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Volvo

Wednesday, 1st of October 2008

The 109PS 1.6.-litre diesel provides a good turn of pace, and it has 240Nm of torque at 1750rpm to make sure you can overtake with ease. It can do the zero to 60mphn in 11.3 seconds –not bad for a 1560cc diesel and it has a top speed of 118mph. The lively four-cylinder 16-valve engine is mated to a smooth shifting five-speed gearbox, which made driving a pleasure. The engine is refined when on the move which means there is little noise intrusion inside the cabin.

On the road the Volvo C30 R-Design was a competent car. It comes from the same platform as the Ford Focus – although it doesn’t handle as well as the class leader. Driving the C30 enthusiastically and you’ll notice that it puts up a mature performance when cornering – there is some body roll but for the majority the car behaves well. The accurate steering impressed, but a downside was its numbness, a little more weighting would enhance the drive so much more.

The Volvo C30 R-Design is well built – shut lines are neatly finished and there are no panel gaps. The Swedish maker has made the R-Design models eye catching – our test car turned a lot of heads with its good looks – the sporty look is subtle but classy unlike some rivals. Have a seat and immediately you’ll notice that the car has been decked out in quality materials giving the interior a smart look. We love the floating aluminium with a carbon fibre-effect finish central console – our team think that is very funky. To add to the luxury you sit in very comfortable, thickly padded sports seats, which are covered in two-tone cream and black leather, while the steering wheel is also wrapped in hide. Service intervals are set for 12,500 miles or a year’s interval – whichever comes first.

Volvo has always been known for its first class approach to safety and the C30 is no different. As standard the car comes with dual driver and passenger airbags, curtain airbags and side impact protection system (SIPS). To help you get stopped quickly and in a controlled fashion the C30 is equipped with ABS with EBD (Electronic Brake Distribution) and Electronic Brake Assistance while there is also DSTC (Dynamic Stability and Traction Control). One of the best safety devices is the automatic hazard warning lights – when braking at motorway speed and coming to a standstill – the hazard warning lights will come on automatically – a brilliant idea so that you can warn other drivers of the danger that may be ahead.

The Achilles’ heel for the C30 is its lack of space. Although four adults will fit in the car – there’ll not be much space for their legs especially if any of you are over six foot. The boot space is nothing to write home about either, it’s the same size as that of a Ford Fiesta – 233 litres that’s not great if you want to carry a couple of sets of golf clubs.

Buy the C30 R-Design and you’ll have made a great choice, as residuals are likely to be strong for such an eye-catching car. On test our car returned 50.9mpg on the combined cycle while it emits 129g/km of CO2 emissions. This puts the C30 1.6-litre diesel in a VED band of C. Our car started at a price of £16,495 as it had the Bi-Xenon pack, metallic paint, rear park assist, a high performance audio system, 6Xcd player, a PACOS (Passenger Airbag Cut off Switch) all as optional extras. But stay away from the options list and you could walk away with a C30 R-Design for as little as £14,995 – now that’s a good deal.