2007 Volvo C70
JIL MCINTOSH FOR THE TORONTO STAR
Though the exterior of the Volvo C70 looks good from the front or rear quarter, it seems a bit stubby and disproportionate when viewed from the side.
There were overcast skies with a threat of rain on the day I returned my C70 tester to Volvo. But good "vertible" days are spaced too far apart between fall and spring, and so I pulled into a parking lot to drop the top – I just couldn't take my last drive in it with a roof overhead.
As the C70's three-piece lid did its complicated ballet, with hard panels lifting and shifting, and finally settling into the trunk, I looked around and saw that three people had stopped what they were doing just to watch. It's an engineering marvel that draws a crowd whenever it operates, and probably has technicians everywhere praying that they never have to fix one.
Based on the Volvo S40 sedan – itself built on the platform that underpins the Mazda3 – the C70 is available only as the T5, meaning a turbocharged five-cylinder 2.5 L engine.
My tester had a six-speed manual transmission, one of the smoothest and lightest clutch-and-shifter combinations in the industry and an absolute joy to drive, but those who don't like stick shift can opt for a five-speed automatic.
At 236 lb.-ft. of torque, which hits its peak at a mere 1500 rpm, the C70 scoots along when asked, and it's not necessary to continually shift to keep the engine in its sweet spot; you'll mostly only get into the top two gears on the highway.
But dialing in that much power is always a difficult balancing act with a front-wheel-drive car, and while handling is otherwise sharp and accurate, the C70 suffers from considerable torque steer. And those with larger hands won't mind, but I found the wheel too thick to be comfortable.
Standard features include a combination of fabric and leather upholstery, but my car was fitted with a $5,000 Sport Package that covered the heated seats with full leather, along with other goodies such as 18-inch wheels and Xenon headlamps.
The interior is beautiful and uncluttered, but I have a love/hate relationship with its trademark "floating" centre stack: the design is stunning, but it's tough to reach its small, sole storage cubby, and working the tiny and not-very-intuitive stereo and climate buttons takes too much time away from the road.
Volvo did its top-down homework, though, and when you lock the glovebox door, it also automatically locks four storage compartments in the front seats and rear-seat side panels. The rear ones open from the top, but the front ones should too, as it's tough to hold up the lid and then manoeuvre your belongings into them.
I'm torn on the exterior design: it's stunningly gorgeous in three-quarter profile from the front and back, but the doors are too short, and when viewed from the side, the car's long, heavy haunches make it look stubby and disproportionate.
On the up side, though, the shorter door length makes them more manageable in tight parking spaces. And I'd like to know who okayed the hideous black whip antenna on the rear fender.
Although it's technically a four-seater, the C70 is more a 2+2, as there's precious little legroom behind the front seats. You can take your full-size friends along, but don't expect them to be too grateful for it.
The fully-automatic roof takes about 25 seconds to open or close. The trunk is two pieces, one of which forms a tonneau when the top is down; the roof separates into three sections, with the front-most piece sandwiching in between the other two for storage.
I couldn't figure out why the windows automatically went back up once the top was lowered, though; driving around with your convertible roof down and your windows up is worthy of a ticket from the Taste Police.
Some of my colleagues have mentioned hearing squeaks and rattles with the roof up in other C70s, but mine was quiet. However, it did leak in the car wash.
Trunk space is limited to a well that's a fairly generous 79 cm long by 99 cm wide, and a maximum 35 cm deep; a retractable hard plastic cover pulls out to protect the roof and ensure you're not above the "fill" line. Should you need to retrieve something, there's a button inside the trunk that lifts the folded roof up slightly and lets you reach in.
Even by Volvo standards, the C70 isn't cheap: its $56,495 starting price is more than a six-cylinder S80, and among retractable hardtops, it's pricier than a base BMW 328i, Volkswagen Eos or Audi TT 2.0.
If I were buying it and planning on holding on to it for a while, I'd also give some thought to purchasing extra warranty beyond the basic coverage. Given the complexity of that amazing roof, I'd be much happier to see someone else footing the bill should anything go wrong.
Freelance auto reviewer Jil McIntosh can be reached at jil@ca.inter.net
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