Swedespeed First Drive: 2011 Volvo C70 T5 Coupe-Cabriolet
Jul 22, 2010 - 8:16:12 AM
In the realm of mid-cycle refreshes, some cars get a few much-needed upgrades to jump-start sales while others just get the obligatory headlight/taillight tweak. Volvo’s C70 coupe-cabriolet clientele must not have been complaining much, because the new 2011 model isn’t terribly new at all. In fact, we suspect those shoppers were a little too quiet. After all, why would Volvo’s design team give the C70 such an awkward and polarizing new nose if not just to make sure people still care?
Yes, the C70 now looks a little weird, but the timelessness of the design it replaces was a tough act to follow. From some angles, the new grille, bumper, and headlights actually look pretty good and aggressive, and there’s no debating that the look is more in line with the company’s recent debuts. From others, the car looks a bit cross-eyed. Our armchair analysis is that if the headlights weren’t angled downward toward the center of the car, the new face could be a home run. Luckily, the rest of the car still looks great; at the rear, the taillights are updated with more modern detailing and LEDs. The Flamenco Red Metallic paint color you see here is new, and it’ll be added across the whole Volvo product line.
Inside, the biggest update actually took us a while to notice, even though it was right in front of our eyes. The dash pad has been upgraded to a new, softer material with nicer texturing as well. It seems to be the same stuff used in the upcoming S60 sedan. Additionally, the “watch dial” gauges are a nice upscale improvement to let buyers know they’re getting something more for the premium the C70 demands over its sedan, wagon, and hatch platform mates, as do the set of seats surfaces with standard super-soft Sovereign leather.
Even with a turbocharged five-cylinder under the hood, the C70 has never been a class leader for sportiness. Our time in this new model got us wondering if that’s really a bad thing, though. Should a convertible — inherently heavier and less rigid than a coupe — really need to boast sporting intentions? The C70 doesn’t, which is probably why it isn’t even offered with a manual transmission any longer. We spent a few days covering 500 miles along the East Coast (mostly top-down, but some of it with the hardtop up) and as a summer cruiser and weekend car, the C70 is comfortable, relaxing, and very easy to love. Yes, there’s a bit of body flex over bumps and the transmission is slow to respond, but the cabin is perfectly sized and nicely laid out, while features like bi-xenon headlights and a 14-speaker Dynaudio sound system are lovely options. Our nicely loaded car with those options plus navigation cost just over $45,000, which happens to be right where a BMW 328i convertible starts.
It seems improbable that a company whose headquarters sit roughly at the same latitude as Alaska would build a convertible at all, but yet the Swedes manage to have a way of building popular ones. The C70 has been around for almost 14 years and now, with version 2.5, it’s still a very nice, honest little cruiser. And if you aren’t a fan of the front end, remember — you can’t see the headlights from the driver’s seat.
