I love movies that feature cars, especially when they drive the specific car in a way you would rarely – if ever – see in reality. Think what Jason Statham and Liam Neeson did with Audi’s S8 in Transporter 2 and Taken respectively. Or that one Bruce Willis movie in which he drove a 7-series in ways I never thought possible. Or even, more recently, Twilight.

In the movie, Edward Cullen, the male lead character, drives a Volvo C30 T5. I loved the C30′s quirky looks since it first came out, but it is in all honesty beginning to show its age, which is perhaps why it was promptly swapped for a shiny new XC60 in New Moon. Inspired by what Edward Cullen managed to do with one in the movie, I got my hands on a C30 T5 early in January.

It’s a great car and I now understand why “Edward” drove it with such enthusiasm. I could easily see myself living with one, although it would probably be in a darker colour. It’s comfortable, has plenty of grunt (remember, the Ford Focus ST uses a version of the same engine) and more than sufficient handling prowess. I especially loved the stubby gearlever and short, slick and super-precise gearchanges.

Yet I wasn’t quite as excited as I thought I would be. Personally, I didn’t like the colour combination on my test model – the two shades of silver made it constantly look dirty, and the spoilers and wheelarches looked cheap and particularly plastic. I also find it quite pointless testing a car mere weeks before it’s replaced with a facelifted and significantly improved model…

So thanks allowing me a moment of immmortality a la Edward Cullen, Volvo, but I think I’ll wait for a turn with the improved C30 T5 before singing any praises.

Incoming search terms for the article:

• volvo c30 road test
• volvo c30 t5 road test
• c30 t5
• does edward have a C30 T5
• Does the ford focus st use the same engine as the volvo t5
• test volvo c30 t5
• volvo c30
• volvo c30 t5