Volvo C30 gets a facelift

The new look, which was first previewed on the S60 Concept that was shown at the Geneva Motor Show earlier this year, brings the C30 in line with the rest of the range, with the XC60 crossover, and the S80 and C70 already boasting the new front end.

"Since its introduction in 2006, the Volvo C30 has become highly appreciated for its unique appearance. This applies in particular to the rear. With the new front, it feels as though everything has fallen neatly into place and that the car's entire personality has been boosted to an entirely new level," Volvo C30 Product Manager Daniel Backman said in a press release.

The C30 thus gets new body panels, headlamps and bumpers, as well as a new honeycomb grille, while the rear gets a more contoured look that now uses body coloured panels instead of black plastic. The colour pictured here, Orange Flame Metallic, is new, as are the exhausts and optional white wheels.

Inside, there is a new "Espresso/Blonde" colour combination available, as is the Cranberry leather tone. Program Chief Maria Uggla says, "We know that a large proportion, almost half, of all C30 customers make detailed interior choices. They want to decide for themselves what their car should look like and are not interested in readymade packages. The new C30 gives them a range of fresh, modern style cues in terms of both colour and fabric to choose between."

Finally, the C30 gets an optional Sport trim, where the chassis has been tuned to provide a sharper and stiffer response. The steering ratio is lower, giving 10% faster response to steering wheel input while spring stiffness has been increased by 30%. The dampers too are stiffer and are now of the exclusive mono-tube type that builds up pressure much more quickly and the roll stabilizers are stiffer to reduce body roll.