Volvo C30 T5
some words get thrown about so often they become relentless cliché. Think for a moment “Volvo” safe, predictable.
Fun? Hardly. Think family, dull and all the other clichés. Now lately I have loved to drive the hotter Fords. The thing is, style-wise they have not always been that cool, especially if burnt orange is your version of understated. I adore great car interiors, it should look its part. It is the bit of the car I stare at the most. The exterior should be distinctive, appropriate. I love a brand to exceed its expectation.
A hot hatch that performs is a little unusual, but doesn't attempt to pigeonhole you into a typecast. Sound up your thing? It certainly is mine.
How many me-too hatches are there. The genre is filled with hot versions of people carriers or GTi clones. The category in my mind is made up of two-door hatches. Now there aren't many of those combining actual ability with style and a certain necessary air of quality. Sure one can go to the actual sportscars, the Lotus, Z4 or 370Z come to mind, but then where do you put stuff? Want to actually take a mountain bike up that mountain pass?
Seldom are there focused drivers' vehicles combined with a certain distinctiveness. There are few heroes in this category. VW has the new Scirocco. A car I absolutely adore. But in my mind the only great alternative is the most unlikely culprit, the Volvo C30 T5. In manual gearbox, this baby has an endlessly responsive chassis, crisply responding to your thoughts with steering with feedback. My God, is this a Volvo I am on about?
Stiff suspension, not quite at the kidney-belt level, with a fair amount of sedate driving comfort and composure.
It is stiffer, firmer and, all round, way more fun than certainly any Volvo I have heard of. The engine is responsive if not on paper. The car is quick and fun. While not a tarmac tearer it is thrilling to drive quickly. This car can corner. It is fun with both Traction control on and off. No small feat figuring out how to turn it off for the non-Volvo familiar speedfreak. Hidden in an indicator stalk controlled menu.
The design is the thing that makes the package whole. Sexy interior, albeit in Swedish understatement, two-tone upholstery making up a little panache.
The seats are a complete triumph in both aesthetics and comfort. The exterior with their socalled R-design, makes the sporty pretentions obvious. The rear is cool, way cooler than the ass Renault goes on about. I think it is a design triumph. Pimped by Volvo, scary thought? Works though.
I have one real criticism. While the manual box is a joy, this car needs a dual-clutch gearbox with steering mounted paddles to fully raise the entertainment levels.
The auto doesn't cut it for the category. The manual is good, but I wonder how DSG style shifting would help extract my wallet….
Go beyond the cliché. Tactile and visceral.
