Volvo C30 T5
Ill 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 Volvos exploits in touring car racing, however, there was no way youd 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. Id like to paint a picture of Volvos ongoing development of sporty cars in the intervening twenty years but its 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.
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Thats 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 wasnt 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 youve 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 Focus 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 isnt the greatest but lateral grip is superb. The powerplant serves up a big slug of torque between 1,700 and 6,750rpm.
Its 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, youll need to steer clear of the automatic option which really takes an edge off the cars punch. The six-speed manual version is certainly the smart pick. Its 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 Volvos contemporary design direction and smashes it out of the park. If youre 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 werent 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 wasnt a tough job for Volvos 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 £22,995, while the R-Design Sport undercuts it at £21,845. The R-Design SE Sport, meanwhile, comes in at ££23,495. 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 Volvos 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, theres 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: £21,845-£23,495 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
