Volvo C30 T5

Couldn't believe my eyes when HC pointed out to me this rare beast from Singapore, at Bangsar Shopping Centre's car park ... cool! Plenty of good information from Wikipedia ...

Volvo C30
Parent company Ford Motor Company Premier Automotive Group
Production 2006–present
Assembly Ghent, Belgium
Predecessor Volvo 480
This particular engine ... 2.5 L 227 hp , turbocharged straight-5


The Volvo C30 is a compact car produced by Volvo (part of the Ford Motor Company Group). The C30 is a three-door, four-seat hatchback powered by straight-4 and straight-5 engines. Despite the name, the car is the hatchback version of the S40/V50/C70 range and therefore uses the same Ford C1 platform as the Ford Focus and Mazda3.
The production car was officially unveiled at the 2006 Paris Motor Show.
In mid-2006, the C30 was approved for production launch in late 2006 in Europe. The C30 went on sale in Canada in March 2007 as a 2007 model, and in October 2007 in the United States as a 2008 model, with the T5 as the single version.
It is being marketed as a premium hatchback or "sports coupe" specially designed for first-time Volvo buyers and the youth market. Production is expected to be 65,000 units a year, 75% for sale in the European market.

Notably, the design of the C30 recalls another important Volvo, the 1800ES, the estate adaptation of the P1800 Coupe. According to Simon Lamarre, chief studio designer, "the 1800ES has become one of the icons for Volvo," inspiring the design of the Volvo C30.
However, not everyone is pleased with the C30s "sawed-off rear" and calling it "Volvo's AMC Gremlin."



SAFETY
The C30 continues Volvo's marketing strategy to put safety as a primary concern.[citation needed] This is demonstrated through some recently developed safety features, including a method of overcoming the "blind spots" or "dead areas" in the driver's view to the rear through a system solely introduced by Volvo, known as BLIS (Blind Spot Information System).
The C30 also features a four-wheel anti-lock braking system (ABS), electronic stability program (ESP), traction control and airbags all around for side impact and rollover protection, front and rear crumple zones, and a stiff occupant cell.
The Volvo C30 has a patented front and rear structure using four different grades of steel to absorb and redistribute impact energy around the body of the coupe. Volvo's Whiplash Protection System and Side Impact Protection System with side airbags and Inflatable Curtain are also standard. The seat belts have pretensioners to protect the occupants against unexpected accidents.
The car also uses Volvo's Intelligent Driver Information System (IDIS) which continuously monitors the car's preemptive systems such as steering wheel angle, pedal depressions, and overall factors that help the vehicle's computer to decide if the driver is busy or distracted merging or turning, and will then accordingly delay certain data or alerts that are unimportant.