“Volvo’s distinctive
  C30 sports coupé
  is the Swedish
  company’s first shot
  at a premium hatch.    Have they succeeded?
  Has Elvis left the
  building?”

WE WERE IN A WINE BAR the other evening, waiting for our meal. Our conversation turned to the new two-door Volvo C30 sports coupé. Asked about its image, the mostly female, predominately thirtysomething group thought it was very "Mr. Darcy". That was a turn up for the books. Yes, it is a smart little number; not sure about the implied 'subtle hint of passion' and the 'smouldering sensuality' that usually comes with Jane Austen's Mr Darcy. Or do I detect a touch of pride and prejudice?

Actually, come to think about it, there is quite a lot of prejudice — albeit misplaced — about Volvos. A lot of people still think of them as big, strong, boxy cars driven by sober, safety-minded people. Well, all that profiling is about to flip right around. Because the new C30 is just as likely to be bought by people with a sense of occasion and a touch of class. In fact, Volvo expects the C30 to appeal primarily to younger people (25-35) without a family and the over-50s — the so-called 'empty nesters' — whose children have already left home. What both groups want is a distinctive, small, sporty yet functional car. They don't have much use for a large car as they rarely carry passengers. Not that there's not room for your friends — the C30 has four very usable and individual seats.

So far as the looks go, let's start at the tail — the part other drivers are going to see the most of, especially if it's the flagship turbo-charged T5 model we recently tested. That individualistic, curved rear glass tailgate is a breath of fresh air. Add to that the C30's low stance, wheel-at-each-corner look and you can see that Volvo's new 'baby' definitely does 'the biz' in the looks department. Smart enough to be considered as a rival for the likes of the BMW 1 Series and Audi A3 coupés. Especially when fitted with Volvo's smooth and responsive 217bhp turboed powerplant.

For the record, C30 customers have a choice of eight engines, starting with a 99bhp 1.6 four-cylinder petrol model. There are three diesel units from 109bhp to 180bhp. The 'daddy' C30 is the 2,521cc T5 that uses Volvo's popular 217bhp light-pressure turbo, five-cylinder power-plant. Installed in the T5 it delivers 236lb ft of torque from as low as 1,500rpm to 4,800rpm. Top speed is 149mph and 0-60mph acceleration takes 6.2 seconds (146mph/0-60mph 6.6 auto). And despite the high performance, the combined fuel consumption is a sensible 32.5mpg (30.1 for the auto).

Two transmissions are offered: a six-speed manual gearbox (standard) or an optional five-speed Geartronic automatic that can be driven either as a conventional auto or as a clutchless, sequential manual. Our test car was equipped with the 5-speed Geartronic.

With 217bhp available to your right foot, there's no doubting the T5's pace. Even with the Geartronic transmission, the T5 will sprint from standstill to 60mph in 6.6 seconds — only 0.4 seconds adrift from the manual car's 6.2. For the record, just over six seconds to 60mph is genuine hot hatch territory.

At only 4.25 metres (13' 11") long, the Volvo C30 is not a large car, but its spacious cabin has a big car feel. This is partly due to the elegant — bordering on minimalist — cabin design, epitomized by the modern, ultra-slim centre stack, aluminium trim highlights and the smart (and comfortable) Kalix Textile/T-Tec synthetic two-tone upholstery. These materials have been inspired by running shoes and wet suits
and make an interesting alternative to what's usually on offer.

The instruments are well laid out; everything has a place — and is in its rightful place. The overriding impression is of a 'premium' cabin. The centre stack, incidentally, is available in four different finishes including satin smooth aluminium and Virtual White — inspired by modern glossy white surfaces such as i-Pods. Nice touches include the easy reprog-ramming by the driver of the central locking so that a single 'blip' opens just the driver's or all of the doors. Similarly, you can choose to have the doors locked automatically as the car pulls away.

The standard equipment for the T5 SE includes 17-inch alloy wheels, driver's information centre, radio/CD (MP3 compatible) with remote steering wheel controls, electric windows, tinted glass, auto-dimming rear view mirror, electric/heated door mirrors, cruise control, rain-sensing wipers, a comprehensive array of safety kit — including stability and traction control systems — as well as electronic climate control, enhanced by Volvo's Air Quality System. The AQS constantly monitors the cabin environment to minimise odours and pollutants entering and uses an activated carbon filter to ensure that the air inside the car is always cleaner than the air outside.

Front headroom and legroom are generous and height and lumbar adjustment come as standard on both the driver's and front passen-ger's seat. Manually-adjustable, the front seats have lumbar adjust-ment, are lightly-bolstered and provide genuine comfort. The driver sits square to the chunky three-spoke leather-clad steering wheel, which has generous height and reach adjustment. Adjustable front and rear centre armrests are provided for extra comfort. And thoughtful touch: netted pockets along the front edge of the driver's and passenger's seats. Visibility, even to the rear, is unobstructed.

As we've already mentioned, the C30 is a four-seater and has no problem seating two in comfort in the rear. In fact, three of us managed the 200-mile round trip to Goodwood in Sussex accompanied by a rather large picnic hamper occupying the fourth seat, without any discomfort whatsoever. The two, uncompromisingly individual back seats are centred to maximise shoulder and headroom. This cosy seat-ing arrangement also makes conversation between the front and rear passengers easier, and improves the forward view for those travelling in the back. It also precludes ever fitting in five. And a good thing, too: five can sometimes be one too many!

