Volvo unveils C30 hatchback-come-coupe
Newswheel staff :: 24 July 2006 :: Filed under Coupe, Hatchback, Volvo, Europe & UK, US
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BMW 1 Series and Audi A3 beware
Another day, another great looking new Volvo. The Swedish car maker has taken the wraps off its new C30 premium hatchback. The new model closely resembles the C30 concept first shown at the Detroit show in January and is based on Ford’s global C1 platform à la Focus, CMax and of course Volvo’s own S40, V40 and C70 CC barges…
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Overall, the C30 is 22cm shorter than the S40, making it the smallest car in Volvo’s range. However, it sports precisely the same wheelbase as the S40 and is slightly wider, betraying the car’s sporting aspirations.
Design-wise, the C30’s sloping side glass and tapering rear result in a fairly funky coupe-hatchback fusion, finished off with an all-glass tailgate. Of course, Volvo has been down this coupe-come-hatchback path before with both the 1960s P1800 and the late-80s 480.
But compared with the latter in the particular, the C30 is a damn site more mature and sophisticated. In fact, though Volvo is pitching the C30 at Audi’s A3 hatch, it’s just about sexy enough to take on the lower echelons of the TT range, too. And more than anything the C30 confirms that Volvo has now developed a seriously distinctive and successful design language and is capable of applying it to a wide range of body styles.
Inside, the main dash assembly, including Volvo’s signature floating console, is unsurprisingly lifted straight out of the S40. But we’ve no complaints - it’s an attractively understated design. Moreover, with four individual seats rather than a rear bench and less luggage space than the S40, Volvo won’t be pitching the C30 on pure practicality.
Volvo has paid close attention to the C30’s sound system. Apparently, in-house research indicated that quality tunes are a top five priority among buyers. Three levels of stereo equipment will be offered, topped off by an Alpine-supplied rig boasting a 5x130W power amplifier, 10 speakers and Dolby Pro Logic II Surround Sound. All models have a line-in port for MP3 players.
But what about engines? Well, Volvo has yet to announce the full range. But it has divulged that the petrol powerplants will extend from a 99bhp 1.6 four-pot to the familiar T5 217bhp turbo five-cylinder (as found in the Focus ST). Diesel lumps, meanwhile, will kick off with a 1.6-litre 108bhp unit and max out with the 178bhp D5 engine. No official performance figures have been released, but Volvo isn’t giving away much when it hints the T5 will hit 60mph in under seven seconds.
Whatever, with that wider track and those Focus chassis underpinnings - complete with control blade independent rear suspension - the C30 certainly looks promising in terms of ride and handling. And needless to say, it packs a raft of Volvo safety features, including the S40’s front crash structure, Volvo’s Side Impact Protection System (SIPS), anti-whiplash head restraints and more.
In total, Volvo says it hopes to flog around 65,000 cars per year. That’s a global figure and seems like a pretty conservative estimate designed to enable some suitably sensational “C30 sales smash hit” PR releases in the not too distant future. For the record, the C30 will receive its first public airing at the Paris show in September and goes on sale at the end of ’06. Prices and full specs to be released later this year.
Posted 01 August 2006, by John K. Wood
boot size for the C30.