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From Swedespeed.com Feature Cars For as solid and storied as Volvo’s wagon history has been, the company’s line of hatchback models of the two-door variety has been far less consistent. For those of us living in the States, the lineage of the Volvo wagon’s sportier two door cousins begins and ends in these pictures.
The first thing we noticed when we parked the C30 next to its spiritual predecessor is the difference between what should be classified as a “shooting brake” and what’s really a two-door hatchback. And we’ll just come out and say it now: the C30 isn’t a shooting brake, even if some people insist that it is. To us, a shooting brake-style vehicle needs to look more like a two-door wagon than a traditional hatchback. By the traditional characterizing trait of being a sports car able to carry a sportsman’s guns and hunting dogs, we don’t think the C30 would be up to it while the ES certainly would. It boasts 35 cubic feet of space with the rear seats folded, while the C30 holds only 20.2 cubic feet. For a modern day comparison, we see the Mini Cooper as a hatchback, C30 competitor—the Clubman version would be the 1800ES. Had Volvo translated its 2002 SCC Concept more directly into production, the C30 could have been a true shooting brake. Beyond the polarizing nature of the large rear windows, there isn’t much that obviously connects these two, but dig into the details and it’s much easier to see how they represent a common theme separated by 35 years of car design evolution. Both cars are simple and understated with clean, uncluttered lines. Despite the 1800’s more pontooned front fenders, both also feature a grille that peaks out and defines the front-most point of the car, the rest of the sheetmetal flowing aerodynamically rearward from the nose. Look even closer and you’ll notice that each hood is a flat panel cut out small enough that it doesn’t interfere with the rest of the car’s design. One could take each hood completely off and not disrupt the car’s silhouette.
Of course there are also the obvious differences. The 1800ES exhibits far more mid-century flamboyance with heavy use of chrome and even a bit of a fin at each rear corner. After decades of simple boxes, one could say that fin has resurfaced as the “shoulder” that now defines the rear corner and taillight design of Volvo hatches, wagons, and crossovers. Inside, there’s little to connect the two other than four comfortable bucket seats and a clear, safety-oriented view in every direction. Car and Driver called the 1800’s seats “the most hospitable in the business” and after many hours in the C30, we think Volvo has maintained that level of excellence. But the ES does come from a time when everything could be purpose-built, where every element of a car could reflect its mission. As such, it has gauge readouts for all the vital stats—oil temp, water temp, and oil pressure. They’re all at eye level, right behind a sporty three-spoke wheel. The C30, from our modern day of cost-cutting and heavy parts sharing, must wear its sporting intensions only on the outside, and of course under the hood. Its dashboard is identical to that of the S40, the V50, and the C70, so it must be all things to all people. Those useful gauges are nowhere to be found, leaving warning lights to do the work. And the steering wheel, to us, is too large in diameter for a sports car.
There’s another key difference between these to Volvos, and that’s the fact that the 1800 comes from an era before the turbocharger became a key part of the brand identity. Don’t get me wrong, the ES was advanced for 1972, using computer-controlled electronic fuel injection in a carbureted age. But the 2.0-liter four driving the rear wheels is far from speedy, even if it is remarkably smooth and enjoyable. Anyone who complains about the 227-hp, turbocharged C30 being too slow should have a seat in an 1800ES for a bar-resetting session. The ES we drove has benefitted from a transmission upgrade (from three speeds to four) so it actually put its power down quite well for an automatic model. An astonishing thing about the 1800ES is that despite its practical hatch, its cutting-edge fuel injection, and its four-wheel disc brakes, power steering was never part of the equation. Perhaps this was because in 1972, the sportsmen that an 1800 might appeal to were concerned with style and technology, but not with anything that might make their large arm muscles less useful. My arms, however, aren’t so sportman-like and this car’s modified, widened wheels and fatter rubber aren’t helping the situation. The steering is direct, obviously, but man is it heavy for a car that requires a bit of effort to get moving up to higher speeds. Years later, Volvo has developed the opposite problems. People claim that its engines, devoid of new technologies like direct injection, are falling behind the curve in power and efficiency, while we definitely feel that the C30’s steering is overboosted. At least there was a nice solid stretch in between these two cars where Volvos were pretty highly regarded for both driving enjoyment and technological leadership. And hopefully, we’ll be able to say that again soon.
Some things change and some don’t at Volvo, our day has taught us. Here we are with two sport hatches separated by a half-a-lifetime’s worth of technology and advancement, and yet they prove that things don’t change too much. There’s still a market for a small, stylish, yet practical vehicle with a minimalist design and a smooth and entertaining, if not world-beating engine. And even though there’s a decent gap between these two, Volvo has returned to fill that void. Yes, both the 1800ES and the C30 have their quirks—steering that isn’t quite right in either case, and those big glass butts that scare some people away. But doesn’t every Volvo have some oddball feature or design cue? And doesn’t that just make them more loveable? If there’s one big-picture lesson to be learned from this reunion, it’s that despite a world that’s greatly different and despite ownership changes up there in Gothenburg, Volvos are still built by real people with real personalities, and that can’t be said for some of the more sterile mainstream vehicles out of the road today. A special thanks to Mike Illyes of Algonquin, Illinois for offering to share his beautiful blue 1800ES with us for a day.
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