Volvo C70 2007
By Bruno Bouchard
Country club
Volvo is mainly known of its security features and its family cars. But behold! they also offer a superb looking cabriolet. The C70 is without a doubt the car which doesn’t seem to fit with the carmakers image. It’s like the black sheep or the rebel teenager that finally decides to cut louse of the family and show its own and unique personality. The C70 is beautiful, gracious, well conceived and refined but it is no rebel. As a matter a fact, you’re more likely to find it at the country club than at a rock bar.
Driving
The performances are quite timid. One of the main causes is the excess weight of the C70. The car weighs in at 1700 kg. It’s incredibly heavy for such a small car equipped with a 5 cylinder engine. This turbo engine shows some strength when teasing the red line in 2nd and 3rd gear but otherwise, I felt there felt the ponies were half asleep. The excess weight also affects the cars handling. The C70 demonstrated a keen tendency towards under steer. Of course, the comfort tuned suspension doesn’t help fix the under steer either. This suspension is soft and you’ll find the car will incline during turns. Hitting a bump in a turn will accentuate this even more. In brief, the car is comfortable but the sports driving type will be disappointed.
Volvo lives up to its reputation in terms of comfort. The seats are just right, they envelop perfectly the driver and they give support where they should. Driving position is easy to find. Also, the commands are well placed. The center panel is ergonomical. There isn’t much I can say negatively on the C70’s interior. Lastly, I will say that unlike its German counterparts, there is no need for a Masters degree in order to operation all the commands from the car.
Likes :
- The seats. I know I repeat myself sometimes but Volvos seats are the most comfortable within the industry;
- Luggage space is acceptable, even when the roof is down;
- Clutch feel and six speed the shifters handling are good;
- Ergonomics of center panel, dashboard and steering mounted commands;
- The cars outer and inner beauty;
- The precision of the direction;
- The 5 cylinders turbo engine showed good gas mileage in highway driving. As far as city driving is concerned, it can be reasonable as long as one’s foot is not too heavy on the accelerator.
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