The twisty Hana Highway would be a good place to see how this drop top performed in real life.

My ride along partner and I pulled out on the highway and started to get a feel for the vehicle. Right off it was clear this wasn’t a high performance sports car. This may not be a fair comparison since the C 70 has front-wheel drive.

It was stable, comfy and solid with adequate performance but it wasn’t the kind of car that tears up the road. It comes with a turbocharged, in-line 5 cylinder engine and a six speed manual transmission or an optional five-speed automatic. The automatic is fine and hits the marks where you want.

Its $39,090 base price provides you with ABS, disc brakes, rack and pinion power assisted steering, 6-disc in dash CD changer and power seats. You’ll also be surrounded by enough airbags – front, side and door mounted inflatable curtains for the head -- that if they ever went off you’d look like you were driving the Goodyear blimp. But this is probably a good thing.

While safe and competent, Volvo traits that diehards around the world have come to expect, the C 70s sexy outer-shell implied there was more excitement hidden under those curvy lines. This might disappoint someone looking for a one-drive stand but it doesn’t mean this couldn’t be a good long-term relationship. Didn’t your mother tell you that there was more to life than a fast car? Or something like that.