A stunning drive
Volvo C 30
Not only is this car one of the best looking vehicles that has been presented for a test in recent weeks, but in 'T' guise it develops 220 bhp and, using its 2.5-litre engine to its full potential, you will be able to blast up to 100 km/h in 6.7 seconds or, if a little legality is in order, 80 km/h should be reached in about five seconds - 'oh me miserum'.
I did not test drive the 'T' version and, quite probably, it will never be brought into Malta, especially if the ADT has its way in 'rationalising' speed limits in Malta and Gozo, but I did enjoy a fascinating drive in the 1.6-litre turbodiesel (a 1.6-litre petrol engine will also be available after the local launch of the Volvo C30).
One of my more vociferous critics complains that my test reports almost exclusively dwell on vehicles' good points but ignore faults and, one presumes, prejudices. This is, to an extent true, but I defy any experienced, average sized male or female to be able to drive the sort of vehicles I take out for a run and find endemic faults at, or below, our extraordinarily low maximum speed, which is at the time of writing still a miserly, for test purposes, 80 km/h.
Test reports have to be more or less totally objective and in all fairness the C30 gave me one of the most satisfying outings in a conventional four-seat GT car that I can remember. Partly because the floor pan and suspension are so very, very good. Volvo don't just go ahead and spend millions developing spanking new ways of keeping the car exactly where it should be relative to corners, undulations, or even road humps when two magnificent vehicles from the same parent company are already using one of the best units available. Yes, the Ford Focus and the Mazda 3 have been equipped with the same engineering masterpieces as we now find in the Volvo C30.
Unfortunately, even among my serious motoring friends, there is still the perception that Volvo and cars that provide a great deal of motoring interest aren't usually mentioned in the same breath. And it is true that there was a time when Volvo cars were built to last in harsh conditions, but just possibly they were not so blindingly interesting for the sporty motorist as they could have been.
This scribe can certainly 'knock that one on the head' because, as long-time readers may remember, a T5 was provided in the U.K quite by accident, for some real entertainment, and it was the only car that I have ever driven at 140 miles per hour on a safe bit of the public road, and this was with the Volvo sales manager in the passenger seat urging me on.
It then came out that various police forces were equipped with 'T' cars as they run so well, and drive round corners far better than most vehicles that the 'boy racers' use to annoy the police.
The C30 provides a remarkably well tuned ride; firm and responsive, with steering that is as direct as a sports car and as fast to react. The big (17") wheels shod with low profile 205 tyres made the car even under hard cornering seem almost unstickable and I really did try to induce either violent understeer or a mix of under- and oversteer on my favourite section of the old Ta' Qali runway.
I went round and round on full lock, ever faster until the 'G' forces had built up nicely, and yet the Pirellis were not even complaining, although there was a light blue haze and the smell of hot rubber to prove that energy had been expended in the exercise. This is partly explained by the dynamic chassis and overall balance, centre of gravity, and low speed torque found in the diesel mill.
So, I went on to do the 'compulsory' hands off braking. Maximum brake force was used from something over the legal limit, and the four discs were biting to their maximum, with ABS providing a juddering symphony through the right foot and the EBA (emergency brake assist), and I presume EBD (electronic brake-force distribution between the front and rear) were called upon to keep me going, or rather stopping in a completely straight line.
The actual braking distance shown in the Volvo technical spec. is only 38 m from 100 km/h, so the average stopping distance from that speed will be only 56 m (the Highway Code states that the average car takes 73 m to stop from that speed). The C30 is therefore a very good car to drive.
Obviously, time was spent using grotty little urban roads to see how easy the car was to manoeuvre round parked vehicles in narrow roads; how nicely it could be turned and reversed; and how it coped with those ridiculously dangerous plastic or rubber road humps that councils are now so fond of.
