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Andy Warhol once said that art is “what you can get away with”. Art is one of the areas of our culture that divides opinion more than anything else and finds its way into more and more of our buildings and products. One man’s love of the Gherkin building in London is polarised with those who feel it is a blot on the skyline. Increasingly the car world is producing cars that appear to be a direct copy of a child’s scribble in their school book. One company you cannot level this accusation at is Volvo.

The Swedish firm have always put substance over style and produce bricks on wheels that are super safe, super reliable and super practical. Even the ‘hot’ performance version of their estate – the T5 looked virtually identical to the base model, it just happens to be so fast and usable the police in Britain all use them. It’s ever so boring to look at though. In fact I’d rather have the police version – at least all the high visibility stickers and chequered side panels give it a bit more flair. The blue lights would get me to work far quicker too I’m sure.

Imagine my surprise this week then when the brochure for the new Volvo C30 was waiting for me when I got home. Let’s just say the bruise on my head from when I fainted is healing well, thanks for the concern. You see, all I said above has seemingly been rendered irrelevant. Art for the road and for the masses is here, and it’s a Volvo. The realisation that the world wasn’t flat I’m guessing was a bit of a shock, but it couldn’t have been too dissimilar to the first time I opened the Volvo brochure.

Volvo have played safe with the front end of the C30, giving it the usual executive look of the Swedish manufacturer and then gone bonkers with the rest of it. Describing the C30 is like attempting to describe a Monet painting, but I’ll try my best. It looks a bit hazy with long, broad brush stokes and can only really be appreciated from a distance as up-close shows the flaws in the work. The Monet isn’t bad either.

Seriously though, the C30 is brilliant to look at. The rear end is the perfect ying to the front end’s yang. The lights start where you’d expect them to, halfway up and on the curvaceous bulge that grows as it travels from the bonnet to the back end. The lights then go on an upward journey that goes all the way to the roofline. A spoiler joins the two sets of lights and will probably add down force if you ask Volvo. For me it just adds the touch of perfection on an already stunning view of the car. Forget Kylie Minogue and J-Lo, the C30 has the best rear end I’ve ever seen.

The Volvo C30 sits comfortably in two markets thanks to its styling. It’s a coupe one minute and a funky hatchback the next. The danger with any car that attempts to be two things at once is that it fails to do a good enough job with either. Thankfully the C30 is happy to oblige to whichever need you’re after. Volvo being Volvo, they offer so many engine and trim options that you can transform the C30 into a snarling tarmac eating Coupe or economical family hatchback with a tick or two on the options list.

Obviously one look at the C30 screams ‘practicality not considered’ which is partially true. Other competitors in its class offer more rear legroom and boot space but bland styling so it’s the compromise you’ll have to make one way or the other. The C30 drives very well and has a similar chassis to that of the Ford Focus which by all accounts is sublime. Volvo’s engineers have stiffened the suspension and given the car a wider track than the Ford which is truly rewarded in the corners, with the car maintaining a mature feel throughout.

Artwork doesn’t appear to be affected by the global financial crisis, with Damian Hirst selling some of his work for £111 million in two days. The Volvo C30 starts at £14, 750 rising to £22,995 for the top-of-the-range model. Whichever variant you chose, rest assured you’ll be noticed on the road and have far more life in your purchase than Hirst’s shark in a tank.

I am seriously considering the C30 as my next car. Now all I need to do is find a wall big enough to hang it on.

About the Author:
Mark Creese is an experienced car journalist currently working to promote Harratts Volvo Dealers and their range of new and used Volvo cars.

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