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The Volvo five-cylinder turbo is a sweet engine, but it's apt to expose any flaws in the chassis it's attached to. So let's pick that as a test engine, and be reasonably assured that if it works, the rest of the range will be OK.

It does work. There have been lots of Volvos which the company claimed were sporty, but this the first to feel properly sorted. It's not hectic like a hot hatch, but it does feel perfectly at ease when you decide to have a bit of a play. And happy to join in.

The steering has heavy self-centring, but push harder and it feels natural and fluent. On this SE-spec's standard 205/50 17 tyres there isn't massive grip, but who cares when instead the front and back ends will both amuse you by squirming around a bit on the throttle. Despite the turbo's torque it finds plenty traction, at least in the dry. It's all a lot more fun than said Audi.

The five-cylinder's hum is a sweet harmony, and there's always torque. I had the auto, a five-speed that's crippled by high gearing, which is maybe why it felt no more than brisk, like the handbrake was left on.

The manual is a six-speed, which is one more than you'd need with all that torque but gets along well. Volvo says 6.2 seconds for 0-60mph, 6.7 for the more commonly quoted 0-62. Proper performance, then.

Meanwhile, the ride is fine and again I say this in some surprise, because almost all other Volvos have a permanent shiver to them. Not the C30. Oh it's firm, but the movement is well-controlled and fluent, which makes the whole car feel a lot better bolted together. It cruises peacefully too.

I asked the Volvo people why they didn't call it the ES30. It'd be nice to remember the lovely P1800ES. Unfortunately, that'd also evoke the rather unlovely 480ES, so maybe that's why they stuck with C30 and besides, they don't want to generate any preconceptions.

As far as they're concerned, they want people to be open-minded because this car fishes in two different pools: its rivals are both the expensive hatches and the coupes. It's more stylish than the first lot and more useful than the second.

Of course, that line of thinking has often come unstuck, producing cars that are neither one thing nor the other. Cramped hatchbacks, bloated coupes. But I think the C30 gets away with it, assuming that you're prepared to buy into the whole Volvo-ness of its design, which runs through this car like the letters in a stick of rock.

Luckily, it's about more than design though. Sorry if this sounds grudging, but I was genuinely surprised by how well it drives. Volvo's sporty cars have usually had wooden suspension, torque steer and poor traction. The C30 trades that crudeness for something altogether more sophisticated. Sophisticated enough to carry off that black plastic with true postmodern irony.

Paul Horrell


Read Volvo C30 Car Review

Volvo C30 road test
Volvo C30 - October 3, 2006