Those damned humps may only be placed in roads that carry a very slow speed limit, even lower than the 35 km/h seemingly beloved by the ADT, and yet, quite unexpectedly, I hit one in a 50 km/h zone, and apart from an uncomfortable bounce the Volvo was nowhere as fazed as its driver.
In an effort to gauge how nicely the car handled at speed, I batted along from Ta' Qali to Ghajn Tuffieha, and as there was little traffic I got a fair idea of just how well behaved the car will be for anyone wishing to explore roads in far off Sicily, or even dare I say, in Italy and the Continent.
Frankly, depending on how you relish speed, many will be totally content with the 1.6-litre diesel. Petrolheads, on the other hand, may wish to explore their speed parameters by attempting to buy one of the bigger, ever more thrustful versions of this lovely four-seat package.
Space is at a premium, so I will only say that the car is comfortable to a marked degree and the boot is more than adequate, covered either by a fabric or hard cover. Seat belts and airbags are state of the art, whiplash is cut to a minimum if someone drives up your tail pipe, and there are enough strengthening bars and structures to keep the passenger cell as intact as possible should the driver be involved in a life-threatening smash.
On a technical note, the front suspension is fitted out with McPherson spring-struts, anti-dive and anti-lift built in. The rear is kept in balance with a good multi-link independent unit with anti-roll bars front and rear.
There are disc brakes all round (ventilated at the front). The 1.6D features hydraulic power steering and it's most pleasantly light and positive. Tilt and telescopic steering allow all drivers to get comfortable, and it only takes 2.6-2.9 turns, lock to lock, depending on the wheel size. The 1.6D comes with a five-speed box, but other engines may have six-speed boxes or automatic change.
At a glance
Engine type: 1.6-litre four-cylinder direct injection common rail turbodiesel.
Max. power output: 109 bhp at 4,000 rpm.
Max. torque: 240 Nm at 1,750 rpm.
Acceleration, 0-100 km/h: 11.9 seconds.
Max. speed: 190 km/h.
Fuel consumption (litres/100 km), mixed cycle: 4.9.
Carbon dioxide emissions (g/km): 129.
Environmental classification: Euro 4 (2005).
Length: 4,252 mm; width: 1,782 mm (2,039 mm with mirrors);
Height: 1,447 mm.
I did not test drive the 'T' version and, quite probably, it will never be brought into Malta, especially if the ADT has its way in 'rationalising' speed limits in Malta and Gozo, but I did enjoy a fascinating drive in the 1.6-litre turbodiesel (a 1.6-litre petrol engine will also be available after the local launch of the Volvo C30).
One of my more vociferous critics complains that my test reports almost exclusively dwell on vehicles' good points but ignore faults and, one presumes, prejudices. This is, to an extent true, but I defy any experienced, average sized male or female to be able to drive the sort of vehicles I take out for a run and find endemic faults at, or below, our extraordinarily low maximum speed, which is at the time of writing still a miserly, for test purposes, 80 km/h.
Test reports have to be more or less totally objective and in all fairness the C30 gave me one of the most satisfying outings in a conventional four-seat GT car that I can remember. Partly because the floor pan and suspension are so very, very good. Volvo don't just go ahead and spend millions developing spanking new ways of keeping the car exactly where it should be relative to corners, undulations, or even road humps when two magnificent vehicles from the same parent company are already using one of the best units available. Yes, the Ford Focus and the Mazda 3 have been equipped with the same engineering masterpieces as we now find in the Volvo C30.
Unfortunately, even among my serious motoring friends, there is still the perception that Volvo and cars that provide a great deal of motoring interest aren't usually mentioned in the same breath. And it is true that there was a time when Volvo cars were built to last in harsh conditions, but just possibly they were not so blindingly interesting for the sporty motorist as they could have been.
This scribe can certainly 'knock that one on the head' because, as long-time readers may remember, a T5 was provided in the U.K quite by accident, for some real entertainment, and it was the only car that I have ever driven at 140 miles per hour on a safe bit of the public road, and this was with the Volvo sales manager in the passenger seat urging me on.
