the deep arc of the rear glass and the pumped-up Volvo shoulders that run from the front to the rear lights in one uninterrupted sweep. Younger customers have started adding Volvo to their shortlists in recent years. Here’s one car that demands inclusion.

Facts At A Glance CAR: Volvo C30 range PRICES: £14,995-£21,785– on the road INSURANCE GROUPS: 7-16 CO2 EMISSIONS: 115-209g/km PERFORMANCE: [T5] Max Speed 149mph / 0-60mph 6.2s FUEL CONSUMPTION: [T5] (urban) 22.6mpg/ (extra urban) 43.5mpg/ (combined) 32.5mpg STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Twin front and curtain airbags, WHIPS seats, side impact protection system WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: Length/width/height 4248/1780/1450mm

DIESEL DO NICELY Before you read the words Volvo and diesel and turn the page, it’s worth giving this one a second chance. Andy Enright reports on why the C30 D5 is something rather special

There are some people who will clock that this car is a Volvo diesel and give a brief involuntary shudder. I used to be of that persuasion. My father owned a Volvo diesel so unrefined that these days he would have been slapped with an ASBO. I can even now recall the sound of that engine firing up in the morning. There was the first clonk of the key, followed by the pregnant pause while the glow plugs warmed up, followed by the sort of noise you’d expect to hear at the back of a Waltzer. Things are a good deal different now and Volvo’s latest C30 D5 shows quite how much things have changed.

Where Vic’s old 760GLE had just 124 asthmatic horsepower to lug around a car that weighed more than the Eurasian plate, the C30 D5 has a spry 180bhp to power a car that’s neat, light and compact. Four trim levels are offered, opening with the SE and R-Design Sport at £19,495. Then comes the R-Design SE Sport at £20,745 with SE Lux variants topping off the range at £20,995. All versions are supplied with the Geartronic five-speed transmission. This offers the convenience and smoothness of a proper automatic gearbox equipped with a torque converter but also adds a little sass with the driver able to select gears sequentially. The D5 diesel engine is a modern common rail 2.4-litre unit with five cylinders and is mounted transversely across the front of this C30, driving the front wheels. It’s probably the most appealing engine in the whole C30 model range offering decent economy and even more torque than the storming T5 petrol engine (350 vs 320Nm). It makes this peak torque figure at between 1,750 and 3,250rpm which mean that you won’t need to rev the engine to kingdom come to get decent punch from a standstill out onto a roundabout or when zipping into fast moving motorway traffic.

"Volvo is turning out some very well rounded cars. The C30 D5 could well be the most attractive of the lot"

From a standstill you’ll need just 7.8 seconds to get to 60mph and unlike most performance figures you read in magazines that are the work of skilled road testers with zero mechanical sympathy, Volvo’s Geartronic box will allow you to replicate this sprinting ability with metronomic efficiency. Just stand with your foot on the brake until you can feel the gearbox start to strain against the torque converter, lift the brake and bury the throttle. The C30’s traction control systems and gearbox software does the rest. You just sit there, steer and make sure you don’t accelerate into something that’s going to spoil your day. Where conditions allow, the acceleration only lets up with 140mph showing on the clock, a decent performance for a diesel in this bracket. Fuel economy is predictably good too, with an urban figure of 29.7mpg, an extra urban showing of 52.3mpg and an overall figure of 40.9mpg. These figures may not be quite so easy to replicate. An attractive carbon emissions figure of 182g/km will also put the C30 D5 on the wish lists of many company car user choosers granted a £25k budget. Well worth sneaking onto the options list and past the gimlet eye of your fleet manager is the Premium Sound system which features a digital 5x130w Alpine amplifier with Dolby Pro Logic Surround Sound and no fewer than ten Dynaudio speakers. So much for the nuts and bolts of the C30 D5. What is it and who’s it aimed at? Based on the chassis of the S40 saloon, the C30 takes Volvo’s contemporary design direction and smashes it out of the park. If you’re still not quite comfortable with the concept of a sexy looking Volvo, this one will leave you wondering exactly when the sands of motoring fashion shifted under your feet. This is the fourth car spawned from the S40 platform, the others being the V50 estate and the C70 convertible. Volvo had long earmarked this fourth model but weren’t quite sure what it was going to be. Taking a wait and see approach, the company consulted its customers, looked at the way the industry was moving, consulted its magic 8-ball and came up with the C30 ‘SportsCoupe’, a model that drives down the average age of Volvo buyers by a good few years. The company is keen to stress its similarity to the old P1800ES, although they are a little more reticent about comparing it to a model a little fresher in most customers minds, the 480 series, built between 1985 and 1995. The design brief was formed from various customer clinics and when it took shape, it was loose and relatively easy to fulfil – customers wanted something desirable, low and wide with big wheels and four seats. They also fancied lots of standard equipment and a punchy stereo. Given that latter day small Volvos have had a rich design element to their interiors, translating that to the exterior wasn’t a tough job for Volvo’s stylists. Some things are reassuringly Swedish. Safety hasn’t been skimped on and as well as the usual airbags and seat belt tensioners, the C30 serves up WHIPS (Whiplash Protection System), SIPS (Side Impact Protection System) and even the option of BLIS (Blind Spot Information System). This acts much like an extra set of eyes and utilizes digital camera technology mounted in the door mirrors to monitor the areas 3m to each side and up to 9.5m behind the driver. If a vehicle enters this area, a symbol appears on the windscreen pillar near the rear view mirror to indicate that something’s there when you take a quick look towards the mirror. Active at speeds above 10km/h, this system isn’t the only safety benefit buyers of the C30 enjoy. Special water repellent glass is fitted to the mirrors and side windows. Water beads up on the glass and the airstream quickly clears it, leaving unimpeded visibility. The C30 package is an amalgam of all that’s best about modern Volvo. The D5 is the pick of the range. It might take a long memory to realise it, but Volvo has come a very long way.

