With its new C70 convertible, Ford Motor Co.’s struggling Volvo division hopes to snag some new customers who otherwide wouldn’t think of buying one of these Swedish cars.
The Volvo brand has always had a loyal following among people who want practicality, durability and a high level of safety in their vehicles.
For those consumers, the brand continues to offer a solid choice of sensible cars, wagons and even a crossover utility vehicle.
But auto enthusiasts have for the most part ignored Volvo over the years, opting for more flashy European luxury brands such as BMW, Jaguar and Mercedes-Benz.
With the C70, though, Volvo has something to offer car buffs looking for some excitement in their vehicle’s styling and performance.
Added to the lineup last year, the C70 comes with rather snazzy styling, as well as a nifty three-piece retractable hardtop, which makes it more practical for year-round use than a ragtop. The car looks like a sport coupe with the top up.
Based on the chassis of the entry-level Volvo S40 sedan, whose architecture was developed by Ford, the C70 is powered by a turbocharged, 2.5-liter, inline five-cylinder engine rated at 218 horsepower.
No, that’s not exactly enthusiast-type power, but in the C70, it works fairly well, giving this car a top speed of 150 mph and the feel of a sports model.
That’s especially true if the car is equipped with the standard six-speed manual gearbox, rather than the optional five-speed automatic. The manual gearbox allows the C70 to accelerate from zero to 60 mph in seven seconds.
With the price beginning at $39,090 (plus $695 freight), the C70 isn’t for everyone, and it does face some stiff competition from those aforementioned other European brands.
In fact, it even has serious competition from General Motors Corp.’s domestic Pontiac brand, whose new G6 hardtop convertible costs nearly $10,000 less and has 22 more horsepower along with its available six-speed manual gearbox.
Still, the C70 has a lot going for it, including the stylish body, developed in partnership with famous Italian auto designer Pininfarina, which earlier collaborated with Cadillac on the Allante convertible.
The basic vehicle architecture of the C70 is the same used for the Mazda 3 compact sport sedan and hatchback, as well as for the S40 sedan. Ford is making use of its ownership of Volvo and controlling interest in Japan’s No. 4 automaker, Mazda, to co-develop vehicle platforms that can be shared across the entire Ford lineup. This same platform also will be the basis of the next generation of the Ford Focus.
Volvo says the C70 was designed in California with help from the Italians and the Japanese, but insists that even with these out-of-Sweden origins, the car is still a Volvo at the core.
That’s because, in the tradition of Volvo, safety was engineered into the C70 from the ground up. For one thing, using a hard top offers passengers much better protection in a crash while riding with the top up, compared with a soft top.
In addition, the C70 has unique side-curtain air bags that pop out of the doors. They’re designed to help protect the occupants during a rollover with the top up or down. In most vehicles with side-curtain air bags, the bags pop out of the vehicle’s ceiling. But with a convertible, air bags mounted into the roof would be folded into the trunk with the top down.
Volvo says the self-inflating side curtain has “extra stiff construction with double rows of slats that are slightly offset from each other,” allowing them “to remain upright and offer effective head protection even with the window open.”
“The curtain also deflates slowly to provide protection should the car roll over,” the company said. No other convertible offers such a feature.
The C70 also comes with electronic stability control and antilock brakes, both of which can help prevent a rollover accident.
To make enough room for the rather complex three-piece folding top and the door-mounted air bags, the rear seat of the C70 has room for only two passengers. But that’s normal for convertibles in this class anyway; they usually accommodate only four people in all.
The power-operated top folds into the trunk within a few seconds with the push of a button, a transformation that gives the car a rather graceful look along with the pleasant ride of a topless vehicle.
The top does gobble up more than half of the trunk space, though, so taking a long trip with lots of luggage would preclude cruising with the top down. With top up, the trunk is rather roomy – 12.8 cubic feet; down, capacity is 6 cubic feet.
With the top up, the car doesn’t look like a convertible at all. An observer who didn’t know any better would take the C70 for a rather stylish sporty coupe.
The hard top makes this vehicle a lot more practical – and therefore easier to sell – in northern climates away from the Sun Belt, where people have only a few convertible-driving months a year.
In snowy and rainy climates, the C70’s top gives the car the protection from the elements that is missing with a canvas or vinyl top. It also offers a very quiet ride in top-up mode, something one would never get with a soft top. It’s possible to hold a conversation at normal volume inside the C70 with the top up at highway speeds.
There is a real glass rear window, too, and it’s large enough to provide great rearward visibility – something lacking in many ragtops.
As with all Volvos, “the front seats are ergonomically shaped,” Volvo says. And they are designed to move forward quickly to allow easy entry to the rear seat, even for adults.
Other interior features are traditional Volvo designs, as well.
“Inspired by Scandinavian tradition, the interior presents clean surfaces, genuine materials and clever functionality,” Volvo says.
Among the features are the same thin center instrument-panel stack found in the S40 sedan and its wagon counterpart, the V50. The standard synthetic upholstery, called Vulcaflex, has a “skin-like surface and a high-tech feel,” the company says.
Leather upholstery is optional, however. It comes packaged with a Homelink universal garage/gate opener, for a total option price of $1,395.
The C70 has the same engine used in the S40, with a light-pressure turbocharger that offers a flat torque curve. Torque is rated at 236 foot-pounds from 1,500 to 5,000 rpm. Volvo says the steady torque “puts the power to the front wheels evenly and makes the car highly responsive.”
The manual gearbox was developed for the Volvo S60 R and V70 R performance models, and is offered as an higher-priced option on the S40. Volvo says that “all six forward gears are adapted to combine rapid acceleration with a high top speed.”
Optional is a Geartronic five-speed automatic ($1,250) with electronic shift control. It also has the “Auto-stick” feature that allows the driver to shift manually (without having to use a clutch, of course).
Two audio systems are offered. The base system has a four-channel, 40-watt amplifier connected to eight speakers. For 2007, an auxiliary input jack has been provided for connection of an iPod or other MP3 player, and the in-dash CD changer now can play MP3 compact discs.
Optional is the Dynaudio premium audio system ($1,550), featuring a whopping (ear-splitting?) 910 watts of power, Dolby Pro Logic II Surround Sound and 14 speakers, including dual eight-inch woofers.
Sirius satellite radio is available on either audio system for an additional $295, and a navigation system, pre-wired for satellite radio, is $2,120.
Other options include high-intensity headlights ($700); a rear-parking aid system ($400); a climate package ($675), which adds rain-sensing wipers, heated front seats, and headlight washers; and 18-inch bright alloy wheels ($995).
EPA fuel-economy ratings are 20 miles per gallon city/29 highway with the manual gearbox, and 21 city/29 highway with the automatic. The tank holds 16.4 gallons of fuel, and regular unleaded is acceptable.
And this car, which weighs only 3,743 pounds, has the capability of towing a trailer weighing up to 2,000 pounds.
