| First Drive | Newcastle, England | Volvo C30 T5 SE + D5 Geartronic SE |

Sweden's a funny old country. By reputation its citizens are an open-minded bunch, more than happy to disrobe for anything from a wooden shed with hot rocks in it to, well, each other. The women in the Nordic land are said to be rather attractive, too, although we wouldn't know anything about that here at The Car Enthusiast; we're far too busy salivating over our cars. Despite all this freethinking and sexiness, the very same folk have, for many years, produced cars even us dogmatic Brits consider stuffy and visually dull. They're also responsible for IKEA; need I say more? It's a mystery, certainly. Or perhaps I should be using the word was, because the latest car to come out of the country has far more in common with its fairer sex than its brand of flat-pack furniture.

Yes, that's right; you're looking at a Volvo. And this is no one-off concept model either; you'll actually be able to buy one very soon. With a burly, provocative stance and a rear end that makes the Renault Megane look like a cellulite-ridden has-been, the C30 is certainly seductive. But does it have the manners to match its looks?

It's certainly not the first time Volvo has tried tapping into the small car market; the Volvo 480 of the late eighties and early nineties was also fairly adventurous with its popup headlights and contemporary rear-end. Overlooked at the time, it's now considered by those in the know to be a rather good car. It was unlike other Volvos of the time and that was its problem. You see, the sportiest car in the Swede's stable at the time was the monstrous 740 Turbo and that was hardly chic. The 480 didn't really fit in with the safe and solid, but stodgy image of Volvo at the time. It was too radical a move and no one really got it.

Unsurprisingly, it wasn't replaced. Volvo went back to the drawing board and embarked on a slow evolutionary process from big and boxy to sexy and sporty. First came the 850 T5; it was big and boxy, undoubtedly, but with a 225bhp turbocharged engine, blisteringly quick too. Then came the curves; around ten years after most manufacturers had employed a designer with a compass in his arsenal, Volvo unveiled the S40 and V40. There were even quick versions, but these models were a little too practical to be sexy. Not that common sense is a bad thing, but to appeal to the hearts rather than the heads of people (in other words the younger generation) it's a long way down the list of priorities; just look at the MINI for example. Later still the C70 was, and still is, a good-looking car, but a little big, passive and certainly out of the price range of many under 35s. Volvo needed something smaller, cheaper and sexier. And this time around it has the foundations to make us sit up and take notice.

So what is the C30? At first glance it cuts the dash of a hatchback and no doubt that's part of the plan. But it's far too evocative for a family run-around and with only four seats, a bit impractical, too. It certainly has the beguilement of a coupé. Not that a label really matters of course; what matters is that it looks fantastic. Driving caps off to the big cheese for signing off such a bold concept for production.

Inside, things aren't quite so conceptual. There are a few seat colours available and Volvo's now customary floating centre console, but it feels rather less flamboyant in the driving seat. That is, until you take to the road.

The 2.5-litre turbocharged unit (also fitted to Ford's Focus ST) is back where it belongs, in a Volvo. And as a result, the T5 version goes like, well, let's not go down that road but suffice to say it's rather fast! A peak power figure of 218bhp gives a 0-62mph time of just 6.2 seconds for the manual and a top speed of 149mph. Handling's certainly impressive via the large steering wheel; although a cold, wet November day in the North East was hardly the ideal testing environment for cornering prowess. An accurate comparison to its rivals, such as the Focus ST and Golf GTI, will have to wait until we drive the C30 on our own test routes shortly.

The 'Geartronic' auto' box is a weak link though and has nothing on the DSG offering from Volkswagen, so if opting for the T5 model, we'd suggest staying well clear and saving yourself £1,250. Unfortunately, you won't be able to do that if you want the performance diesel version (the D5) as Volvo isn't offering a manual option. That's a shame; though the performance figures will tell you a different tale, I actually think the diesel is the better engine. And I don't think I've ever said that before. It's incredibly torquey, sounds good and is obviously far more frugal than the T5.

My only real worry is that the new Volvo C30 might be a little too expensive. At a minimum of £21,500 for the T5 and more than £22,000 for the D5, the C30 is pitted rather too closely against the likes of the new Audi TT. And at £14,750 upwards for the base models, squarely against MINI.

I've got a theory. Maybe it's just at work that Swedes are all stuffy and sensible? Take a certain Sven Goran Eriksson, for example. At work, he's about as reserved as an empty table in the Fat Duck on a Friday evening. Off field, however, life was rather more risqué. Because of this I can only assume that the Volvo C30 was dreamt up down the pub, or possibly in a lap-dancing club. Either way the C30 is great little car and deserves to do extremely well. In contrast to the Volvo 480 era, we now know that this Swedish company can do sporty, and they can clearly do sexy, too. For those two reasons alone, I've got a sneaking suspicion the little Volvo might just do rather well this time around.

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Model	UK (£ on-the-road)	Ireland: (€ on-the-road)
Volvo C30 1.6 S	£14,750	€26,500
Volvo C30 1.8 S	£15,995	€28,000
Volvo C30 1.6 SE	£16,250	€29,020
Volvo C30 1.6D S	£16,795	€29,950
Volvo C30 1.6 SE Sport	n/a	€30,380
Volvo C30 1.8 SE	£17,495	€30,520
Volvo C30 1.6 SE LUX	n/a	€31,870
Volvo C30 1.8 SE Sport	£18,995	€31,880
Volvo C30 2.0 S	£16,995	€32,000
Volvo C30 1.6D SE	£18,295	€32,470
Volvo C30 2.0D S	£17,795	€32,950
Volvo C30 1.8 SE Lux	£18,995	€33,370
Volvo C30 1.6D SE Sport	n/a	€33,830
Volvo C30 2.0 SE	£18,495	€34,520
Volvo C30 1.6D SE Lux	n/a	€35,320
Volvo C30 2.0D SE	£19,295	€35,470
Volvo C30 2.0 SE Sport	£19,995	€35,880
Volvo C30 2.0D SE Sport	£20,795	€36,830
Volvo C30 2.0 SE Lux	£19,995	€37,370
Volvo C30 2.0D SE Lux	£20,795	€38,320
Volvo C30 T5 S	n/a	€39,750
Volvo C30 D5 GEARTRONIC S	n/a	€39,950
Volvo C30 T5 SE	£21,495	€42,270
Volvo C30 D5 Geartronic SE	£22,295	€42,470
Volvo C30 T5 SE Sport	£22,995	€43,630
Volvo C30 D5 Geartronic SE Sport	£23,795	€43,830
Volvo C30 T5 SE Lux	£22,995	€45,120
Volvo C30 D5 Geartronic SE Lux	£23,795	€45,320
Volvo C30 2.4i S	£17,995	n/a
Volvo C30 2.4i SE	£19,495	n/a
Volvo C30 2.4i SE Sport	£20,995	n/a
Volvo C30 2.4i SE Lux	£20,995	n/a