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V40 vs C30 buying advice

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Old May 4th, 2021, 03:52   #1
ARHP
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Default V40 vs C30 buying advice

Hello,

I am looking to purchase a used low mileage m/t V40 2012-2015 or C30 2012-2013 and am new to the range of petrol and diesel engines offered in the UK. Hence, I am more than a bit confused and need some advice.

I just sold our 2009 C30 T5 in the US and was hoping to replace it with a newer T5 in the UK. Unfortunately, I only found one listing for a whopping 12k which is crazy so I have given up on that. Now, I am branching out and have included the V40 in my search given that the rest of the family thinks it would be better to have the added space for road trips. However, as I said above, I am not familiar with the engines and worry about power output. Coming from a 2.5 turbo 5 cylinder petrol engine in the C30 and a 3.1 in our V70R, it seems that most will have less power than I am used to.

The car will be used around town and for the occasional weekend road trip. As I have never owned a diesel car and as 90% of our trips will be short, I am cautious when it comes to the D2/D3/D4 options. Also, petrol engines, to me, seem more dependable. Mind you, perhaps I am wrong. Also, the petrol V40s are really over the budget we want to spend whereas there seems to be plenty of reasonably priced used diesel V40s.

So basically it comes down to a petrol C30 2.0 (ideally with winter pack, bluetooth & xenon) or a diesel V40 with a budget of 6k. Should I even bother with the V40 diesel? or make the compromise for size?

Here's my test-drive list so far:
2012-2013 C30 2.0 R-Design m/t
2012-2013 C30 2.0 SE Lux m/t
2012-2014 V40 D2 1.6 (many to choose from at decent prices)
2015 V40 D2 2.0 (may be harder to find a reasonably priced one)
2013 V40 D3 2.0 (may be harder to find a reasonably priced one)
2013 V40 D4 2.0 (may be harder to find a reasonably priced one)

All help appreciated.
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Old May 4th, 2021, 14:01   #2
steV50
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If the car is to be used in the main for short trips then a petrol would probably be the best option. With a diesel you may get problems with the diesel particulate filter unless the car gets several decent runs every month to burn off the soot.
I think you will struggle to find a decent petrol V40 for the budget, you would need to spend a further £2/3,000.
The C30 S E Lux will have a better spec than the R Design and I believe the 2.0L Ford/Mazda petrol engine is usually very reliable.
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Old May 5th, 2021, 10:26   #3
Challo
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ARHP View Post
Hello,

I am looking to purchase a used low mileage m/t V40 2012-2015 or C30 2012-2013 and am new to the range of petrol and diesel engines offered in the UK. Hence, I am more than a bit confused and need some advice.

I just sold our 2009 C30 T5 in the US and was hoping to replace it with a newer T5 in the UK. Unfortunately, I only found one listing for a whopping 12k which is crazy so I have given up on that. Now, I am branching out and have included the V40 in my search given that the rest of the family thinks it would be better to have the added space for road trips. However, as I said above, I am not familiar with the engines and worry about power output. Coming from a 2.5 turbo 5 cylinder petrol engine in the C30 and a 3.1 in our V70R, it seems that most will have less power than I am used to.

The car will be used around town and for the occasional weekend road trip. As I have never owned a diesel car and as 90% of our trips will be short, I am cautious when it comes to the D2/D3/D4 options. Also, petrol engines, to me, seem more dependable. Mind you, perhaps I am wrong. Also, the petrol V40s are really over the budget we want to spend whereas there seems to be plenty of reasonably priced used diesel V40s.

So basically it comes down to a petrol C30 2.0 (ideally with winter pack, bluetooth & xenon) or a diesel V40 with a budget of 6k. Should I even bother with the V40 diesel? or make the compromise for size?

Here's my test-drive list so far:
2012-2013 C30 2.0 R-Design m/t
2012-2013 C30 2.0 SE Lux m/t
2012-2014 V40 D2 1.6 (many to choose from at decent prices)
2015 V40 D2 2.0 (may be harder to find a reasonably priced one)
2013 V40 D3 2.0 (may be harder to find a reasonably priced one)
2013 V40 D4 2.0 (may be harder to find a reasonably priced one)

All help appreciated.
C30 T5 command strong money, and you have such a small build window they will be hard to come by. Based on your guidance I would avoid diesel at all costs. Local trips around town will eventually kill a diesel.

I had a C30 D5 for a bit, and while it was a fantastic car my trips where all local <10 miles and it never got warm.

I was the one car I shouldn't have sold due to the low mileage, but it didn't fit my lifestyle.
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Old May 5th, 2021, 17:24   #4
T5R92011
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Why not just buy a V50 2.0-litre petrol or a T5?

Here's a V50 2.5 T5 thats within budget:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-det...ords=T5&page=1

Exactly the same as the C30 in terms of interior but with the added practicality of being an estate. In R-Design trim they look very nice.

In terms of bluetooth, models before 2012 could be specced with 'telephone only' bluetooth, but also had USB, ipod and AUX input. So if you're wanting to stream music, provided it has the USB port there will be cheap solutions for doing that on an older model.

You really do need to check what inputs it has in the center console though, as the USB port makes a big difference to what you can do.
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Last edited by T5R92011; May 5th, 2021 at 17:27.
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