Volvo V30 spied

Text: Sam Hardy / Photos: SB-Medien

11th October 2011

This is the new Volvo V30 - a five-door hatchback that finally gives the C30 a bigger and more practical brother. It opens the door to a huge boost in sales, allowing Volvo to compete with five-door versions of the VW Golf and Ford Focus as well as premium cars such as the new BMW 1 Series, new Mercedes A Class and upcoming Audi A3 Sportback.  

The prototype was caught testing in Sweden and despite its heavy disguise, you can clearly make out the Volvo badge on the grille and a front end that's influenced by the S60 saloon. At the rear is a practical tall roofline, which should give decent headroom for rear passengers. It will be marked out by neat LED lights. 

Under the skin is a modified S60 front-wheel drive platform, which will make the V30 larger than the C30 with a longer wheelbase for extra rear space. Engines will be carried over from the C30 and S60 and will include 1.6-litre turbocharged petrol and diesels. A low-emission start-stop DRIVe model with sub-100g/km CO2 emissions is a definite. 

The new five-door will make its debut at the Geneva Motor Show in March next year before going on sale in the middle of 2012 with a starting price tag of around £18,000. Expect it to be loaded with the latest safety kit including low-speed crash mitigation and blind spot warning systems. 

At the moment, although it is internally dubbed V30, a name for the new model has not been signed off and it could be called something else entirely. The three-door C30, which was facelifted around 18 months ago, will continue to be available alongside the new five-door model. No hybrids are planned, as the first petrol-electric Volvo will be the V60 Plug-In Hybrid due in 2012. 

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