SA Road Tests

Welcome

This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. We drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under South African conditions. It also just happens that most of the vehicles we drive are world cars as well, so what you read here probably applies to the models you can get at home.

*To read one of our road tests, just select from the menu on the left.

*Please remember too, that prices quoted were those ruling on the days I wrote the stories.

We have designs on the Volvo C30 T5 R-Design Geartronic

Interior pic by the author

Reaching beyond its demographic

Volvo unashamedly pitches its C30 range at under-35s, most of whom move across from other makes, with many citing the Ford/Volvo 2,5-litre T5 turbo as power plant of choice.  This DOHC, 20-valve inline 5-cylinder engine displaces 2 521 cc and puts out 169 kW at 5 000 rpm with maximum torque of 320 Nm available between 1 500 and 4 980 rpm. It’s good for zero to 100 km/h in 6,7 seconds (manual) or 7,1 seconds when equipped with the Aisin AW55-51 auto ‘box fitted to our test car. Maximum speeds are given as 240 km/h for the manual and 235 km/h for the automatic.

A recent facelift updated front wings, bumper, headlights, a new honeycomb grille with bigger logo, larger air intake and a dynamic rear end that includes more body colouring to replace black panels used previously.

Good news for younger buyers is that local C30s with T5 are only issued with the very business-like R-Design trim and suspension package. This includes a body kit with front and rear spoilers, lower door trim moulding and side-skirts colour-matched to the rest of the body, 17-inch five-spoke Cratus aluminium wheels, tailgate spoiler and a pair of 90 mm chromed tailpipes. The theme continues inside with upholstery in two colour combinations: cream-coloured leather with sides in dark grey Flex-Tec cloth, or off-black leather with edges in off-black, embossed R-Design emblem in the front seats, R-Design centre stack and panel inserts, gear lever knob trimmed in leather and aluminium, sports pedals in aluminium with rubber ribs, sports steering wheel trimmed in leather with R-Design emblem, white-on-blue speedometer and rev counter dials and textile floor mats with contrasting piping.

Unseen details include steering made more precise with stiffer bushings and a lower ratio giving 10 percent faster response to steering wheel input. Spring stiffness has been increased by 30 percent, stiffer dampers are now mono-tubes that build up pressure much more quickly and roll stabilisers have been stiffened to reduce body roll.

These changes have made the C30 R-Design a better-balanced and more agile car. Road contact is more distinct while feedback from the wheels is quicker and clearer, not only making it more fun to drive, but also benefitting safety.

We have driven other C30s and can confirm that you feel the difference in the first 50 metres; this thing is made for driving. It reminds one of the similarly powered Ford Focus ST that comes only with manual transmission; dynamics are very much the same although the cars are aimed at different groups within the same demographic.

The ST is possibly more your government school graduate, while the C30 probably went to old moneyed private institutions.  Style-wise we might think of a cool bachelor pad in an upmarket block with furnishings courtesy of favourite mainstream retailers, vs. an apartment featured on Top Billing with interior styling by Wetherlys.

It comes as no surprise that Volvo tested and refined this car on twisty English back lanes, autobahnen and icy winter roads in northern Scandinavia, because on our own Midlands freeway and winding Meander it was a blast to drive.  Torque goes on forever, the 5-speed Geartronic  ‘box is magical manually, automatic mode always seems to know before you do, what gear you need and the chassis just feels so taut and disciplined. It’s far too pleasant for under-35s to have all to themselves, Farnsworth.

Many criticise cars with only two doors as being impractical, but how often do you ferry a full load of passengers anyway? There is also a school of thought that prefers keeping door handles out of reach of inquisitive little hands. And some just want personal transport for self and significant other, secure in the knowledge that strapping six-footers could actually be accommodated back there, should the occasion arise. Besides, why does everyone have to be practical all the time? After-35 is still a lifetime in which to be boring if you choose to be.

The numbers

Price: R 341 000

Engine: 2 521 cc DOHC inline 5-cylinder, turbocharged

Power: 169 kW at 5 000 rpm

Torque: 320 Nm between 1 500 and 4 980 rpm

Zero to 100 km/h: 7,1 seconds

Maximum speed: 235 km/h

Real world average fuel consumption: about 10,2 l/100 km

Tank: 62 litres

Music: Radio/6-CD with iPod, USB and auxiliary inputs

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.

I am based in Pietermaritzburg, KZN, South Africa. This is the central hub of the KZN Midlands farming community; the place farmers go to 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. Contact me here

 

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