The new Volvo C30 sporty new front and even more choices

The new Volvo C30 sporty new front and even more choices

The new Volvo C30 boosts its personality with a more confident front, a bold styling kit for those who want even more attitude - and a new razor-sharp sports chassis.

"The C30 is highly appreciated for its unique appearance. This applies in particular to the rear. The bold new front completes the package and takes the car's entire personality to an entirely new level," says Daniel Backman, Product Manager for the new Volvo C30. He adds:

"The new exterior is also a better match for the improved C30 drive. It is challenging, direct and has a whole lot of attitude," continues Daniel Backman.

The C30 appeals to customers who spend most of their time in the city environment and who impose considerable demands on the car's design, driving properties and personality. The new C30 also offers customers even more personal choice than before.

Major exterior changes

The renewal of the Volvo C30 is more comprehensive than is usually the case with Volvo's models. The entire front has been redesigned. This gives the car a radical new appearance from the front, carving out a distinctive personality, clearly separating the new C30 from the Volvo S40 and V50.

"By integrating greater depth into the design language, the front has become more dramatic and expressive. The angled lines of the front bumper, the new headlamps drawn offset and up all reinforce the impression of speed and sportiness," says Fedde Talsma, Exterior Chief Designer at Volvo Cars.

The grille has a new pattern used solely on the C30. It also gets the new, larger iron mark just as in the rest of the Volvo range. The air intake has also grown in size and resembles that of the XC60.

"The enhancement of the visual volume and self-confidence is entirely in line with Volvo Cars' design strategy. At the same time, the C30 has a distinctive, one of a kind expression. It takes just a quick glance in the rear-view mirror to see that the car filling your view is the new Volvo C30," continues Fedde Talsma.

More dynamic rear

Although the biggest design changes have taken place at the front, the rear also sports the same deep new lines and detailing. The contours are wavier and more dynamic than before. The black plastic panels have been replaced with more body colour lower down, in the same or a contrasting colour, to forge a closer visual contact between the car and the road surface.

The other new exterior features:

• Elegant and trendy new body colour, Orange Flame Metallic
• Dual chrome exhaust tailpipes on the T5 and D5 models
• Two new wheel options - and for the first time, wheels in a stunning white finish are available for customers looking for that little extra
• There is a option of five different colours for the lower trim - the C30 Contrast Colour Collection.

New sports chassis with excellent characteristics

The new optional sports chassis for the Volvo C30 is considerably sharper, with stiffer, more distinct properties than before. The steering is more precise thanks to the installation of stiffer bushings. The steering ratio is lower, giving 10 percent faster response to steering wheel input. Spring stiffness has been increased by no less than 30 percent in order to increase the car's poise in enthusiastic driving. The stiffer, exclusive mono-tube dampers build up pressure much more quickly. The roll stabilizers are stiffer to reduce any leaning tendency when cornering.

The new sport chassis has made the C30 a better-balanced and more agile car. Road contact is more distinct and feedback from the wheels is faster and clearer, promoting a more alert feeling while driving. This is something that also benefits safety.

"The driver should feel confident that the car is eager to behave exactly as expected. That is an important part of our safety focus when we develop new chassis. This feeling of security also means the driver can fully enjoy the sporty driving characteristics," says Stefan Sällqvist, manager Vehicle Dynamics at Volvo Cars.

The new sport chassis is available in all C30 versions except for 1.6D DRIVe.

Matching interior updates

The new Volvo C30 also offers a range of new interior options. Among other things, there is now an all-new colour combination known as Espresso/Blond, consisting of a dark brown upper section and a blond, fresh shade on the lower door sides. The blond tone, somewhere between grey and beige, is an expression of Volvo's strong Scandinavian design tradition. The Espresso/Blond interior permits the integration of energetic new highlight colours such as orange, green and blue in the fabrics, as well as new leather upholstery in Cranberry.

