Road Test:
Volvo C30 (2007)
People like premium products. Branding counts for far more than logic says it should, otherwise no-one would buy an Audi A3 and Volkswagen would sell more Golfs. So a new premium compact hatchback, from a company new to the sector, is great news for those looking for the automotive equivalent of a new designer label.
The Volvo C30 is that new car, designed to steal buyers from the A3, the BMW 1-Series and the Alfa 147 (or its replacement). Its mission for Volvo is to get younger people into Volvo ownership, increase overall Volvo sales - because most C30 buyers won't have had a Volvo before - and help reduce the average CO2 emissions across the Volvo range. It will be billed as a cool car for people with active urban lifestyles and the promise of a successful career with an ever-rising income. It's marketing baloney, of course, but that comes as standard with every new car.
In essence the C30 is an S40 saloon with 22cm chopped off the tail, reclothed in a three-door body with all-new external sheet metal. It's strictly a four-seater, with individual rear seats set closer together than the front seats so their occupants have a good view forward. It's a happy result of the styling with its broad rear shoulders and a roofline which narrows towards the tail. The rear hatch is made entirely of glass, as it was on the ill-starred Volvo 480 which was a similar type of car made by Volvo's former Dutch arm from 1986 to 1994.
The C30 isn't made in Sweden either. It comes out of Volvo's factory in Ghent, Belgium, alongside the S40 and V50 with which it shares underpinnings derived from the Ford Focus. The engines are the same, too. The 100bhp 1.6 and 125bhp 1.8 are from the Ford Zetec family, the 145bhp 2.0 is a Mazda-derived unit, while the five-cylinder engines are Volvo's own and come in 170bhp 2.4 and 220bhp T5 2.5-litre forms, the latter with a turbo and much the same engine as used in Ford's Focus ST. Diesels are a 1.6/109bhp, a 2.0/136bhp (both familiar Ford/PSA units) plus a 2.4-litre, five-cylinder, D5 turbodiesel.
Trim levels are S, SE, SE Lux and SE Sport, this last one with flared-out sills and valances and a bigger tailgate spoiler. One colour scheme offered is pearlescent white with metallic brown sills and arches, much like the C30 concept car shown in Detroit last January. Among the personalisation options are different finishes for the 'floating' centre console, including an etched-aluminium 'surf' pattern of waves.
This is a nicely-made car with properly padded surfaces for the dashboard and the doors, an expensive-feeling padded headlining and a convincing air of solidity and quality. That's backed up by the structure's taut, rattle-free feel. There are several different interior textures but they complement each other well.
Some of the detailing is below the standard of an Audi A3's, though. The window-level padding on the doors is abrasive to a bare arm, and the same zone below the rear side windows is, disappointingly, of hard plastic. The monochrome LCD information graphic display in the centre console looks cheap and dated, too.
As for reliability, the combination of well-tested, mainly Ford mechanicals and a good Volvo reputation bodes well. The C30 should be light years ahead of the troublesome 480 here.
Here lie the C30's main aspirations. It's designed for affluent young buyers with no children and a hectic urban lifestyle, etc, and much of its advertising will be internet-based. The reality is that the C30 is just as likely to be bought by empty-nesters, but the common thread is a desire for something that suggests a carefree and spontaneous approach to life.
The fact that the C30 is a Volvo, with subliminal hints of sense, safety and clean Scandinavian design, but also looks like it could be fun to use and live with, has a kind of ironic appeal.
Volvo expects the C30 to ensnare a higher percentage of female buyers than its rivals, and hopes they might also be younger (what carmaker doesn't?).
Anyway, the C30's shape gives off the right messages, with its tapering roof, broadening rear shoulders and airy, sociable interior. It makes the grade as a desirable object.
Too many of today's hatchbacks hem you in visually with their thick pillars and general air of bulk. The C30 avoids this, and it's very refreshing. The base of the windscreen is low, despite the C30's compliance with pedestrian protection rules, and the base of the rear window is even lower. The central pillars, though thick, are chamfered inside to help the view rearward for the driver and forward for the rear passengers, and the way the rear side windows angle inward makes for easy reversing with an excellent view.
The driving position is very comfortable, the instruments are clear and the switchgear is logical enough once you've learnt how the various menus work. One useful option is the BLIS blind-spot system, which flashes a warning in the base of a door mirror if another vehicle is coming up alongside.
The C30's Focus genes promise prowess in steering and handling, but the Volvo interpretation is less, well, focused. The steering feels more rubbery around the straight-ahead, but its response is still progressive and the weighting is about right. The C30 holds the road with determination and can flick tidily from one direction to the other thanks to tight damping and a good balance. It's no hot hatchback - lifting the throttle in a corner tightens the line enough to get you out of trouble, but no more - but it gives a confident, entertaining drive. The brakes are powerful and progressive
Our two test cars were both turbocharged five-cylinder Geartronic automatics, one petrol, one diesel. Their transmissions worked well in automatic mode, shifting smoothly and promptly, but manual downshifts were sometimes abrupt and tardy. An Audi A3's DSG transmission is much better here, and has the benefit of paddle-shifters, which are mysteriously unavailable in the Volvo.
