Volvos are bought for their safety credentials and their usefulness. That’s why the XC90 is the success that it is. The C30 may be similarly capable at surviving a crash, but there are only two seats in the back and the boot isn’t very cavernous.
The styling was supposed to be the C30’s trump card, but with a front end that looks so similar to the Volvo sedans’, it’s only slightly cooler (if ever there was a thermometer to measure such things) than the S40/V50 that it’s so closely based on. Never mind that its rear is reminiscent of the P1800ES – no one in the C30’s target demographics knows what that is.
Everything is now better with the facelift. The car looks meaner and sleeker with a new face, one that features a dramatically sculpted bumper and a pair of wraparound headlights that give it a sporty and almost predator-like glare.
Floating centre stack is now even cooler with this funky hand-painted finish.
More styling cues abound, with honeycomb motifs on the front grille, bumper inserts and reshaped door sills. It’s a handsome makeover, even if the new burnt orange colour and white alloy wheels won’t be to everybody’s tastes.
While the dashboard architecture has been left unchanged (and largely similar to the S40’s), there is an explosion of customising possibilities to create something befitting the C30’s hip and chic aspirations.
The one on the test car, for example, isn’t black or grey but a shade of brown. The floating centre stack, which is unique to Volvo, can now be had in new finishes on top of wood or aluminium. The airbrush artwork ,that looks like the ones on electric guitars, is particularly cool.
The 2.5-litre variant gets this neat hard luggage cover, while the 2L version uses a stretchable canopy.
Buyers are encouraged to splash exciting colours in the cabin with the upholstery options. Forget the usual blacks, browns or even the recently in-trend red, and go for the orange and cream combo.
While the update largely focused on the aesthetics, Volvo has also worked on the car’s dynamics. The steering rack is now quicker to sharpen the C30’s turn-in and help it to track a little bit more keenly than before. It still doesn’t have the level of involvement to admit it into the league of “hot hatches”, but it’s definitely more fun and more agile than before.
The 2.5-litre T5 model comes with the “Sports Chassis” treatment. This basically includes firmer springs and dampers.
The changes increase the car’s eagerness for corners and, despite sitting lower than the 2.0 (just 10mm), ride comfort seems to be better. The improved body control is better able at arresting float, giving the compact C30 a very authoritative stance on the road. So the C30 finally has the funky looks that it always promised – and it’s quite a drive too.
Volvo C30 T5 2.5 (A)
ENGINE 2521cc, 20-valves, inline-5, turbocharged
MAX POWER 230bhp at 5300rpm
MAX TORQUE 320Nm at 1500-4800rpm
GEARBOX 5-speed automatic with manual select
0-100KM/H 7.1 seconds
TOP SPEED 235km/h
CONSUMPTION 11.1km/L (combined)
PRICE INCL. COE $133,999
