Volvo C30 DRIVe

Expert Rating:

Introduction

It's easy to look at the Volvo C30 DRIVe on paper and conclude that it's overpriced, sluggish and impractical. Here's how: it only has four seats and three doors, and its coupé styling means there's precious little headroom in the back. Its boot is about the size of a bedside cabinet, and at £17,245 it's expensive - especially considering it's powered by a 1.6-litre diesel engine that takes quite some time to pull the car to the 62mph benchmark, or any other speed for that matter. But we like it, and here's why...

What are its rivals?

The C30 sits uncomfortably between being a hatchback and a coupé. Forget the marketing tricks of some makers, who call their three-doors 'coupés' to make them sound more appealing - the C30 isn't available as a five-door at all and it sacrifices plenty of practicality in order to look the way it does. It's a premium product too, so there are two ways of looking at it: it's either a cut price alternative to the VW Scirocco or a stylish rival for any number of the three-door hatchbacks around, including the similarly-priced VW Golf, the more expensive BMW 1 Series and the cheaper Renault Mégane, ahem, 'Coupé'.

How does it drive?

The difficulty the C30 has is that because of its looks and general lack of usefulness in the boot department, you expect it to behave like a sharp coupé. It doesn't. Volvo's hatch is perfectly enjoyable to drive most of the time - it's based on Ford Focus underpinnings, so it would have to be really - but it's by no means a sporty car, especially in DRIVe guise.

It shows glimpses of being a dynamic and entertaining driving machine because the reasonably weighty steering doesn't have any slack and there's lots of grip around corners, but a sportscar this is not. It is comfortable, however. There's loads of seat and wheel adjustment and the feeling at the front of the cabin is one of spaciousness. It also has a premium quality about the way it rolls over road surfaces and although it can feel a little harsh at lower speeds, it's largely well composed and disturbance-free in the cabin.

But show the C30 a hint of dampness and its composure goes all skew-whiff, fast. Still, that's not going to concern many during the trials of day-to-day driving and in reality you're not going to do much on-the-limit, high-speed driving in the DRIVe; it's built for economy.

What's impressive?

It's that economy, and the way it delivers it, that impresses most about the DRIVe. The 107bhp 1.6-litre diesel isn't quick on paper, as we've already mentioned (it takes 11.3 seconds to reach 62mph), but neither does it feel sluggish because its 177lb.ft of pulling power is enough. There's a quiet refinement about it once it's warmed through for a few minutes too, whereas quite a few other 'eco' diesel cars sound positively agricultural.

That said, rev it hard and it sounds brassy and feels choked, but take it easier and the C30 is a comfortable and very fuel-efficient everyday car. We struggled to work through the tank of fuel during a week of hard driving, making the claimed 64.2mpg combined economy number seem realistic. To achieve that, and its tax-busting 115g/km CO₂ output, Volvo has dropped the ride height for better aerodynamics, changed the gear ratios and pushed a set of very tidy looking chrome alloys in the wheel arches - which we might specify even if we weren't buying the DRIVe model.

The five-speed gearbox is worth a mention because its tight, well-engineered feel makes using it a highlight of driving the car. The minimalist cabin has dated well too, despite being a good couple of years old now.

What's not?

We've already mentioned its wet-weather handling deficiencies and lack of pace - this is not a car for someone who likes to drive - but its main flaw is its catastrophic lack of practicality - apart from the peculiarity of having disproportionately ample leg space front and rear. See, while adults will struggle to squeeze into the back due to headroom constraints, we fitted two child seats in the back without having to push the front seats uncomfortably far forward, as can often be the case even in family cars. The problem is, however, we also had to take the entire parcel shelf out and play Tetris to get a buggy into the boot. Volvo has chosen to go that way to give the C30 its distinctive rear styling, but it's probably also lost hundreds of yummy mummy buyers at a stroke in doing so.

Should I buy one?

If you do, you'll have to dramatically cut down on your weekly shopping consumption, because baggage space is sadly lacking. Once you've pushed three full carrier bags through the luggage flap cut into the C30's parcel shelf it's pretty much at capacity - although you'll save a few quid a week, and probably drop some weight too, which may appeal.

It's quite easy to fault the C30, really, though it's also easy to justify buying one. Despite its high list price, the distinct mix of unusual styling, excellent interior quality and famed Volvo safety mean it's a worthwhile buy even without considering this DRIVe's low running costs.

Mark Nichol