My Audi A 5, started to get old, as I owned it for almost 6 years, so I looked around hoping to find a new car.
I had several options:
- Taking another Audi A 5, as I loved it a lot, with its 3.0 TDI engine. But maybe not a diesel, as I didn't feel comfortable with the noise and the spirit of a diesel in such a Coupé.
Don't get me wrong, the 3.0 TDI is maybe one of the most brilliant and efficient motor I drove: It pushes very strongly, due to an impressive torque of 500 Nm, and has a lot of power, without consuming a lot. Brilliant, indeed.
But the melody of petrol engine is something much more envouting.
- Finding something else. In the current production, there are not many Coupés which I really like.
I love the BMW 6 Coupé, but it is much too big, so driving it in town is quite fastidious.
The BMW 4 is superb, but a bit too long, too. And the retail in Europe is quite high.
Same problem with the E coupé from Mercedes.
- Going for a recently discontinued car I loved a lot, that much that, at the time I took the Audi A 5, I hesitated a lot between the German Coupé and this one... A Volvo C 70.
I finally decided to go for the C 70 T5, Inscription, which has been discontinued in June 2013, after a 7 years life. Mine is from March 2012, with only 40 Kilometers!
What do I appreciate so much in the C 70?
The style, the concept, and the engine.
Let's see all that in the détails.
1/ The concept.
I never owned a soft top coupé, for one good reason. My mother had a VW Coccinelle 1303, from the early Seventies, and the soft top has been nastily cut several times, while the car was sleeping in the street.
The fear to live the same thing made me stay far from a Cabriolet.
Another thing is that I generally find the profile of a cabriolet less elegant than the same car, in coupé.
With a few exceptions, such as the Audi A 4 Cabriolet, which I find really stunning. But, here again, I fear bad expériences with the soft top...
The Volvo C 70 is one of these few concept to offer 2 cars in one, and, which made me really fall is that I love it as much close as open.
The Hard top is made of 3 parts, which once open take its place in the rear trunk. Ok, the place for the luggage is, in this configuration, limited, but you still have 200 liters for that, which is enough for a week end escape.
2/ The style:
The C 70 2d generation was softly restyled, especially the front part, and more discretely the back.
The car is a delicious blend of class and dynamism, with a very typical character, contrasting with the rest of the Volvo production, even if it seems that things are changing, nowadays.
I would have preferred to see the body sit less " high " on its wheels, especially when it comes to the T5 version, which has a sporty vocation, but here, improvements are nearly impossible, as the only choice you have is to go for a - 30 mm suspension kit by Heico, which is too much, and would lead you to face some difficulties in everyday's life, such as the access to some parkings, and the whole comfort of the car... While only 10 mm lower would have been perfect, but once again, that doesn't exist... Strange!
Tuned by Heico, with low suspensions:
Inside, the Inscription version offers a superb leather, which is extended to the front part of the interior. All the leather parts are stitched. Superb, sporty, elegant.
The aluminium console is a pure design product.
I would have loved to see sportier instruments, as I find the rev counter and the odometer a bit boring, to say all.
Nice and luxury finish, you feel good Inside.
The seats are super comfortable, they are milestones in terms of comfort and ergonomy.
3/ The engine:
At the end of the production, you have a too short choice. One gazoline, the sporty T5, and two diesels: 136 and 150 HP.
Not to be crazy about, I must confess.
Since I left my A 5 because of the diesel, my natural choice was the T5. A 2, 5 5 Cylinders, turbocompressed, delivering 230 HP and a torque of... 345 Nm, which are pretty good numbers, in my opinion.
The T5:
But, when leaving the Audi and its powerful diesel engine with its fabulous torque, this engine may be a bit just... I will explain a bit later the improvements I brought...
With this gazoline version, you have no other choice than an old automatic gear box... I am a fan of manual gear boxes, so you can imagine that before deciding to get the C 70 T5, I had to be sure I was totally mad about it...
The auto gearbox is slow, lazy, and not very fun, even in the sequential mode, which is slightly better. But you have the torque, and you can drive it pretty efficiently thanks to it.
4/ The feelings and the improvements.
The T5 is maybe the sporty C 70, it still is more a Grand Tourisme than a sports car, much more!
The weight of the car ( 1700 Kilos ) associated to the lazy automatic gearbox will not allow you to drive it like you pilot an Alfa GT 3.2, for example.
Start the engine... The first impression is terrific. The sounds of the engine is taking your guts, very low, not discrete at all, and crying like a tiger in the high revs. Spectacular!
The car goes fast, but in a quite linear way, on the torque.
I need more sensations!
Two ways to increase the sensations...
- Chiptuning: It is very simple, in France, you loose the warranty, and if you have an issue, you will be in big trouble, since chiptuning is not allowed.
Therefore, I must say that I made a test. I sent an enquiry to some chiptuners, and asked them if they tested the engine before and after the chiptuning.
They all answered YES. BUT... There is a big mistake in the C 70 T5 leaflet. In 2010 the power increased from 220 to 230 HP... The torque, too, from 320 to 345 Nm.
But in the leafltets, they didn't change the torque, which remains valued to 320 Nm, which is wrong.
Every chiptuner tells you that the torque is 320 Nm... Which demonstrates that it is not true that they test the engine before the chiptuning. So, no chiptuning for me.
- The natural way...
This is the option I took.
I changed the air filter for a KN, the exhaust for a Heico, the intercooler for a bigger one, the cast inlet for a polished one, the air filter,and the intercooler pipe.
The spectacular Heico Exhaust:
The cast inlet, with the new air filter:
The intercooler:
I also changed the Control Bypass Valve ( CBV ) and a Turbo Control Valve ( TCV ), both original being very poor in quality.That doesn't improve the power and the torque, but the reliability of the system.
The CBV;
The Pipe:
The final outcome, before changing the remaining hoses:
By this way, with these options, I gained a bit more than 40 HP ( 275 HP ), and some 100 extra Nms ( ! )
The sound of the engine is much more spectacular, the sensations are substantially improved. Impressive.
It pushes more, it is more brutal, it goes faster, more nervous and enjoyable.
I replaced some hoses, such as the one which comes from the TCV / CBV / Wastegate, and a few others from the " Papillon " to the intercooler, and so on.
Without forgetting the torque mount, to stabilize the behaviour of the car when in full acceleration, or when you strongly brake.
A pleasure I live everyday, since the 31st of August 2013.It took me 13 months, but long distance trips are now pure ecstasy, as well as accelerating in the tunnels, which gives you goose bump.
Here are some pictures of my beloved T 5.
To end, I will go for 4 Konis, to get firmer reactions of the chassis, and basta, I built my own GT car.
Best,
Nicolas
