Posted by Sam Philip at 3:30PM on Thursday 24 April, 2008 3 Comments
We got the C30 T5 in to answer a simple question: is it possible to have fun in a Volvo? Not backseat-fumbling fun - though I'm assured the V70 is capacious enough for such excitement - but proper driving fun.
On paper, this looks like the Volvo that could do it. It has to be the C30, no question, and the T5 engine - the turbocharged five-cylinder engine from the Focus ST - is the hottest you can get. The figures look promising: it'll crack 60mph in 6.2 seconds, over half a second quicker than the equivalently powered Focus.
Given that the C30 is a touch lighter than the Ford, I'm still not quite why it's so much quicker. Maybe the longer gearing means you can hit 60mph in second gear? In any case, it's an impressive stat.
The strange thing, though, is that the C30 just doesn't feel quick on the road. It's not that it feels slow, exactly. It just doesn't feel, erm, at all.
Put it this way: you know you're going fast because the road in front of you disappears under the bonnet at a hell of a rate, and the rest of the cars around you are all going backwards. But there's no real sensation of speed, no feel through the steering, no noise. You know that moment when your captain informs you that you're cruising at 35,000 feet at a speed of 600mph, and you look out the window at the Earth moving serenely past, miles below, before returning to the in-flight film? It's that sort of quick.
The C30 doesn't half look good, though: with the new two-tone R-Design bodykit (oh yes) and gorgeous 18-inch alloys (oh double yes), it draws attention in a manner not normally associated with a Volvo. Several times I saw other drivers mouthing 'what is it?' through their window while stopped at traffic lights. Or at least it looked like something beginning with W.
And, in fact, it's this incongruity of the C30 that provides the most amusement. Mouthing 'it's a Volvo' back through the window, before disappearing off as the lights turn green with nothing more than a gentle turbo hiss.
Childish? Yes. Fun? Definitely. Next week, we attempt to discover whether you can look cool in a Perodua.
3 Comments for "Volvo C30 T5"
All comments are checked by a moderator. Constructive, intelligent and humourous comments are all welcome, but not all will be posted.
You need cash to buy a motor - our guide to finance will help
Buying a personalised plate? Check out our buyer's guide
I'm sorry, did you just say you thought the C30 looked good? With it's mutated Focus tail lights, Aygo hatch and KA's backside, all mashed together like some kind of nuclear-genetic experiment gone wrong?
That alone should answer if it's a fun car or not. Unless your other car is a SsangYong.
I was stunned when I first saw this car - that tail reminds me of the old Maxi 5 style rally cars. Beautiful.
The overall design is great; but the handling puzzles me.
I'll have to agree; the C30 feels somehow totally detached when driving it, as if it really didn't care.