2007 Motor Trend Car of the Year: Testing and Finalists
Open-air living room with a steering wheel
By Mark Williams
Like most convertibles, the true beauty of the shape is revealed with its top off--but the look of the Volvo C70's mechanical robo-top in action, with its nasty levers and threatening scissor hinges, is somewhat frightening. Nonetheless, Volvo, with strong safety and interior-design credentials behind it, went to the Italian designers at Pininfarina to help it make the new C70 hardtop convertible look good and work smoothly. Judges note there's more trunk room in the Eos with the top down, but the Volvo does offer a clever trunk-mounted switch that'll raise the roof pieces more than six inches to facilitate top-down access to luggage.
During our track loops, the turbocharged I-5 performed admirably, clicking off 7.2 seconds before it reached 60 mph in acceleration runs, with 67.1 mph through our 600-foot-slalom course. Much of that performance has to do with the Pirelli PZero tires doing an admirable job of holding the pavement, albeit noticeable chassis shake when running our pothole and pavement rut sections with the top down. Even though the chassis (a derivative of the S40/V50 platform) has twice the structural rigidity of the previous model's, the C70 had trouble absorbing the rutted and bubbled oscillations. Other oddities include clutch-pedal travel (too long) and shifter-gate width (notches too far apart).
It wouldn't be a Volvo without a strong safety message: The C70 has door-mounted airbags, A-pillars designed to withstand tremendous forces, and rear-passenger automatic pop-up head protection during (actually seconds before) a roll.
There's no question this revitalized version of the Volvo convertible brings all the right brand virtues to the table, but it left us wanting more chassis stiffness and steering responsiveness on the track. Good, but not Golden Calipers great.
| 2007 Volvo C70 T5 |
| Base price range | $39,785 |
| Price as tested | $40,400 |
| Vehicle layout | Front engine, FWD, 4-pass, 2-door convertible |
| Engine | 2.5L/218-hp/236-lb-ft t'charged DOHC 20-valve I-5 |
| Transmission | 6-speed manual |
| Curb weight (f/r dist) | 3791 lb (55/45%) |
| Wheelbase | 103.9 in |
| Length x width x height | 180.4 x 72.3 x 55.1 in |
| 0-60 mph | 7.2 sec |
| Quarter mile | 15.9 sec @ 89.1 mph |
| Braking, 60-0 mph | 114 ft |
| 600-foot slalom | 67.1 mph, avg |
| Lateral acceleration | 0.81 g, avg |
| MT figure eight | 27.6 sec @ 0.62 g, avg |
| EPA city/hwy fuel econ | 20/29 mpg (est) |
| Sum Up | Typical Volvo quality in the safety department--but the living-room furniture interior needs a coffee table. |
| Bet you didn't know | The folding hardtop was designed and engineered by Pininfarina, the Italian coachbuilder that also made the Cadillac Allante body. |
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