Carscoops: Volvo C30

Showing posts with label Volvo C30. Show all posts

Volvo C30 Electric Undergoes Harsh Winter Testing in the Extreme North

One of the major fears consumers have regarding electric vehicles, besides range anxiety, is how these cars are going to function in rough weather conditions. We all know batteries are sensitive to extreme temperatures, which can affect their capacity of storing electricity.

This is why Volvo is trying out its C30 Electric model in the north of Sweden, inside the Arctic Circle. Temperatures as low as -20 degrees Celsius are something normal in this part of the world, so Volvo engineers want to ensure the battery-powered car runs smoothly even in harsh environments.

The Polestar Racing prepared Volvo C30 DRIVe will make its premiere at the FIA World Touring Car Championship [WTCC] in the opening round of the 2011 season at Curitiba in Brazil this weekend. Polestar’s factory-backed C30 has already competed in the Swedish and Scandinavian Touring Car Championships, but being that the WTCC is a different beast altogether, the company said that it will not race to win this year, but to further develop the car for the 2012 season.

There’s less to pay for UK buyers looking to get into a Volvo C30 sport hatch as the Swedish automaker announced a significant £1,300 price cut to the entry-level model which now starts from £14,995 on the road. The C30 ES features a 2.0-liter petrol engine with 145HP and comes equipped with electronic climate control, 16-inch alloys, leather steering wheel and gearlever, a stability system (DSTC), power windows, information centre, and a CD player with auxiliary input.

In the UK, the C30 is available with a variety of petrol and diesel engines ranging from the 145HP 2.0-liter petrol to the 230HP T5 and 115HP D2 to the 177HP D4, as well as a choice of trim levels including the sporty R-Design.

With even the likes of Porsche going green – not to mention the Chevrolet Volt or the Nissan Leaf, it's no surprise that Volvo wants a piece of the "Look at me, I'm saving the planet!" action.

They partnered up with Powercell Sweden AB (with backing from the Swedish Energy Agency) and hope that the Volvo C30 DRIVe Electric will be ready for testing on the road by 2012.

Volvo announced on Monday that it will recall 29,299 cars worldwide of which 536 were sold in the USA and around 6,700 in Britain, over a problem with the gearshift lever. The cars in question are certain 2010-2011MY C30s and 2010MY S40 and V50 models equipped with 6 speed manual transmissions.

For the 2011 model year, Volvo is introducing a new five-cylinder 2.0-litre turbo diesel that will be available throughout its range while the Swedish automaker also upgraded the six-cylinder petrol engines offered on the S80, V70, XC70 and XC60.

The new five-cylinder diesel unit is in principle the same engine as the 2.4-litre diesel, but its displacement has been reduced (with a shorter stroke) to 2.0-liters. It will be offered in three different variants in terms of output.

This is the first official photograph of the Volvo C30 Polestar Performance concept that was revealed today at the Gothenburg Motor Show (22-25 April, 2010). The hot hatch was developed in cooperation with Volvo's racing partner, Polestar Performance, as a road car version of their C30 racer.

Volvo and its motorsports partner Polestar will begin this year's Swedish Touring Car Championship (STCC) season on 24 April at Jyllandsringen in Denmark with an updated version of their ethanol-powered C30 racer based on the facelifted production model.

The new race car gets a revised front end which is longer, lower and wider, with the Swedish automaker claiming that the new design delivers a higher ground pressure at the front, and an improved airflow right around the vehicle.

Volvo has teamed up with its racing partner 'Polestar Performance', which handles the firm's championship-winning Swedish Touring Car Team, to develop the C30 Performance Concept Prototype.

The idea behind the project is to create the ultimate C30 without being halted by specific race regulations. The concept includes a 400-horsepower engine, all-wheel-drive, and aerodynamics based on Polestar's race car data.

How much sense does it make to offer a performance package for an eco-friendly diesel car model that has been specifically designed to deliver maximum fuel efficiency and low CO2 emissions? Not much if you ask us but anyways... This here is Heico Sportiv's tuning package for the recently unveiled 2010 Volvo C30 1.6D DRIVe.

In factory form, the new Volvo C30 1.6D DRIVe is powered by a 1.6-liter diesel with 109HP and 240Nm of torque. Combined with a wide range of fuel saving technologies such as start/stop system with brake-energy recovery and aerodynamically optimized components, this C30 returns an average fuel economy of 3.9 liters/100 km or 60.3mpg US.

Heico Sportiv's package includes new software for the diesel unit's ECU that increases output to 125HP and 280Nm. As a result, the tuned C30 1.6D DRIVe sprints from standstill to 100 km/h in 9.2 seconds, beating the series-production model by 2.1 seconds while achieving a top speed of 200 km/h (124mph), 10 km/h more than the series version. The tuner did not release any fuel economy figures for the model.

Also available is a sport suspension that lowers the vehicle's ride height by about 30mm.

The Volvo tuning specialist gives the C30's exterior a new look with a front spoiler that replaces the original lower base section of the bumper and a rear apron with an integrated diffuser housing quad tailpipes. Five or ten-spoke alloy wheels in sizes 18- and 19-inch that are available in various colors complete the looks.

The interior can also be decked out with numerous applications in aluminum or leather, such as the door pin set, shift stick grip, parking brake handle, pedal set and foot rest.

Volvo Announces UK Pricing for 2010 C30 and C70 Facelift Models

Volvo has released pricing for the UK market 2010 model year C30 sport hatchback and C70 hardtop convertible that were both unveiled for the first time at last month's Frankfurt Motor Show. The facelifted C30 is available in four trim levels S, SE, SE Lux and R-DESIGN and a choice of six engines with prices starting from £14,495 OTR for the entry-level 100HP 1.6 S petrol model rising to £21,360 OTR for the 180HP D5 turbo-diesel in SE Lux guise.

