Volvo C30 review (2007 onwards model)

It’s unusual for manufacturers to be so frank, but when Volvo described its new C30 to us on its launch, it called it: “a very non-Volvo product.” And if you look at its proposed competition, cars like the Audi A3 and BMW’s 1 Series, you can see what Volvo is talking about.

They tend to boast younger, child-less buyers, with a relatively good mix of male and female buyers. Conversely, Volvo currently attracts family buyers, 55 per cent of those in the 36-54 age group. And only 13 per cent of Volvo buyers are ‘pre-family’, and a tiny 11 per cent of Volvo sales go to females. So Volvo admits itself that it isn’t attractive to the sort of buyers where it’s aiming its new C30. To attract the younger buyers it wants, typically Audi’s predominantly childless under 35 year-olds, the Swedish firm has quite a task on its hands.

Women buyers

Particularly in attracting female customers - Volvo admitting that as a company its ability to sell cars to females is: “embarrassingly low as a manufacturer.” While all that might sound negative, Volvo is confident that the C30 is the car that can change that. Certainly the new C30 is unusual in the Volvo range as it’s a hatchback, or as Volvo call it – a SportsCoupé. Inevitably there are some Volvo design elements familiar to the range, predominantly around the front, where it closely resembles its S40 and V50 relatives.

So it’s around the rear where it’s most distinctive. Central to rear is the glass rear hatch, framed by the large rear lights that stretch up the rear pillars. A small spoiler above the rear window adds to the C30’s sporting look, the overall result very impressive and certainly more interesting than you might expect from Volvo. That stylish rump tapers in a good deal, the shoulder line of the C30 increasingly bold as it reaches the rear. The result is a rear cabin area that’s narrow, necessitating the fitting of two individual rear seats rather than a more traditional bench.

Interior space

That’s fine as, after all, the C30 isn’t aimed at the sort of buyer who’ll be carrying children in the back. Even so, the seats are usefully sized, with proper legroom for adults, but the boot isn’t exactly huge and that glass hatchback doesn’t create the largest opening, either. But practicality isn’t likely to be among the concerns for the C30’s target audience. Even so, its luggage and passenger area is arguably more useful than BMW’s 1-Series. Where it doesn’t match the BMW, or the Audi, is in its driver appeal. Even in the range-topping D5 and T5 guises we drove neither excite on the road in the way its German rivals will.

Roadtest: BMW 1-Series
Roadtest: Audi A3

The five-speed automatic, when fitted to either the D5 turbodiesel or T5 petrol engines doesn’t help. It dampens any enthusiasm from the power plants, being slow to react, even when you take control yourself. The result is a lot of commotion from under the bonnet, both five-cylinder engines giving off a suitably sporting growl, but without the sort of performance you might expect from the 178bhp and 217bhp respectively that the D5 and T5 offer. Choose the manual transmission though with the 2.5-litre T5 petrol (the D5 turbodiesel is only offered with the auto) and it transforms the C30. It’s a six-speed ‘box, that’s very light and gives a precise shift.

VIDEO: watch our video road test of the Volvo C30

It allows the T5 C30 to sprint to 60mph in 6.2 seconds, the automatic adding 0.4 seconds to that time but it feeling far more than that on the road. With the manual the C30 feels far more responsive, allowing you to better enjoy its performance. It’s never going to excite in a similar way to something like Ford’s Focus ST, to which it’s loosely related to under the skin, the Volvo feels more mature than its Ford relative. The steering is light though lacking in decisive feel leaving you guessing as to what the front wheels are doing.

Poor ride

But it’s the ride that’s perhaps the most disappointing. The C30’s damping struggles to cope very well with ridges and bumps on the road surface. Expansion joints and seams cause it to jolt and skip. The standard lower specification cars than two aggressively set up, 19-inch wheel equipped range-toppers should ride better. They need to. Indeed, the two cars we experienced will only make up around 10% of total C30 sales, the ‘lesser’ models certain to ride better. The remainder of the range is made up of 1.6, 1.8, 2.0 and 2.4-litre petrol units, and 1.6 and 2.0-litre turbodiesels.

Trim level choices

That range of engines is complimented by four trim lines - S, SE, SE Sport and SE Lux. Prices start at £14,562 and specifications better rivals, with all cars coming with alloy wheels, climate control and a CD player. It feels beautifully built, too, even if Volvo has done little to differentiate the dash of the C30 from its S40 and V50 relatives. That does mean the C30 gets the smart floating console, but the rest of the interior is rather plain after the dramatic exterior, even with the choice of a wider variety of colours.

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Volvo understands it’s entering a tough market, and that it’s unlikely that the C30 will bring Volvo the sort of volume that Audi manages with the A3. But there’s no denying that the Volvo is the more interesting looker, and in the market that Volvo is targeting it’s that, more than anything else that really matters.

More C30 images from Live Search
Buy an 'original' C30 from £500
VIDEO: watch our video road test of the Volvo C30