Volvo's graceful design can also be seen inside. Sliding into the generous, well-tailored interior reveals elegant lines and leather upholstery in light hues. Volvo is designing some great interiors these days. The bucket seats are well-contoured, comfortable and supportive, with eight-way power adjustments. There is ample leg, shoulder and hip room in both the front and rear, though taller drivers may complain of limited headroom. As expected for a convertible based on a coupe, getting into the rear seats is a squeeze for larger folks.At the instrument cluster, black numerals on handsome light gray gauges are easy to read and reverse at night to white on black. An optional stereo is a 400-watt, 12-speaker system with an in-dash three-CD changer. This arrangement seems like a perfect compromise between single-disc in-dash units and larger CD magazines that are often inconveniently located and fussy to load. The Dolby Pro-Logic system senses whether the top is up or down and adjusts volume accordingly. Our test car came equipped with this higher-end system. Complemented by Volvo's quiet engine, we came to view the C70 as a veritable concert hall on wheels. Standard equipment includes remote keyless entry, cruise control, air conditioning, a trip computer, a tilt-telescope steering column, heated power outside mirrors, and power windows and door locks. HomeLink is an integrated remote-control system that can be programmed to open garage doors and turn on house lights. True to the Volvo reputation, safety is paramount. Rollover hoops, which normally are folded down behind the standard head restraints in the back seat, activate automatically if the car flips over. Volvo's Side Impact Protection System airbag offers head, shoulder, and torso protection. C70s also feature Volvo's Whiplash Protection System (WHIPS), which helps protect front-seat occupants in the event of a rear impact. While we enjoyed the ability to drop the top, it does cut into the cargo capacity. The Convertible offers just 8 cubic feet of trunk space, while the Coupe provides slightly more than 13 cubic feet.
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