THE C30 T5 R-design looks fantastic, simple as that. Everywhere it goes it gets that extra glance. You can feel from inside the cabin that as you drive by, people stop what they’re doing to catch a glimpse of something they can’t quite put their finger on. Then their eyes fixate on the male gender symbol with the diagonal strikethrough line on the grille. And you can almost see what’s running through their minds: slight confusion as they try to comprehend whether they’re supposed to like something from the stereotypical box-maker or if someone’s gone way left field and based their tuning company around the Volvo brand.
IMAGE GALLERY FOR C30 R-DESIGN
What you should do is simply hit the like button in your brain and find out more about this stunning hatchback. Here’s the lowdown on what the C30 R-design is all about. The body has had some minor facial reconstruction so that the headlights now curl around the side of the bonnet and towards the wheel arches. That’s it, really. Most of the key changes are in the handling and steering department. On this, the R-design derivative, the springs have been stiffened up and the dampers adapted to optimise cornering ability. These changes all form part of the ‘dynamic’ chassis package along with a lower steering ratio which quickens direction changes and response time. Inside it’s the same combination of leather and something that looks like aluminium but has a warmer touch. All Volvo owners will be able to find the familiar buttons blindfolded, or at least adapt to any minor changes without hassle.
Any performance upgrades? The Volvo uses the same five-cylinder 2.5-litre turbocharged motor that is so effective in the Ford Focus ST. In the previous generation C30 the engine didn’t seem to take on the same exciting and vigorous form that it did in the ST, and this translated into a very mild 8.24 second drag to 100kph for the C30. The ST was a second faster. The new evolution of the C30 with its suspension mods has closed that gap considerably, so much so that the two cars are now almost identical. The C30 we tested reached 100kph in 7.18 seconds, a vast improvement. This makes quite a big difference in the average hot hatch buyer’s life, I feel. Hot hatches are made to look racy, beefed up on big wheels and accentuated wheel arches. The battle for the top step of the hot hatch podium has been a constant see-saw battle between Ford, VW and Renault, with the likes of Mazda and Opel hot on their heels. Volvo has never really looked at this as an area to make its mark, and the first generation C30 felt more like a dabble into foreign waters from the Swedish manufacturer than any kind of full assault on the hot hatch world.
The new C30 makes more of an effort to catch up to the rest of the market by modifying the original C30’s weak points – handling and excitement. The suspension is better and the steering faster, and this makes a difference to straight-line performance. But what about when the road isn’t exactly straight? Can it match its competitors there?