Extreme Arctic testing is tough on any car, but electrically-powered cars find it especially hard on their batteries. Volvo is not shying away from this in the pursuit of making its C30 Electric as durable as possible.

Undergoing the same test regime as its combustion-engined sister models, the C30 Electric has been put through 200 different tests at temperatures as low as -20 degrees Celsius.

Volvo's Lennart Stegland, who is director of Volvo Cars Special Vehicles, said: "We must ensure the C30 Electric performs as intended when driving, parking and charging in a variety of conditions, from normal to very cold or hot. Northern Sweden is the perfect place for sub-zero temperature testing."

To combat the cold and avoid draining the C30's batteries, Volvo has installed a bio-ethanol fuelled heater in the car. Running off a 14.5-litre tank, the heater puts no strain or drain on the battery pack and helps the car warm up more quickly in such extreme cold temperatures.

The Volvo C30 Electric uses a 114bhp electric motor, has a 100-mile range and can be recharged using a domestic socket for its plug-in charger. Volvo expects the C30 Electric to be in showrooms in 2012.

Alisdair Suttie - 29 Mar 2011