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2007 Volvo C70 T5 Road Test

The folding hardtop convertible market has become one of the busiest placesin the past couple of years. With the exception of a select few drop-tops at both the very high and the very low end of the scale, everything that's been introduced has featured a folding hardtop design. This whimsical piece of engineering has proliferated, an impressive thing considering they've been around in their current form for a relatively short amount of time. Prior to Volvo's venture into the segment, hardtop convertibles were exclusively a two-seat affair. Buyers had their choice of the large and small Mercedes-Benz roadsters, the Cadillac XLR, and in very select numbers, the Mitsubishi 3000 GT. It probably would have made an even bigger splash as the first four-seat hardtop convertible if Pontiac hadn't arrived in the same model year with its even more accommodating G6 retractable hardtop. Such is life.

The first thing about the C70

The Volvo C70 could very well be the prettiest Volvo ever created, roof up or down. (Photo: Justin Couture, American Auto Press)

that should be noticed is its roof, but often times it is not. What I mean is that the C70 makes a convincing impression of a sleek, two-door coupe when the roof is up, as you'd never know that it was a convertible at all if not for the various cut-lines that segregate it, being that the C70was designed first as a coupe and then a convertible. It also succeeds at looking sporty, with its sharky nose, steeply raked windshield pillars, and shoulders that mimic the human form. Around back, the C70 is a touch tail heavy, an impression produced by the long rear overhang,

In true Volvo tradition, the tail lights hug the shape of the body. They're an added touch of class on the C70. (Photo: Justin Couture, American Auto Press)

but the shape of the belt line and the curve-hugging tail lamps hide it beautifully.

It takes 30 seconds for the roof of the C70 to lower, but only a fraction of that time to attract stares, and for a small crowd to gather. The roof precisely separates into three segments (two for the roof and one for the rear pillars and glass) a significant step up from the two-piece roof that one of its domestic competitors utilizes that limits headroom and consumes trunk space. It's always an event when the roof's panels, held up by hinges and struts, rise in a one-atop-the-other process, looking cooler than any other convertible

There's a fair bit of space underneath that roof, and a whole lot when the car is a coupe. (Photo: Justin Couture, American Auto Press)

out there. With the top down, the C70 looks even better, its long decklid giving it a boat-tail look. As a coupe, the C70's large backside gives it a surprisingly large trunk of 12.8 very usable cubic feet that includes a ski pass-through, which is halved when the roof is stowed away. What's left over would be particularly difficult to access if not for a clever button that when pushed raises the roof slightly when the trunk is opened.

You might've heard that the C70 is a Swedish-Italian collaboration, a rather unusual combination of countries, but it's not the first time that Volvo has teamed up with an Italian coach works company to help make a two-door. Its new partner isn't Bertone, who helped out with

Push the yellow button to load cargo in when the roof is down. How clever! (Photo: Justin Couture, American Auto Press)

the rare 780 Coupe of the late '80s, but Pininfarina. You won't find a single Pininfarina badge on the car, like on a Ferrari, as Volvo's studios were responsible for styling the car, and you won't even find any Italian on the car whatsoever as the car isn't built in Italy. What Pininfarina did was purchase 60-percent of the Uddevalla plant where the car is assembled. Pininfarina also has expertise in thefolding hardtop roof business, which played well for the development of the roof.

The old C70 was based off of the '70' series sedan and wagon, back when Volvo still built square-ish cars. The new car rides on S40/V50 architecture. Why C70 instead of C40 or C50? Break out the measuring tape and indeed, the convertible is the longest of the bunch, not to mention that it's a familiar sounding name.

Interior is familiar, comfortable and has an air of prestige. The chunky aluminum-insert steering wheel divided opinions, though. (Photo: Justin Couture, American Auto Press)

Besides the obvious wind in the hair and the sun beaming down, the C70's dynamic characteristics change depending on the state of the roof. With the roof up, the C70 feels slightly top heavy and more prone to body roll when aggressively cornering, but coupe-like otherwise. Roof down and the car felt noticeably less rigid. Traversing welt-marked roads and you'll notice it as much through your fingertips as you do through the seat of your pants.The issue of flex isn't particularly bothersome, though, and is no worse than what you get from an Audi A4 Cabriolet, and unlike the old C70, it doesn't wobble as if it were constructed from cardboard. The reason for the difference? When the roof is up and latched, it becomes a stressed member in counteracting the chassis' bending improving rigidity by 15-percent. Cloth tops, with their skinny metal frames, don't add nearly

T5 engine is the only one offered. It's strangely quiet. (Photo: Justin Couture, American Auto Press)

as much to structural rigidity as the C70's beefy steel pillars and panels.