"We know that almost half of all C30 customers make detailed interior choices. They are confident in their personal taste and not interested in readymade packages. The new C30 gives them a choice of fresh, modern style cues both when it comes to colour and fabric," explains Maria Uggla, Programme Chief Designer Colour & Trim at Volvo Cars. She adds:

"We have also focused on making it easier for customers to match exterior design elements with interior trim in an attractive way. The new Espresso/Blond colour combination has paved the way here."

Yet another new feature is the luggage compartment cover in the rear, which uses a new material and a new graphic pattern to further enhance the car's modern image.

New centre stack - Oyster Burst Déco

Volvo's ultra-thin centre stack becomes available in a new Oyster Burst Déco version, inspired by the surface texture of the classic Swedish Hagström guitars that became world-famous in the hands of stars such as Elvis Presley back in the 1950s. Hagström used the word "burst" in many of its model names and gave their guitars a pattern that shifted subtly from light to dark and back again. Just like in the new centre stack of the Volvo C30.

New expressive accessory styling kit

The Volvo C30 also comes with a youthful new accessory styling kit. Boasting a bolder, less polished style it gives the C30 even more attitude. The kit includes fog lamp décor, a front skid-plate, side scuff plates with engraved C30 logo and a rear skid plate with a stylish aluminium look. For the D5 and T5 two 90 mm tail pipes in polished stainless steel are added to underline the powerful engine.

The exterior detailing is accompanied by a dramatic interior where the pattern of the floor mats forms a world map. The aluminium centre stack and the inner door handles are inspired by an ancient nautical chart and a sea adventure map. Its pattern shows longitude and latitude lines as well as dashed direction lines to further emphasise the explorer theme.

C30 DRIVe with start/stop function

As of spring 2009, the Volvo C30 1.6D DRIVe is available with an advanced start/stop function that switches off the engine when the car is at a standstill, for instance at traffic lights or in a traffic queue. This cuts fuel consumption to as little as 3.8 l/100 km while carbon dioxide emissions are down to 99g CO₂/km, the lowest in this segment.

Engine range, Volvo C30

The figures below are for versions with a manual gearbox running in the mixed driving cycle.

Engine facts in brief:

• All the engines are extremely compact and installed transversely in the engine bay for the best possible safety and maximum cabin space
• Turbo technology is used in the T5 engine and all diesel engines to deliver the best possible performance
• A six-speed manual gearbox is available for the T5 engine, D5 and 2.0D
• A five-speed automatic transmission with Geartronic is available for the five-cylinder petrol and diesel engines
• A six-speed Powershift automatic is available for the 2.0D and 2.0 petrol engines (2.0 petrol only in Asia)
• A particle filter is standard on all diesel engines
• The 1.6 DRIVe with start/stop function has extremely low fuel consumption, 3.8 litres per 100 km, giving it a range of more than 1350 km on a full tank.

A few facts: the number of possible combinations with the new Volvo C30

• The new Volvo C30 is available with a choice of 13 different exterior body colours and with the lower spoilers in five different colours. All told, there is a choice of 49 exterior combinations (previously 13 combinations)
• If the 11 different aluminium wheels are added, the customer now has 529 possibilities of creating a unique car
• The 27 upholstery choices (previously 15) now make 14,553 combination possibilities
• A choice of 4 decor inlays in the centre stack increases the range of combinations to 58,212
• Being able to specify the car with or without a rear spoiler doubles the number of configurations to 116,424
• The customer can specify a roof hatch - or not. The available variants have now increased to 232,848
• The C30 is available with eleven different drivelines (manual/automatic transmission included), making 2,561,328 possible combinations
• What is more, the Volvo C30 can be equipped with a choice of three different audio systems, a variety of safety and security functions, parking assistance, Bluetooth and so on to suit customer wishes
• All in all, there are so many unique variants that Volvo estimates that if every single person in Britain - about 60 million people - were to order a new Volvo C30, no two cars would have to be alike!