It then came out that various police forces were equipped with 'T' cars as they run so well, and drive round corners far better than most vehicles that the 'boy racers' use to annoy the police.
The C30 provides a remarkably well tuned ride; firm and responsive, with steering that is as direct as a sports car and as fast to react. The big (17") wheels shod with low profile 205 tyres made the car even under hard cornering seem almost unstickable and I really did try to induce either violent understeer or a mix of under- and oversteer on my favourite section of the old Ta' Qali runway.
I went round and round on full lock, ever faster until the 'G' forces had built up nicely, and yet the Pirellis were not even complaining, although there was a light blue haze and the smell of hot rubber to prove that energy had been expended in the exercise. This is partly explained by the dynamic chassis and overall balance, centre of gravity, and low speed torque found in the diesel mill.
So, I went on to do the 'compulsory' hands off braking. Maximum brake force was used from something over the legal limit, and the four discs were biting to their maximum, with ABS providing a juddering symphony through the right foot and the EBA (emergency brake assist), and I presume EBD (electronic brake-force distribution between the front and rear) were called upon to keep me going, or rather stopping in a completely straight line.
The actual braking distance shown in the Volvo technical spec. is only 38 m from 100 km/h, so the average stopping distance from that speed will be only 56 m (the Highway Code states that the average car takes 73 m to stop from that speed). The C30 is therefore a very good car to drive.
Obviously, time was spent using grotty little urban roads to see how easy the car was to manoeuvre round parked vehicles in narrow roads; how nicely it could be turned and reversed; and how it coped with those ridiculously dangerous plastic or rubber road humps that councils are now so fond of.
Those damned humps may only be placed in roads that carry a very slow speed limit, even lower than the 35 km/h seemingly beloved by the ADT, and yet, quite unexpectedly, I hit one in a 50 km/h zone, and apart from an uncomfortable bounce the Volvo was nowhere as fazed as its driver.
In an effort to gauge how nicely the car handled at speed, I batted along from Ta' Qali to Ghajn Tuffieha, and as there was little traffic I got a fair idea of just how well behaved the car will be for anyone wishing to explore roads in far off Sicily, or even dare I say, in Italy and the Continent.
Frankly, depending on how you relish speed, many will be totally content with the 1.6-litre diesel. Petrolheads, on the other hand, may wish to explore their speed parameters by attempting to buy one of the bigger, ever more thrustful versions of this lovely four-seat package.
Space is at a premium, so I will only say that the car is comfortable to a marked degree and the boot is more than adequate, covered either by a fabric or hard cover. Seat belts and airbags are state of the art, whiplash is cut to a minimum if someone drives up your tail pipe, and there are enough strengthening bars and structures to keep the passenger cell as intact as possible should the driver be involved in a life-threatening smash.
On a technical note, the front suspension is fitted out with McPherson spring-struts, anti-dive and anti-lift built in. The rear is kept in balance with a good multi-link independent unit with anti-roll bars front and rear.
There are disc brakes all round (ventilated at the front). The 1.6D features hydraulic power steering and it's most pleasantly light and positive. Tilt and telescopic steering allow all drivers to get comfortable, and it only takes 2.6-2.9 turns, lock to lock, depending on the wheel size. The 1.6D comes with a five-speed box, but other engines may have six-speed boxes or automatic change.
At a glance
Engine type: 1.6-litre four-cylinder direct injection common rail turbodiesel.
Max. power output: 109 bhp at 4,000 rpm.
Max. torque: 240 Nm at 1,750 rpm.
Acceleration, 0-100 km/h: 11.9 seconds.
Max. speed: 190 km/h.
Fuel consumption (litres/100 km), mixed cycle: 4.9.
Carbon dioxide emissions (g/km): 129.
Environmental classification: Euro 4 (2005).
Length: 4,252 mm; width: 1,782 mm (2,039 mm with mirrors);
Height: 1,447 mm.