The deep glass tailgate — reminiscent of the classic Volvo 1800ES sports estate — has a low loading height (just over two feet off the ground) and offers a capacious 1,010-litre load capacity when the rear seats are folded (364 litres if they're not). Equally as important as the volume is the load length — with both back seats folded the carrying length is a very useful 1,534mm, or just over five feet. Lifting luggage in, despite the high-ish rear sill, is easy. There's also a large multi-compartmented well under the boot floor that instead of a spare houses nothing more than a tyre repair kit — leaving room for lots of extra storage.

Driving the T5 C30, the first thing that strikes you is that the T5 feels 'tamer' than you may have been expecting given the headline power figures. On paper, it hits the benchmark 60mph just one tenth of a second later than the 6.5 seconds it takes Ford's hot Focus ST. It's not that there is a problem with the T5's 0-60mph time, just that engine refinement is a particularly strong point: around town the oodles of torque make it especially tractable.

Somewhere you really will appreciate the mechanical refinement is on the motorway. With the Geartronic auto 'box left in Drive and taking care of your changes, the C30 is a relaxing, long-legged high-speed cruiser. The 'manual' mode of the Geartronic is straightforward; move the lever to the left and then push forward to change up and piull back to change down. A display between the grey-faced 160mph speedo-meter and rev-counter keeps you informed of the gear you've engaged, and the 'box will automatically drop to an appropriately lower gear when your speed falls off. Come to a complete stop and it selects first for you.

Getting all fired-up comes easily to the C30 T5. Clear 4,000rpm and you'll hear the five-pot warble. It sounds good, too. The C30's com-pact dimensions, allied to good body control and a competent chassis, make it agile and capably quick. Our test car rode on distinctive titanium-coloured 18-inch alloys with polished, machined spoke faces. Wearing businesslike 215/45 Pirelli P Zero rubber, it not only rode quietly but remained well composed even over some quite poor surfaces.

Being front-wheel drive, when really pushed to the line it will, under-standably, understeer, although its normal cornering stance is con-sistently neutral. What most drivers will find is that this sharp handling sports coupé is reassuringly predictable. The steering — electro-hydraulic rack-and-pinion — plays an important part; it feels sporty, is precise and provides decent feedback. The brakes are fine, too, with 300mm front ventilated discs that pull you up crisply and cleanly every time. After three real-life full-on stops called for during our test week, we're pleased to confirm that the brakes work very well indeed!

Fuel consumption worked out pretty good for the performance. We averaged 24.6mpg over close to 600 miles hard-driving in two days on mixed roads and in pretty rotten weather with sometimes heavy
traffic. Official fuel consumption figures are 20, 30.1 and 42.2mpg respectively for urban, combined and extra-urban.

Audiophiles will appreciate the three high-grade audio systems avail-able: all are MP3/WMA compatible. The top-of-the-range Dynaudio Premium Sound system consists of a six CD unit, a digital class D amplifier with ICE Power technology from Alpine, an output of 5 x 130W, Dolby Pro Logic II Surround Sound, an 'Aux' input and 10 high-quality loudspeakers from renowned Danish manufacturer Dynaudio.

Like all Volvos, the C30 is designed to have class-leading safety stan-dards. Better still, Volvo does not believe in two-tier safety standards, meaning the entry-model C30 has all the features enjoyed by the flagship model. All models therefore have DSTC (Dynamic Stability and Traction Control) and ABS brakes with EBD (Electronic Brake Distrib-ution) and EBA (Electronic Brake Assistance) as standard, plus SIPS (Side Impact Protection System) and SIPS airbags, Inflatable Curtain (in the headlining) and front seats with Volvo's WHIPS (Whiplash Protection System).

The two front airbags are 'intelligent' and deployed in two-stages depending on the severity of the impact (this reduces the likelihood of facial injuries caused by the airbag hitting an occupant too hard). As you would expect, a passenger airbag cut-off switch is also fitted.

Also fitted is Volvo's IDIS — Intelligent Driver Information System — that cleverly judges when the driver is likely to be preoccupied in higher-stress situations (e.g. accelerating, turning or braking heavily) and delays any potentially distracting, non-essential messages or incoming calls to the (optional) integrated telephone until it is safer for the driver.

Other useful safety kit includes the 'home safe and approach' lighting system that enables the driver to turn on inside lights, side marker lights and rear view mirror lights as he or she approaches. When leaving the car, the headlamps can light the path to the front door before automatically switching off.

Where other motorists hope for a fine day, we actually like it when the weather is bad. It gives us an excellent opportunity to check out our test car. So you will image how pleased we were when, at 6 in the morning, we set out in pouring rain and blustery winds for the two-hour-plus drive to this year's Goodwood Festival of Speed. It didn't stop raining all day and it rained all the way home that evening. In all, the best part of five hours driving in pretty rotten weather on deman-ding B roads and country lanes, and at times in very heavy traffic. But do you know what? When we finally arrived home we felt as fresh as when we'd set-out.

Which sums up the C30 T5 to a 'T'. It's a satisfying blend of style and substance that does 'sporty' as well as it will do 'sedate'. All-in-all, a likeable alternative to the omnipresent premium German hatches, and, with around only 7,000 C30 sales projected in a full year in the UK, one that will stand out from the herd. If you're not sure about colours, check out White. Not any old white, but Cosmic White Pearl with a Brown Java Pearl body kit (one of the two-tone colour schemes available for the SE Sport models). It gives the C30 that elusive 'wow' factor. And any car that can convincingly carry off brown and white definitely deserves to be rated a "Darcy".

Volvo C30 T5 SE Geartronic | £22,745 Maximum speed: 146mph | 0-60mph: 6.6 seconds Overall test MPG: 24.6mpg | Power: 217bhp | Torque: 236lb ft CO2 224g/km | Insurance group 16E Visit Volvo's website