Spied Up Date: 2013 Volvo V30


This is how the new Volvo V30 will shape up – a stylish five-door hatchback that finally gives the C30 a bigger and more practical brother.

It will spark a huge rise in Volvo sales by allowing the firm to compete with the five-door Volkswagen Golf and Ford Focus. Plus, it will take on premium cars such as the new BMW 1 Series and Mercedes A-Class, and the upcoming Audi A3 Sportback.

Our spies caught a prototype version testing in Sweden ahead of the launch in the middle of next year.

We have produced these illustrations to give you the best idea yet of how the new model will look. It’s expected to get a front end inspired by the S60, with a curved C-pillar at the rear and Volvo’s trademark roof-height LED lights. The roofline should also allow a decent amount of rear headroom.

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. The V30 will get a new range of Volvo-developed petrol and diesel engines, with a sub-100g/km DRIVe version a certainty.

The new five-door will make its debut at the Geneva Motor Show in March next year, and when sales start it should cost from around £18,000. There will be lots of equipment on board, with safety kit including low-speed crash mitigation, road sign recognition and blind spot warning systems.

Although the car is known internally as the V30, bosses have not yet signed off on a final name. By the time it hits dealers, it could end up being called something else entirely.

The three-door C30 will continue on sale alongside the new five-door model.

No hybrids are planned, as the first petrol-electric Volvo will be the V60 Plug-In Hybrid, which is also due in 2012. For more details click here.
Thanks to: Auto Express