Facts At A Glance CAR: Volvo C30 D5 PRICES: £19,495-£20,995 – on the road INSURANCE GROUPS: 14 CO2 EMISSIONS: 151-209g/km PERFORMANCE: Max Speed 140mph / 0-60mph 7.8s FUEL CONSUMPTION: (urban) 29.7mpg/ (extra urban) 52.3mpg/ (combined) 40.9mpg STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Twin front and curtain airbags, WHIPS seats, side impact protection system WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: Length/width/height 4248/1780/1450mm

CUTTING A SWEDISH DASH Volvo’s 2.0-litre C30 diesel might just be the most appealing model in the range. Andy Enright reports

Make no mistake, the C30 is a huge gamble for Volvo. Yes, other premium manufacturers have broken the trail, cars like the BMW 1 Series and the Audi A3 having proved very profitable to date, but this is a long way from Volvo’s traditional heartland. With the 2.0-litre diesel models, Volvo is attempting to inject a little modest predictability into this boldly-styled hatch. Surprisingly, it’s a combination that works very well.

Think about it. Exactly how daring are Volvo owners? When the Swedish company marketed a fire breathing turbo 850 back in the nineties, it hedged its bets by selling it as an estate car. In another smart move, Volvo let other manufacturers pour their development budgets into impractical coupe cabriolet models before launching a better looking more versatile model with the most safety equipment of the lot. Therefore, it’s perhaps not surprising that demand might well exist for a Volvo that’s bold looking but which underneath the sassy styling, is ostensibly wearing sensible shoes. The C30 is a clever piece of engineering insofar as it is basically an S40 chassis with 22cm lopped out of the middle, reducing the wheelbase. The stylists have smartly kept the front and rear overhangs very tight to give it a foursquare, planted look unlike that which has befallen the rather lugubrious looking Alfa Brera. Despite this piece of chopwork, the C30 shares not one panel with its saloon car progenitor, instead offering a very different look and feel. The engine in this variant is a 134bhp four-cylinder turbodiesel that’s shared with Ford and very impressive it is too. Quick and with a decent slug of torque, if not the most refined powerplant in its class, it is definitely one of the best to drive. The unit serves up a combination of economy and punch that deserves serious respect. Get a bit sporty with the right boot and you’ll see 60mph come and go in a mere 9.3 seconds, although you’ll need to be very slick at crashing through the manual gearbox to get anywhere near this time. Most of us will have a little more respect than the professional road testers.

"The C30 2.0D represents a compromise, albeit a very well-judged one"

