| First Drive | Kaprun, Austria | 2010 Volvo C70 |

Car facelifts are handled in very different ways from one maker to the next. They're like digitally re-mastered albums, really - often completely unnecessary, but a nice, cheap way of putting something old back on the map. They're also similarly capable of either adding a lovely new sheen and freshness to the original, or ruining the perfectly good character of the original. The C70 facelift falls into the former category.

In the Metal

Stick the pre-facelift C70 next to the new one and, from the front, it could be a different car. And that's a good thing, because Volvo has an obvious propensity for making similarly sized cars virtually indistinguishable thanks to facsimile styling. The C70's front end redesign involved re-tooling the factory because, unlike many facelifts, the wings and bumper are now a completely different shape.

So, out goes the squared and square face, and in comes something much more rakish and athletic. It's because Volvo sees the C70 as its halo car of sorts - the one that will bring style conscious, young folk with money into the Volvo stable. So it wanted to give it a more aggressive gait to appeal to that audience.

The rear end and interior treatments, on the other hand, are 100 percent stock facelift, using LEDs for the rear light clusters, a re-textured and slightly reshaped dashboard top, better quality hide and a new leather colour called cranberry. That's bright maroon to you and me. Or sunset scarlet, if you prefer.

What you get for your Money

All of the above. Everything else about the C70 remains as was, meaning a four-strong engine range split 50/50 petrol to diesel. The diesels are a 2.0-litre with 134bhp and a 2.4-litre D5 with 178bhp, and the petrol option is taken care of by a 168bhp 2.4 and a 227bhp T5 range topper. As usual, the range is split between S, SE and SE Lux, with prices kicking off at £26,995 and ending at £34,695. That's not too bad for a four-seat convertible with a clever three-piece electric hardtop and a decent spec sheet across the board, right?

Driving it

The C70 might look the part now, with a nose that fools the eye into thinking it a more road-hugging car, but a pinpoint sports coupé/cabriolet it is not. None of the mechanicals have been altered, so the car retains its comfort-oriented poise. Sadly the test route was mostly motorways and slow moving icy village roads, but we don't expect any major surprises when we get the car back in the UK.

So, it's comfortable because the primary ride strikes a friendly balance between softness and body control, although there's the same underlying yet tangible rumble from the tyres (snow tyres in this case, mind) that we've found in other Volvos. The driving position is massively adjustable, but fundamentally flawed because of a cramped footwell, and wind and tyre noise are well locked out with the roof up, but creep in at higher speeds because of the extra shut lines of a moveable roof.

It handles its business off the straight and narrow fairly well too, and although our sub-zero Austrian drive precluded testing the limits of its abilities, the C70 corners in the sure-footed and predictable manner its cushioned setup suggests it will. If you opt for the D5 diesel - the most sensible option, probably - what you'll find is a smooth but noisy performer that lack urgency yet feels strong enough nonetheless, giving you 42.8mpg with its 178bhp and 8.6-second sprint to 60mph - when mated with a manual gearbox.

Worth Noting

Volvo is very serious about the whole DRIVe thing; eventually it aims to make DRIVe a holistic engineering ethos, in the same way EfficientDynamics is to BMW. However, for the time being there'll be no C70 DRIVe because it doesn't quite fit with the image Volvo wants to carve out for the car as a shining 'want one' product. So, Gucci handbag environmentalists look elsewhere.

Summary

By making the C70 usefully more handsome, Volvo has simply added another strand of appeal to a car that was already an appetising cabriolet alternative. It's comfortable, has four useable seats, economical, mostly ergonomically sound, well equipped, well priced, good looking and has a boot that isn't entirely reserved for roof. Want a proper driver's car? Go to BMW. Don't want a BMW? This might just be the marginally justifiable family pose car for you.