Both tested engines work well. The T5 isn't as crisp-edged or as eager as it is in the Focus ST, but its deep five-cylinder hum is appealing, it's very smooth and there's plenty of pulling power across a broad rev range. Mated to a six-speed manual gearbox it would power the C30 to 60mph in 6.2 seconds and on to 149mph; the auto is claimed to reach 60 in 6.6 seconds and to reach 146mph. The D5 turbodiesel makes a similar but louder and gruffer sound, and has terrific low-speed pulling power thanks to its 258lb-ft of torque. It's available only as an automatic, and manages 140mph and a 7.8-second 0-60mph time.
Naturally the 1.6-litre C30s are the sluggards of the range, both petrol and diesel versions taking a little over 11 seconds to reach 60mph. We'll be able to report on how these, and the other four-cylinder C30s, perform later in the year.
This is a Volvo speciality, of course, and the company makes much of the fact that the snub-nosed C30, S40 and V50 absorb frontal impacts as effectively as a bigger Volvo. Different grades of steel are designed to control deformation in front and rear impacts, and side impacts are absorbed by SIPS (Side Impact Protection System, an arrangement of progressively collapsing crossbars under the seat mountings) plus side and curtain airbags.
All four seatbelts have pre-tensioners, and the front seats have anti-whiplash headrests which move forward in a rear impact. ESP is standard; you can reduce the degree of its intervention via the control menu, but you can't switch it off completely.
The security system includes buttons on the keyfob for hazard flashers and follow-me-home headlights. (The old 480, incidentally, was the first car with the follow-me-home feature, back in 1986.)
The 1.6-litre diesel is the star here, with a combined-cycle average of 57.6mpg (we'll be amazed if this C30 will do so well in the real world) and average CO2 emissions of just 129g/km. At the opposite end is the T5 Geartronic at 32.5mpg and 208g/km. Servicing shouldn't cost any more than for a Ford Focus, but it probably will because Volvo dealers have plusher showrooms to fund. Particulate filters are optional for the diesels, and the Swedish market will have a FlexFuel version of the petrol 1.8 which can run on E85 bioethanol. That will be offered in other markets later.
Residual values will depend on how the market takes to the new C30, which is entering uncharted territory for Volvo. Our guess is that it might depreciate a little more quickly than an A3 or a 1-Series, but if buyers latch on to the C30's appealing image then that could change.
This is undoubtedly a pleasant way to travel. All four seats are very comfortable (the fronts are the same as a Volvo C70's), and rear passengers have a lot of space around them. They also have a clear view forward because they are positioned inboard of the front seats' head restraints. The ride comfort is as good in the back as it is in the front; firmish, but well-rounded with no aftershocks and excellent control of big body movements. The C30 is commendably quiet, too, with little wind rush or road roar. In the D5 diesel, the engine note dominates.
The deep, all-glass tailgate opens over a high sill to reveal a decent if hardly cavernous boot, and part of the C30's styling idea is that you can see from the rear window right through to the 'floating' console. In practice you'll most likely use the flexible luggage cover if you have any valuables in the boot, and fold up the rear seats' centre armrest to fill the gap between the seats. A rigid cover is optional. The rear seat backrests fold forward, but the one-piece seat base (it looks like two separate seats but isn't) stays where it is.
Meagre door pockets are augmented by more pockets next to the rear seats, but the glovebox is close to a joke. Behind its promising lid is a slot just big enough for the handbook and no more. There's a further storage box between the front seats.
Top C30s get electric seat adjustment, but all of them use electric motors to slide the front seats forward for rear-seat access. The movement is tediously slow, and the seat doesn't remember where it started from. A tilt-and-slide manual system, as used in most three-door superminis, would be much better.
There's a variety of interior trim and colour options, including rust-red carpets which look a lot better than they sound, and you can specify a potent Dynaudio stereo system with Dolby ProLogic surround sound. An iPod or MP3 player interface is coming soon.
Dual-zone climate control is standard, and you can have the centre console finished in matt off-white if you wish (supposedly inspired by Apple computers, although they are whiter and glossier). Etched aluminium is another option. The Sport has 18" wheels in place of the standard 17s, but there are no suspension changes. Some markets' Sport models have lower, firmer suspension but this was deemed a bad idea for British roads.
Assets
Clever mix of Volvo design and three-door hatchback compactness, airy cabin, quick but quiet, strong grip, confident handling and disciplined ride, well finished and equipped.
Drawbacks
Jerky manual downshifts in auto versions, no paddle-shifts, tiny glovebox, sliding electric front seats for rear access are slow and have no memory.
Verdict
Volvo virtues in a sporty hatchback make an alluring combination. It's the first 'affordable' Volvo in years to appeal to the heart.
[Channel4Car]
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Although it does without garish side skirts or spoilers, this model has the grown-up looks to tempt buyers away from Volkswagens Golf GTI. But its out on the road where it must prove its worth.
