Volvo C30 Review by Expert

Ever since the Volvo 480 went down, the Swedish auto major was looking to come back in the three door small car segment and now the dream has been fulfilled with the Volvo C30. This hatch from the stables of Volvo comes super detailing like the ones seen with the German auto major’s Audi premium sports coupe Audi TT or like the Japanese auto majors Nissan’s 370Z. And some trendy, fashionable features make it akin to BMW Mini or 1 Series. The hatch was displayed in concept car format at the Detroit motor show featuring compact glass tailgate, four individual seats, and it casted a spell with its tapering top half with broad lower shoulders: the production ready version of Volvo C30 has been seen carrying all these features.

Since the three door car has not its set group of clientele, Volvo is trying to pitch the car to youngsters or nuclear family people. The Volvo C30 was showcased in the form at a concept car and five years later the company rolled out the production version and the hatch in terms of looks can be put in a different segment than its competitors like the Ford Focus and Volkswagen Golf with only Vauxhall Astra GTC and Renault Mégane Coupé coming close in terms of looks.

As per the Swedish auto major the C30 coupe looks have most validity when look at the hatch in side profiling and the pronounced shoulder line offers a sleek, squat appearance. The single unit tail gate comes straight from the design plans from the 1971 1800ES shooting brake. The huge tear shaped rear lights accentuate the bold sporty spirit of the car. The Volvo C30 is good enough to bowl over the onlooker with the bespoked bumpers, smooth side skirts, deep cut wheel arch moldings and tailpipes slip into the cabin and the Volvo V40 feels a bit ordinary, more inspired and has an ambience of a better styled and upholstered version of the S40 saloon. Only the length has been altered and reduced down by 22 cm and despite having all this likeliness between the C30 and the S40, the C30 has still got uniqueness to it that cannot be missed. The wood and metal work done in the cabin area of the hatch is all unique. The cockpit or the front row seats are placed a tad bit higher to get a full view of the road and the rear seats are two individual seats translating into a cabin space of four people.  The headroom and legroom space is decent with the shoulder room spacing generous. Volvo C30 boot capacity is 364 liters and the cabin storage is decent with storage space in the door pockets glovebox and a couple of cubbies in the centre console. The fit and finish are all to perfect to the ‘T’ and with the soft feel finished given to the most facades and the switchgear, the overall appeal is taken several levels up.

The engine powering the Volvo C30 is a pair of petrol engines and four oil burners. The range begins with the 1.6L 1560cc D4162T turbo charged diesel engine that is good to go for 115PS peak power and 2700Nm torque. The second in line oil burner is just a slight transformation of the D4 diesel engine with the power and torque figure laying at the same 115PS/270Nm and the only difference of the emission, the base variant emits 94g/km whereas this engine emits 114g/km. The top of the line diesel engine D5204T5 gives out 150PS power and the toque level going high to 350Nm than the base variants. The petrol line begins with 2521cc B4204S3 engine offering 145PS power and 185Nm offer on the platter. The high end petrol variant is powered with a B5254T7 engine that has a 2521cc mill to dole out 230PS and 320Nm output figures. The engines comes with option of five speed manual,  five speed Geartronic and  six speed manual transmission gearboxes option.
 
Volvo C30 runs on alloy wheels, comes with powered door mirrors, and offers climate control option with pollen filter and auxiliary input for an MP3 player. Most of the variants are rendered with the cruise control option and steering wheel-mounted audio controls. For safety Volvo incorporates a full array of airbags, whiplash prevention system, passenger airbag deactivation switch and snow chains are all standard across the range.