That’s not to say the six-speed manual transmission is in any way obstructive – quite the opposite in fact. The gear ratios are well chosen and the action is positive and precise. As with any turbodiesel car, the really impressive performance comes in the midrange, in the case of this Volvo when the torque really starts to swell at around 1,800rpm through to 3,000rpm. With a peak figure of 236lb/ft being asked to shift just 1,411kg down the road, you just know that you’re not going to have to work this motor hard to get the best from it. If you’re a little more restrained when it comes to flexing that right ankle, you might even approach Volvo’s claimed 49.6mpg figure but for most of us, an average of anything over 40mpg will be very good going. For what it’s worth, we averaged just a nick over 39mpg on a mixture of roads but then we do have some renowned lead-foots in our team. Prices start at £17,995 for the entry-level S or the R-Design Sport models and reach £19,495 for the SE Lux or £19,245 for the R-Design SE Sport. An advanced, automatic twin clutch transmission Powershift transmission is also available. The C30 is the fourth car spawned from the S40 platform, the others being the V50 estate and the C70 convertible. Volvo had long earmarked this fourth model but weren’t quite sure what it was going to be. Taking a wait and see approach, the company consulted its customers, looked at the way the industry was moving, gazed into its magic 8-ball and came up with the C30 ‘SportsCoupe’, a model that drives down the average age of Volvo buyers by a good few years. The company is keen to stress its similarity to the old P1800ES, although they are a little more reticent about comparing it to a model a little fresher in most customers minds, the 480 series, built between 1985 and 1995. The design brief was formed from various customer clinics and when it took shape, it was loose and relatively easy to fulfil – customers wanted something desirable, low and wide with big wheels and four seats. They also fancied lots of standard equipment and a punchy stereo. Given that latter day small Volvos have had a rich design element to their interiors, translating that to the exterior wasn’t a tough job for Volvo’s stylists. Some things are reassuringly Swedish. Safety hasn’t been skimped on and as well as the usual airbags and seat belt tensioners, the C30 serves up WHIPS (Whiplash Protection System), SIPS (Side Impact Protection System) and even the option of BLIS (Blind Spot Information System). This acts much like an extra set of eyes and utilises digital camera technology mounted in the door mirrors to monitor the areas 3m to each side and up to 9.5m behind the driver. If a vehicle enters this area, a symbol appears on the windscreen pillar near the rear view mirror to indicate that something’s there when you take a quick look towards the mirror. Active at speeds above 10km/h, this system isn’t the only safety benefit buyers of the C30 enjoy. Special water repellent glass is fitted to the mirrors and side windows. Water beads up on the glass and the airstream quickly clears it, leaving unimpeded visibility. The C30 2.0D is an exercise in managing compromise and Volvo has thought long and hard about it. Even if you can’t run to the 180bhp D5 model, this is no poor relation.

Facts At A Glance CAR: Volvo C30 2.0D PRICES: £17,995-£19,495 – on the road INSURANCE GROUPS: 12 CO2 EMISSIONS: 151g/km PERFORMANCE: Max Speed 120mph / 0-60mph 9.3s FUEL CONSUMPTION: (urban) 37.2mpg/ (extra urban) 61.4mpg/ (combined) 49.6mpg STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Twin front and curtain airbags, WHIPS seats, side impact protection system WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: Length/width/height 4248/1780/1450mm

SPORTY SWEDE Volvo has flattered to deceive with its ‘sporty’ models in the past. With the C30 T5, the company might be onto something. Andy Enright reports

I’ll level with you. I loved the old Volvo 850 T5. This was a car with true cross country ability, was well built and seriously quick. Despite Volvo’s exploits in touring car racing, however, there was no way you’d mistake the 850 for a sportscar. Wooden controls and a propensity to veer from one lane to another when the throttle was pressed saw to that. I’d like to paint a picture of Volvo’s ongoing development of sporty cars in the intervening twenty years but it’s not a wholly rosy story. Just lately though, things have started looking up and the C30 SportsCoupe, especially in born-again T5 guise, is proof that the Swedes are finally on the right track.

We’ll get to what it is later. For the time being we’ll just concentrate on how it goes and the answer to that is better than you’d have any reasonable hope of expecting. It’s a car that manages to flatter the average driver and rewards those with a few more tools in their locker. So many seriously powerful GTi hatches feel as if they have a little too much power but the chassis of the C30 is so talented and the engine so tractable that it always feels a class act. That’s a little surprising as it runs on much the same underpinnings as the S40, a model that always seemed less than the sum of its parts, but the added chassis rigidity of the C30 means that the suspension has a few less curveballs thrown at it and can get on with the job of keeping the car on the road. Over the first couple of miles, I wasn’t feeling much love for the steering, the electrically-assisted system offering too much help. Up your game and the Volvo responds, higher speeds bringing a more reassuring weighting. Grab the thick-rimmed wheel, resolve to show the next corner a good larruping and you’ve got a very willing accomplice.

