Category: Convertibles 
Price Range: £24,883 to £33,595
Hard-top folding roof; solid build; well-engineered and neatly designed; smart image; powerful T5 turbo engine
Boot space not generous; not that inspiring a drive; T5's fuel consumption
The C70 has the advantage - at least until the Volkswagen Eos goes on sale - over the 3-Series, CLK and A4 cabriolets with its hard-top folding roof, a bonus for safety, security, refinement and driving dynamics.
Volvo is the first of the premium-brand carmakers to offer a convertible of this size with a metal folding hard-top (the A4, 3-Series, CLK and 9-3 all still come with canvas hoods).
This latest model is an improvement over its soft-topped predecessor in every way: it's more comfortable and refined, it's a much more rewarding drive and it's more modern-looking and stylish.
Although shorter overall than the previous C70, and with a lower roof height and shorter wheelbase, this new model feels as roomy as its main competitors and boot space - although limited by the folding roof mechanism - is also comparable. It's just about a four-seater, though taller adults won't be too keen on spending too long in the back.
The C70 will be available with three petrol engines, all five-cylinder Volvo units. Two are the familiar 2.4-litre, in 140bhp and 170bhp forms (both normally aspirated) and the third is the 2.5-litre turbocharged T5, giving 220bhp, as in the Focus ST.
A 2.5-litre, five-cylinder D5 diesel (180bhp) will be available later in the summer. Six-speed manual transmission is standard, with the option of a five-speed auto 'box with sequential-shift function.
Latest Readers' Drives About the Volvo C70
wrote on 13 09 2007