The T5 badge that sits at the very tail of the C70 designates the type of engine that it has, but not its demeanor. Finding this combination of letters and numbers usually means it's been kicked up by a couple of notches, but that's not the attitude that the C70 conveys on the road. The 218-hp 2.5-liter, turbocharged inline-five might be synonymous for its use in the high performance S40, V50 and now the C30, offering decent performance in these models,but in the C70 the motor is used for its relaxing, wafty nature. Instead of winding the engine up to hear the straight-five warble, it would rather not make itself known, completely fading into the background at less than 3,000 rpm. It's the smoothest, most refined I-5 we've ever tested. The engine is controlled by a soft, progressive accelerator pedal and a silken six-speed manual transmission that doesn't need to be shifted too often given the engine's

Inflatable curtains on a convertible? Yes, that's Volvo watching out for your safety. (Photo: Justin Couture, American Auto Press)

broad, flat torque curve. A five-speed driver-adaptive Geartronic automatic is also available, if you'd rather forgo shifting duties.

The C70 is well-sorted enough to challenge most cruising drop-tops, but gives the impression that it would rather let you reconnect with the outdoors than trouble you with demanding controls. With an engine like this, it's easy to drive the C70 briskly, but it's best when not force-fed too many tasks at the same time, such as hard acceleration and cornering. First you'llencounter torque steer, then watch as the steering follows the dips and crowns of the road. Some characteristics of other T5 cars still remain, therefore if driven enthusiastically enough it's possible for the inner front tire to break traction from the liberal application of all 236 lb-ft of torque at once. Not that the car would encourage you to do such a thing ...

To go along with the silence is a very nicely finished interior. Just like the front-end styling of the car, the C70's cabin is familiar, featuring the same dashboard

Most of the Volvo's controls feel isolated, but that leads to a very relaxing drive. (Photo: Justin Couture, American Auto Press)

and floating center console first seen on the S40 and V50, and in the usual Volvo fashion it makes itself look even more upscale by paying closer attention to the details, such as the various shades of light gray and off black combined with cool metal trim, to deliver a true premium feel. With the roof up, the C70 effectively staves off feeling cramped and dark by utilizing a light-colored headliner, while the lack of B-pillars and slim rear pillarscertainly help visibility. The rapid rise of the belt line and the slim-format side view mirrors don't help out with the blind spots much though; Volvo's BLIS blind spot monitoring system would be very welcomed here.

And while we've tested quite a few Volvos with the floating center console, we found that sometimes the four, round circular knobs can be confused as it's easy to grab the volume button instead of the climate control, which can lead to an ear-ringing dose of the powerful, high-quality Dynaudio sound system. This aside, the cabin is flawless in its ergonomics.

Looking at the rear seats from outside the car, you might imagine that they're quite uncomfortable,

Rollover protection system comes standard on the C70. (Photo: Justin Couture, American Auto Press)

but that's quite far from the truth. The seatbacks are at an angle that shows Volvo cross checked thehuman anatomy with the seat before putting it into production, and there's also decent legroom even if those in front are taller. Proper headrests further improve comfort, and the power-operated switch makes entries and exits a breeze. The cabin doesn't taper inwards as much as most rival convertibles, so no awkward contortionist moves are necessary when sitting in back, and there are also closed cubbies for small storage items. There might be enough room for average sized people in back, but having short pillars makes roof-down conditions less than pleasing at regular speeds, as it's quite turbulent, but then again no four-seat convertible has yet to be remotely draft-free.

Right away, it's a given that any vehicle stamped with the Volvo “iron” badge is going to be safe, be it a sedan, wagon, hatchback or convertible. Therefore, we shouldn't be surprised to find out that this is the only convertible in the world to feature an inflatable head-protection system, now commonplace on cars with regular roofs. Mounted in the door, the rigid 'bag inflates upwards, protecting the heads and necks

This is one of the most refreshing Volvos we've ever driven, and we're welcome of this change. (Photo: Justin Couture, American Auto Press)

of front seat occupants and, after initial inflation, deflates slowly in case the crash happens to be a rollover. This is, of course, in addition to all the safety features of the old C70, including side airbags, front airbags, pretensioning seatbelts and active roll over bars that pop up from behind the rear headrests. The IIHS rated it best pick for midsize convertibles, naturally.

From dorky to desirable, Volvo's sleek style and groundbreaking interior design has turned the brand's image around, and in the same way the introduction of a folding hardtop convertible into its product range has helped Volvo stand its ground against other brands that might be perceived as more luxurious and higher in class. Volvo is asking prospective owners to cough up quite a bit of money for the C70, however, starting with $39,785 for the base unit and $45,312 for our T5 tester – which is a lot of money, but it's justified given that it's a cut above its cloth-topped rivals from Saab and Audi. A bigger threat comes from BMW's new rear-drive 3-Series Cabriolet (which we've yet to test), and it should be noted that the more powerful 328i Cabriolet starts at similar money. Still, for a brand that was once so dead-set in tradition, a little fresh air is a good and refreshing thing.

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