"The C30 T5 has a cohesion and steely sense of purpose about it"

Catch it off guard and the C30 T5 can feel slightly nose heavy, that five-cylinder 226bhp turbo engine being quite a hunk of metalwork, but traction is so good that when you get it right, the C30 just slingshots out of a bend with no drama, very little in the way of torque steer and one of the most infectious engine notes around. The sprint to 60mph takes just over six seconds and a top speed in the region of 150mph will be more than adequate. Wet traction off the line isn’t the greatest but lateral grip is superb. The powerplant serves up a big slug of torque between 1,700 and 6,750rpm. It’s this driveability that makes the C30 T5 such a formidable weapon, although it does come with a rider. If you want to really exploit that performance, you’ll need to steer clear of the automatic option which really takes an edge off the car’s punch. The six-speed manual version is certainly the smart pick. It’s impossible to consider the C30 without at least a passing reference to the old P1800 ES. That was it. On with the new stuff. The C30 takes Volvo’s contemporary design direction and smashes it out of the park. If you’re still not quite comfortable with the concept of a sexy looking Volvo, this one will leave you wondering exactly when the sands of motoring fashion shifted under your feet. This is the fourth car spawned from the S40 platform, the others being the V50 estate and the C70 convertible. Volvo had long earmarked this fourth model but weren’t quite sure what it was going to be. Taking a wait and see approach, the company consulted its customers, looked at the way the industry was moving, consulted its magic 8-ball and came up with the C30 ‘SportsCoupe’, a model that will doubtless drive down the average age of Volvo buyers by a good few years. The company is keen to stress its similarity to the P1800ES, although they are a little more reticent about comparing it to a model a little fresher in most customers minds, the 480 series, built between 1985 and 1995. The design brief was formed from various customer clinics and when it took shape, it was loose and relatively easy to fulfil – customers wanted something desirable, low and wide with big wheels and four seats. They also fancied lots of standard equipment and a punchy stereo. Given that latter day small Volvos have had a rich design element to their interiors, translating that to the exterior wasn’t a tough job for Volvo’s stylists. The first inklings that Volvo was going to pull something out of the hat came in January 2006 at the Detroit Motor Show when the C30 Design Concept was unveiled. Skilled industry types can usually separate pure concepts from virtually production-ready cars and this Volvo definitely leaned toward the latter. The chassis, engines and production capacity were all in place, all the car needed was the green light. The reception the car received on the show circuit was enough to see the project shifted get exactly that. The T5 engine is offered with three trim levels, the plush SE Lux, the sporty R-Design Sport and the plush and sporty R-Design SE Sport. The SE Lux kicks off at £21,495, while the R-Design Sport undercuts it at £19,995. The R-Design SE Sport, meanwhile, comes in at £20,745. Volvo has high ambitions for the C30 and hopes to convert around 65,000 cars per year with 75 per cent of buyers coming from Europe. Italy, Germany, Spain and the UK are being touted as key markets. Built at Volvo’s Ghent facility in Belgium, the C30 SportsCoupe has room for four adults, the rear seats folding flat to form a useful loading space. The stereo choice is also worth mentioning. As well as some quality basis systems, there’s the option of something even the most pernickety audiophile would enjoy. The Premium Sound system features a digital 5x130w Alpine amplifier with Dolby Pro Logic Surround Sound and no fewer than ten Dynaudio speakers, Volvo now challenging Lexus as the prime exponents of quality car audio. Credibility is hard won in this sector and it might still be some time before the public realises quite what a piece of work the Volvo C30 T5 is. Count yourself ahead of the game.

Facts At A Glance CAR: Volvo C30 T5 range PRICES: £19,995-£21,495 – on the road INSURANCE GROUP: 16 CO2 EMISSIONS: 209g/km PERFORMANCE: Max Speed 149mph / 0-60mph 6.2s FUEL CONSUMPTION: (urban) 22.6mpg/ (extra urban) 43.5mpg/ (combined) 32.5mpg STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Twin front and curtain airbags, WHIPS seats, side impact protection system WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: Length/width/height 4248/1780/1450mm

SWEDE LITTLE MYSTERY What sort of person would buy a Volvo C30 1.6? Andy Enright tries to figure it out

On the face of it, Volvo’s C30 1.6 isn’t the most perplexing of vehicles. Sassy contemporary Volvo design draped over mass-market Ford underpinnings is a formula that seems quite straightforward but this is one of the strangest vehicles in Volvos’ current line up. Just who is the target customer for this car and why?

