SA Road Tests

Welcome

It struck me one day that people who love cabriolets, convertibles, roadsters, drop-tops, sports cars - call them what you will - are probably less concerned with who made them than with how they make their drivers feel. It's rather like motorcycles; there is an indescribable unity with Nature, a one-ness with the road and a bonding with the elements - the sun on your skin, the breeze through your hair and the living sounds of the open road.

That's why I decided to copy and paste all my cabriolet reports into a single folder where drop-top fans can find them all without having to scrabble through endless menus.

I have to warn you that it took a while to warm to the cabriolet phenomenon - convertibles are mostly loved, hankered after and driven by women, so we guys find them hard to appreciate. For that reason, you may find some of the writing a little tongue-in-cheek, sceptical or even downright chauvinist. What can I say? I'm male and I can't help it. Just bear with me though, because I believe that the stories still contain valid information that will hopefully help you make an informed buying decision.


*To read one of our road tests, just select from the drop-down menu that appears as you hover your cursor over the folder's title.
*Please remember too, that prices quoted were those ruling on the days I wrote the reports, so even if you're looking to buy second-hand, you have an idea of what it cost originally.


2009 Volvo C 70 T5 Cabriolet, Geartronic

Equally ravishing fully clothed or stripped down.



Most cars, like most people, look better with their tops in place. The Volvo C70 cabriolet, on the other hand, is one of those that looks equally ravishing fully clothed or stripped down.



Its working persona is that of a svelte yet muscular looking hard top, but come the weekend and sunshine, it takes only 30 seconds to lose the corporate image and get ready to party. 

After the front windows drop a few centimeters and the boot opens, the roof lifts, separates into three parts, stacks and folds itself into the luggage compartment, which then closes gently while the front windows return to the closed position. It’s a helluva party trick, which renders even the most avid Volvo-hater totally gobsmacked.



Designed by John Kinsey and built by Pininfarina Sverige AB in-house at Volvo’s Uddevalla plant, it is every centimetre a Volvo, but with added sex appeal. To quote the design team that created the first version of this car: “Volvo decided to throw away the box but kept the toy inside.” 

Based on the S40 platform, but with an extra 140 mm in the boot area to accommodate the foldaway hard top, the C70 is aimed at families wanting practicality, safety and a measure of light heartedness as well. In this the C70 succeeds in most respects, but with certain trade-offs.



The usual complaint aimed at cars that stash their lids in their cabooses, is that the roof fills said load area and leaves no room for baggage.  The Volvo’s boot measures 272 dm3 with the roof up and 120 dm3 with it folded – not wonderful, but certainly better than most of its competitors.

 The second trade-off is in rear seat legroom and access. While a six-footer might be able to squeeze into the back, do not allow the driver to set her chair down to the lowest position. This steals critical foot space from under the seat. Entry to and exit from the rear can also be problematic, even with the front seats tilted and rolled forward. This area is best left to the young, small and agile.



This being a Volvo, safety is paramount. Standard safety features include a total of six airbags, antilock brakes, traction control and stability control. Front and side airbags are provided, along with special head-protecting curtain airbags. These door-mounted units inflate upward when activated. 

Their curtains are extra stiffly constructed with double rows of slats slightly offset from each other, so they remain upright, offering effective head protection even with the windows open. They deflate slowly to maintain protection should the car roll over. In the event of unplanned inversion, rollover bars mounted behind the seats automatically deploy for maximum safety. Anti-whiplash seats are also standard.



Standard features include 17-inch wheels, leather upholstery, eight-way power front seats (with driver memory and warming function), park assist, automatic dual-zone climate control and a Dynaudio sound system with six-CD changer and auxiliary audio input. This is 14-speaker Dolby ProLogic II premium kit with 910 watts of power and two subwoofers.

On the road, a lightly turbocharged version of the famous five cylinder 2,5 litre DOHC 20-valver propels the car to the magical 100 km/h in 8,4 seconds and will go on to a maximum of 230 km/h if your conscience and your wallet permit.The Car magazine fuel index is quoted as 11,2 l/100 km.  



Upon first acquaintance, the engine feels unwilling to get up and go, but once you overcome the strongish throttle springs and put your boot in, things get much better. Handling is firm yet precise and the Geartronic manual shift option fun to work with, as always.  A word of wisdom from the olden days: the original Volvo logo is the masculine symbol, so their cars beg to be driven with a degree of hairy-chested vigour. Take charge and they will reward, wimp out and they will disappoint.



The numbers


Price: R 514 000 (the manual version sells at R 504 000)


Engine: 2521 cc DOHC, 5 cylinders, 20 valves, turbocharged


Power: 169 kW at 5 000 rpm


Torque: 320 Nm at 1 500 to 4 800 rpm


0 – 100 km/h: 8,4 seconds


Maximum speed: 230 km/h


Car magazine fuel index: 11,2 l/100 km


CO2 gm/km: 261


Tank: 60 litres


Maintenance Plan: 5 years/100 000 km


What We Do

This is a one-man show, which means that road test cars entrusted to me are driven only by me. Some reviewers hand test cars over to their partners to use as day-to-day transport and barely experience them for themselves.

What this means to you is that every car reviewed is given my own personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.
Every car goes through real world testing; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads as well.

My articles appear every Wednesday in the motoring pages of The Witness, South Africa's oldest continuously running newspaper, and occasionally on Saturdays in Weekend Witness as well. I drive eight to ten vehicles most months of the year (press cars are withdrawn over the festive season - wonder why?) so not everything gets published in the paper. Those that are, get a tagline but the rest is virgin, unpublished and unedited by the political-correctness police. Hope you like what you see, because there are no commercial interests at work here. As quite a few readers have found, I answer every serious enquiry from my home email address, with my phone numbers attached, so I do actually exist.

I am based in Pietermaritzburg, KZN, South Africa. This is the central hub of the KZN Midlands farming community; the place farmers go to buy their supplies and equipment, truck their goods to market, send their kids to school and go to kick back and relax.
So occasionally a cow, a goat or a horse may add a little local colour by finding its way into the story or one of the pictures. It's all part of the ambience!

Comments?
Want to ask a question, comment or just tell me you thoroughly disagree with what I say? That's your privilege, because if everybody agreed on everything, the world would be a boring place. All I ask is that you remain calm, so please blow off a little steam before venting too vigorously.