No, you’re right, there’s no such thing. Volvo is, well, Volvo. The name brings up thoughts of lights that come on far too early by themselves, big estates and cars that are safe and frankly extremely dull. This makes the new R-Design vehicles and the C30 T5 quite an interesting proposition. Unfortunately however they don’t exactly live up to the dream of a ‘sporty’ line-up.
In that regard, perhaps the Volvo C30 T5 Heico is a bigger disappointment than anything else. The Swedish manufacturer hooked up with a German tuning company to give their cars more pizzazz and in terms of visuals that’s certainly done the trick. The car is lower to the ground, has a more aggressive body kit and a lurid interior in orange leather. Quite grotesque? You bet.
How does it go though? Well, you’re looking at a 2.5 litre turbo-charged engine offering up 260BHP and a 0-60 of 5.9 seconds, so we’re into very firm hot hatch territory and by old money supercar land as well. The 155 MPH top speed also means that this is a genuinely quick car capable of being the bully it looks – or is it?
Well, here’s the conundrum. There’s no doubt that Heico have done some good work, bringing something desperately needed to Volvo – imagination and the drive to create something that’ll appeal to a younger market. It’s eye-catching and spectacular in a lairy sort of way. The mechanicals are fine tuned, the big brakes are great and those four exhausts are visually a shock for something sporting this badge.
It would also be impossible not to mention that ‘amazing’ colour scheme. This is a madman’s car. Why on Earth does it have flower decals on the outside then? That remains a mystery that only Heico can explain. Perhaps they thought the type of person who drives a sports Volvo was a little bit arty too? Who knows.
The Ford Focus (for which this car shares the same platform) isn’t a car that’s known for being hugely agile. Heico, therefore, couldn’t do anything about that. This means you’ll still not be entirely comfortable chucking it around a corner with the amount of feedback that you get from the wheel. This is a real shame for a car that looks as it does.
Will the likes of Saab and Volvo get it right in the end? I’m not convinced of this. I’d still be tempted to tell them to stick to what they’re good at – or at least go the way of Vauxhall and great a genuine sports range like the VXR setup they have (notably, Vauxhall are still doing superbly in the BTCC with their racing Vectras).
Between the Vauxhall Astra VXR and this crazed, pimped-out Swede/German setup I’d still take the Vauxhall Astra I’m afraid. Whilst neither have a particularly cool badge, Vauxhall just seems to have the formula more right. And I wouldn’t feel like a granddad driving one. A chav maybe, but not a granddad. And that my friends, is that.
Leave a Reply