With those aggressive hips and frowning front end, the C30 looks as if it should pack at least 180bhp under its snub bonnet but pop the catch on this one and you’ll be looking at a piece of plumbing that’s good for a mere 99bhp. Let’s give Volvo the benefit of the doubt and call it 100bhp on a good day. Atmospheric pressure and all that. In case you were wondering, this is less than something like a Daihatsu Terios 1.5 or a Kia Cee’d 1.4 roll from their respective factories with. Fast it isn’t. Yet despite having an engine that will need Ventolin after trying to punch its way out of a wet paper bag, this C30 carries a not inconsiderable sticker price that starts at £14,995 for the SE and R-Design Sport models. This positions the 1.6-litre C30 at a competitive level compared to rival models but can the car really justify that price tag? The Alfa 147 1.6 weighs in at a similar price as the cheapest Volvo C30 even if it does pack another 20bhp and there’s a similar power advantage for the likes of Audi’s 1.4-litre TSI A3 and BMW’s 116i but those models are rather more expensive. Underpowered though it may be, with its generous equipment provision, the C30 can make a case for itself on financial grounds.

"The bigger the engine, the better the value seem to be the C30 credo"

With rivals as good as the Alfa, the Audi and the BMW, does the Volvo really stand a chance of making it big? The chassis is one of the best front-wheel drive platforms around and the C30 handles with some verve although it never feels quite as sharp as an equivalent Focus, the car’s extra weight lending a little more roll into corners. The most illustrative thing about the ride/handling bias is that it feels how you would expect a Volvo premium hatch (or ‘SportsCoupe’ to use their parlance) to feel. Very sensible and inestimably safe just about covers it. That said, the C30’s cabin feels just as good, if not better, in terms of quality as the Alfa and BMW and almost on a par with Audi. If it can’t quite pip the A3 in terms of soft-feel, silicon damped, slush-moulded extravagance, it definitely scores a points victory when it comes to daring design, the floating centre console quickly becoming a Volvo staple. The design brief was formed from various customer clinics and when it took shape, it was loose and relatively easy to fulfil – customers wanted something desirable, low and wide with big wheels and four seats. They also fancied lots of standard equipment and a punchy stereo. Given that latter day small Volvos have had a rich design element to their interiors, translating that to the exterior wasn’t a tough job for Volvo’s stylists. Some things are reassuringly Swedish. Safety hasn’t been skimped on and as well as the usual airbags and seat belt tensioners, the C30 serves up WHIPS (Whiplash Protection System), SIPS (Side Impact Protection System) and even the option of BLIS (Blind Spot Information System). This acts much like an extra set of eyes and utilizes digital camera technology mounted in the door mirrors to monitor the areas 3m to each side and up to 9.5m behind the driver. If a vehicle enters this area, a symbol appears on the windscreen pillar near the rear view mirror to indicate that something’s there when you take a quick look towards the mirror. Active at speeds above 10km/h, this system isn’t the only safety benefit buyers of the C30 enjoy. Special water repellent glass is fitted to the mirrors and side windows. Water beads up on the glass and the airstream quickly clears it, leaving unimpeded visibility. Volvo has high ambitions for the C30 and hopes to convert around 65,000 cars per year with 75 per cent of buyers coming from Europe. Italy, Germany, Spain and the UK are being touted as key markets. Built at Volvo’s Ghent facility in Belgium, the C30 SportsCoupe has room for four adults, the rear seats folding flat to form a useful loading space. The stereo choice is also worth mentioning. As well as some quality basis systems, there’s the option of something even the most pernickety audiophile would enjoy. The Premium Sound system features a digital 5x130w Alpine amplifier with Dolby Pro Logic Surround Sound and no fewer than ten Dynaudio speakers, Volvo now challenging Lexus as the prime exponents of quality car audio. Although it shares the same wheelbase as the S40, the tape measure shows the C30 to be fully 22cm shorter. It scarcely seems possible that so much has been pared from the overhangs of the saloon car but such is the wheel-at-each-corner stance of the C30 that it measures just 4,248mm from stem to stern. Performance figures, in case you’re interested, are an unspectacular 11.2 second sprint to 60mph with the top speed pegged at 115mph. More relevant is a fuel economy figure of 40.4mpg (combined) and an emissions showing of 167g/km, both excellent. I’d have little hesitation in recommending this car to aesthetes with little interest in driving. That may sound damning but when you play with the big boys you’ve got to come equipped. The Swedish model for doing so has traditionally been to offer much more power for the same money. Offering less might be novel but I can’t see it being sustainable in either the long or short term.

Facts At A Glance CAR: Volvo C30 1.6 range PRICES: £14,995 – on the road INSURANCE GROUPS: 7 CO2 EMISSIONS: 167g/km PERFORMANCE: Max Speed 115mph / 0-60mph 11.2s FUEL CONSUMPTION: (urban) 30.4mpg/ (extra urban) 49.6mpg/ (combined) 40.4mpg STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Twin front and curtain airbags, WHIPS seats, side impact protection system WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: Length/width/height 4248/1780/1450mm