All C30s come equipped with standard features such as ECC (Electronic Climate Control), Information Centre, power windows, a leather steering wheel and gear knob, floor mats, CD player and an Aux input and alloy wheels as well as DSTC (Dynamic Stability and Traction Control.

The revised 2010 C70 cabriolet is offered in three trim levels, S, SE and SE Lux, and a choice of four engines, including two diesels, the 136HP 2.0D and 180HP D5 and two petrol derivatives, the 170HP 2.4i and the 230HP T5. The C70 range kicks off at £25,995 for the base 2.0D S.

Standard features include ECC (Electronic Climate Control), alloy wheels, front fog lights, power windows, information centre, cruise control, floor mats and a Performance Sound Audio System.

Volvo said that both models will arrive in UK showrooms this December, with first customer deliveries expected to take place in January 2010.

Volvo Goes All-Electric with C30 BEV Prototypes

In addition to the market introduction of a diesel-electric plug-in hybrid in 2012 (details here), Volvo is also working on a pure electric model with the C30 BEV, which stands for 'Battery Electric Vehicle". The Swedish automaker has built a small number of prototype versions of the C30 BEV that will are to be tested internally by Volvo to evaluate the vehicle in real-life conditions with much of the focus being on the integration of the electric propulsion system with the rest of the car.

"The Volvo C30 is the first model we will try out with electric power. This car's excellent properties in city traffic and its relatively low weight make it particularly suitable, since electric cars are primarily expected to be used in and around cities and for daily commuting," says Lennart Stegland, Director of Volvo Cars Special Vehicles.

The C30 BEV is powered by an electric motor housed under the hood that drives the front wheel. Energy is provided by a 24kW Lithium-Ion battery that can be fully charged through a regular 230V household socket in about eight hours.

Volvo says that the all-electric C30 accelerates from 0 to 100km/h (62mph) in less than 11 seconds while the vehicle's top speed has been limited to around 130km/h (80mph). The car has a driving range of up to 150 kilometres or 93 miles, which Volvo claims is "longer and far better than the distance 90 percent of all Europe's motorists drive per day."

The Swedish automaker said that while the company's main focus over the next years will be plug-in hybrids, they will assess the viability of all-electric vehicles. According to the company, the are several factors that will determine the success or not of dedicated electric cars.

"The consumer must feel that this type of car is attractive both to drive and own," says Paul Gustavsson, Director of Electrification Strategy at Volvo Cars.

"In order to ensure this, we feel that electric cars will have to be as comfortable and safe and offer similar levels of performance as cars with other power sources. The learning from the C30 BEV project will help us to fulfill all these criteria and showcase Volvo's determination to drive developments in the field of electrification."

Frankfurt Show Galleries: Facelifted Volvo C70 Convertible and C30 Sport Hatch

In anticipation of the production version of the S60 Concept, Volvo used the Frankfurt Motor Show to introduce its refreshed C70 hardtop convertible and C30 sport hatchback. The most significant changes for the two models come up front as both receive a new fascia that takes its inspiration from the S60 Concept along with numerous other detailed but less important spec changes. Hit the jump for the live shots or click here to read more about the C70 Cabrio and here for the C30 hatch.

2010 Volvo C70

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2010 Volvo C30

Volvo Spruces Up C30 Facelift with R-Design Sport Package, Includes Cosmetic and Chassis Upgrades

The introduction of the facelifted Volvo C30 brings a new R-Design sport package with a spicy bodykit and chassis upgrades for the premium hatchback model. Visually, the R-Design adds an all-new color-matching bodykit front, rear and roof spoilers, lower door trim moulding and side-skirts along with visible chrome plated tailpipes, 17-inch five spoke alloys plus a silk metal finish for the front grille and door mirror housings.

The cabin finish includes a two-tone or alternatively all-black, leather interior, R-Design centre stack and panel inserts, a sport leather steering wheel, gear lever knob trimmed in leather and aluminum and blue speedometer and rev counter gauges.

However, the biggest changes in the new C30 R-Design, which makes its world debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show, are hidden beneath the skin. In particular, the steering is more precise thanks to the installation of stiffer bushings while the lower steering ratio promises to offer faster response to steering wheel input.

Volvo's engineers also tampered around with the suspension that now features much stiffer springs, dampers and roll stabilizers to improve handling. Furthermore, the ride height has been lowered by 10 mm.

"A customer who test-drives the new C30 R-Design will immediately feel the difference," claims Stefan Sällqvist, manager Vehicle Dynamics at Volvo Cars. "Even before the car has covered fifty meters, the driver will be aware of the crisp steering and the distinct chassis response."

Detailed pricing on the R-Design sport package will be announced at a later date.

Volvo offers R-Design Sport Package on DRIVe Models

For those that would like to combine the environmental properties of the C30, S40 and V50 DRIVe models with a sporty flair, Volvo has just introduced a new R-Design sport package with various cosmetic upgrades. These include a bodykit that consists of front and rear spoilers, lower door trim, side-skirts, a roof spoiler on the C30 and V50 and lip spoiler on the boot of the S40 as well as grille and door mirror housings in silk metal finish and 17-inch five-spoke alloy wheels.

Furthermore, the R-DESIGN models feature special DRIVe wind deflectors and an R-DESIGN badge at the front, while the chassis has been lowered by 10mm which not only improves handling but also helps reduce fuel consumption.

The interior carries the familiar R-DESIGN features such as a two-tone upholstery in cream leather and off black, an 'R-DESIGN' centre stack, blue instrument dials, sport aluminum pedals and a sports steering wheel trimmed in leather, with R-Design emblem.

All three DRIVe models are equipped with a 1.6-liter turbo diesel engine mated to a manual gearbox with higher gear ratios.