Volvo C30

Volvo C30

Manufacturer	Volvo Cars
Parent company	Ford Motor Company Premier Automotive Group
Production	2006–present
Assembly	Ghent, Belgium
Predecessor	Volvo 480
Class	Small family car
Body style(s)	3-door hatchback
Layout	FF layout
Platform	Volvo P1 platform
C30 Engine(s)	Petrol: 1.6 L 99 hp straight-4 1.8 L 123 hp straight-4 1.8 L 123 hp Flexifuel straight-4 2.0 L 143 hp straight-4 2.4 L 168 hp straight-4 2.5 L 227 hp turbocharged straight-5 Diesel: 1.6 L 108 hp straight-4 2.0 L 134 hp straight-4 2.4 L 178 hp straight-5
C30 Transmission(s)	5- or 6-speed manual 5- or 6-speed automatic
C30 Wheelbase	2640 mm (103.9 in)
Length	4252 mm (167.4 in)
Width	1782 mm (70.2 in)
Height	1447 mm (57 in)
Curb weight	1331 kg (2934 lb)-1347 kg (2970 lb)
Related	Mazda3 Ford Focus (international) Volvo S40 Volvo V50

The Volvo C30 is a small coupe produced by Volvo (part of the Ford Motor Company Group). The C30 is a three-door, four-seat hatchback powered by straight-4 and straight-5 engines. The car is a hatchback version of the S40/V50/C70 range, and uses the same Ford C1 (or Volvo P1) platform.

The production car was officially unveiled at the 2006 Paris Motor Show. In mid-2006, the C30 was approved for production launch in late 2006 in Europe. The C30 went on sale in Canada in March 2007 as a 2007 model, and in October 2007 in the United States as a 2008 model, with the T5 as the single version. It is being marketed as a premium hatchback or "sports coupe" specially designed for first-time Volvo buyers and the youth market. Production is expected to be 65,000 units a year, 75% for sale in the European market.

Notably, the design of the C30 recalls another important Volvo, the 1800ES, the estate adaptation of the P1800 Coupe. According to Simon Lamarre, chief studio designer, "the 1800ES has become one of the icons for Volvo,"  inspiring the design of the Volvo C30. However, not everyone is pleased with the C30s "sawed-off rear" and calling it "Volvo's AMC Gremlin."

Features

The C30 is offered with a wide variety of petrol and diesel engines. Petrol enginess include a 99 hp (74 kW; 100 PS) 1.6 litre straight-4, a 123 hp (92 kW; 125 PS) 1.8 litre straight-4, a 143 hp (107 kW; 145 PS) 2.0 litre straight-4, a 168 hp (125 kW; 170 PS) 2.4 liter straight-5, and a 227 hp (169 kW; 230 PS) turbocharged 2.5 litre inline-5. Diesel engines will be a 108 hp (81 kW; 109 PS) 1.6 litre inline-4, a 134 hp (100 kW; 136 PS) 2.0 litre inline-4, and a 178 hp (133 kW; 180 PS) 2.4 litre inline-5. All models will be fitted with a manual gearbox, and the inline-5 petrol versions will have automatic transmissions as an option. Speculation suggesting that a 1.4 litre inline-4 petrol engine would be offered proved false and the smallest engine in the range is the 1.6 litre engines. The 2.0 liter diesel engine is available with a 6-speed dual clutch transmission (Powershift).

An upgraded sound system includes a digital 5×130 watt ICE Power amplifier from Alpine featuring Dolby Pro Logic II Surround, and 10 loudspeakers from Danish Dynaudio, appealing to the youth market.

Three modified C30s were shown at the 2006 SEMA event: Evolve's C30, IPD's C30 and a Heico Sportiv/Burton Snowboard C30.

The 2008 model year brings some minor changes, mostly adapting the interior to the facelifted S40/V50 and including as standard an Aux audio socket. Only the T5 2.5 litre turbocharged gasoline engine is available in the United States, for both manual and automatic transmissions.

Hybrid

Volvo is developing a plug-in hybrid electric version of the C30 at their California development centre. A concept of the C30 hybrid called the ReCharge was shown in September 2007 at the Frankfurt auto show. The hybrid C30 will be a flex-fuel or diesel-electric hybrid with a power train design similar to General Motors' E-Flex platform and its Chevrolet Volt concept vehicle

Safety

The C30 continues Volvo's marketing strategy to put safety as a primary concern. This is demonstrated through some recently developed safety features, including a method of overcoming the "blind spots" or "dead areas" in the driver's view to the rear through a system solely introduced by Volvo, known as BLIS (Blind Spot Information System).

The C30 also features a four-wheel anti-lock braking system (ABS), electronic stability program (ESP), traction control system and airbags all around for side impact and rollover protection, front and rear crumple zones, and a stiff occupant cell.

The Volvo C30 has a patented front and rear structure using four different grades of steel to absorb and redistribute impact energy around the body of the coupe. Volvo's Whiplash Protection System and Side Impact Protection System with side airbags and Inflatable Curtain are also standard. The seat belts have pretensioners to protect the occupants against unexpected accidents.

The car also uses Volvo's Intelligent Driver Information System (IDIS) which continuously monitors the car's preemptive systems such as steering wheel angle, pedal depressions, and overall factors that help the vehicle's computer to decide if the driver is busy or distracted merging or turning, and will then accordingly delay certain data or alerts that are unimportant.

The C30 has been criticized because in an effort to make it more responsive in curves it has become unreliable on ice or snow where the rear end can easily lose its grip.