Category: Small Family 
Price Range: £16,250 to £23,495
Clever mix of Volvo design and three-door hatchback compactness, airy cabin, quick but quiet, strong grip, confident handling and disciplined ride, well finished and well-equipped, five-star NCAP crash test score.
Jerky manual downshifts in auto versions, no paddle-shifts, tiny glovebox, sliding electric front seats for rear access are slow and have no memory.
Volvo virtues in a sporty hatchback make an alluring combination. It's the first 'affordable' Volvo in years to appeal to the heart.
Too many of today's hatchbacks hem you in visually with their thick pillars and general air of bulk. The C30 avoids this, and it's very refreshing. The base of the windscreen is low, despite the C30's compliance with pedestrian protection rules, and the base of the rear window is even lower. The central pillars, though thick, are chamfered inside to help the view rearward for the driver and forward for the rear passengers, and the way the rear side windows angle inward makes for easy reversing with an excellent view.
The driving position is very comfortable, the instruments are clear and the switchgear is logical enough once you've learnt how the various menus work. One useful option is the BLIS blind-spot system, which flashes a warning in the base of a door mirror if another vehicle is coming up alongside.
The C30's Focus genes promise prowess in steering and handling, but the Volvo interpretation is less, well, focused. The steering feels more rubbery around the straight-ahead, but its response is still progressive and the weighting is about right. The C30 holds the road with determination and can flick tidily from one direction to the other thanks to tight damping and a good balance. It's no hot hatchback - lifting the throttle in a corner tightens the line enough to get you out of trouble, but no more - but it gives a confident, entertaining drive. The brakes are powerful and progressive, but can feel a little mushy after some hard work.
The C30s weve driven include both the turbocharged five-cylinder Geartronic automatics, one petrol, one diesel. Their transmissions work well in automatic mode, shifting smoothly and promptly, but manual downshifts are sometimes abrupt and tardy. An Audi A3's DSG transmission is much better here, and has the benefit of paddle-shifters, which are mysteriously unavailable in the Volvo.
The T5 isn't as crisp-edged or as eager as it is in the Focus ST, but its deep five-cylinder hum is appealing, it's very smooth and there's plenty of pulling power across a broad rev range. Mated to a six-speed manual gearbox it will power the C30 to 60mph in 6.2 seconds and on to 149mph; the auto is claimed to reach 60 in 6.6 seconds and to reach 146mph. The D5 turbodiesel makes a similar but louder and gruffer sound, and has terrific low-speed pulling power thanks to its 258lb-ft of torque. It's available only as an automatic, and manages 140mph and a 7.8-second 0-60mph time.
The 1.6 diesel and 1.8 petrol fitted with five-speed manual gearboxes feel sluggardly and distinctly lacking in the special-ness that the C30s styling promises. Weve also, however, driven the 2.0-litre diesel and thats much more impressive, with plenty of useful pulling power. The six-speed manual gearbox is a pleasure to use, and helps you make the most of the engines abilities. Its also a handy £2,500 cheaper than the D5, although the five-cylinder car is a second quicker to 60mph.
Latest Readers' Drives About the Volvo C30
wrote on 23 07 2007