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From Swedespeed.com Reviews and Road Tests In its few years out on the market, the Volvo C30 has always been a machine of mixed signals. On the one hand it’s quite attractive, fairly roomy, and works great as a city car with small dimensions and great visibility, especially through the huge rear glass. But on the other hand, it’s steering is overboosted and slow, its soft suspension and bouncy, short wheelbase are at odds with one another, and it has never been taken seriously as a sports coupe with space. At first we thought its 2011 refresh was a classic Hollywood lesson: a nice new nose won’t change one’s questionable personality. But then a new R-Design version was announced, and with it came promises of something more.
Along with the mechanical updates, the R-design has the typical changes that come with the nameplate, like brushed metal mirror covers, a body-color aerodynamics kit, bigger wheels, nicer upholstery, blue gauges, and special badging. Additionally, a few paint colors and options are only offered with R-Design trim. Only a $2350 premium separates the R-Design from the basic car, making it one heck of a deal. It’s the mechanical update with the smallest incremental change that actually makes the biggest difference for the C30. But then again, slow, loose steering has been a Volvo trait for some time now, and while steering force can easily be altered with the help of electronics these days, only a change in the actual rack-to-pinion ratio can deliver such impressive results. The steering still isn’t as responsive as a Volkswagen GTI or even a Mazda3, but it is close, and it is far better than any current Volvo this side of the upcoming 2011 S60. And it isn’t just our gearheaded side that’s excited about the improvement — the quicker steering is nicer for quick maneuvers in traffic as well, and it also makes it easier to keep torque steer at bay. It’s a shame this change is limited to just the R-Design, but then again, it alone is worth the added cost of the model.
The same can’t be said of the suspension updates, which will definitely be a turn-off to a lot of casual buyers and even, we suspect, some so-called enthusiast shoppers. By making the springs that much stiffer stiffer, Volvo engineers may have overshot the ride-versus-handling sweet spot. Could we dial it back to, say, fifteen percent, please? While the new car does shine on smooth pavement, the added stiffness diminishes some of the C30’s city-living credentials. Volvo recently released its full list of change points for the 2011 model year, and the document revealed one more thing that makes the C30 special — now that the choice has been eliminated for the S40 and V50 models, it’s the only Volvo left in North America offered with a manual transmission. Hopefully that fact, along with the impressive R-Design updates, will help boost C30 sales and keep it from leaving our market altogether. It’s the best driver’s car Volvo has had in some time.
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