C30 General : Which C30

[merf777]

I get about 25MPG with a T5. No motorway miles. Regards Paul

[Funky Diver]

Saw a C70 in the flesh today... nice motor, just a bit on the large side for us.

I'm more thinking hot hatch than sizeable soft top, but thank you for the suggestion.

[2.4TSE]

An owned-from-new V70 2.4T is the family car and with my wife's permission to buy one as the second car ("We only need one family car at a time") the night before purchase I bottled out of a secondhand 911 Carrera 2S knowing that I would worry myself sick every time I parked it in airport long term parking (frequent, with my work), supermarket car parks and so on.

Wondering what on earth to buy instead, I got to "V" in Top Gear Magazine before I thought of the C30.

This was five years ago almost to the day, and buying a 2008 model year Passion Red C30 T5 R-Design Sport was the best thing that I did. It has shown the same stellar reliability as the V70 and *still* puts a smile on our faces every time either of us drives it. It is hard to explain but it just looks so "right", drives so "right", feels so "right" and in short does everything we wished so "right". It is pretty well fully loaded bar Nav, and the T5 engine suits its character perfectly. At speed it is hushed and refined, under load the 5 pot motor sounds fab, and only a short wheelbase with short rear overhang and reasonably firm damping (making it choppyish at speed on roads with subsidence or large irregularities) spoils the otherwise excellent handling-comfort setup. I don't have the same vandalism or damage worries as for a 2S, either - although every time I have fitted chrome tyre valve covers they have been nicked within a week or two whereas the same design valve covers on my V70 have been there for over 12 years!

We live out in the sticks with most driving on free running rural A and B roads with a little bit of town driving. We purchased it at 50K miles, it is currently at 111k miles, and my records for the Tax Man show an average of 30 MPG in our ownership. in our case, with our usage and our preference for a manual gearbox we are pleased that we went T5 and not D5.

We have nine year old twins and they still fit comfortably in the back. I've ridden in the back a few times myself but wouldn't want to do so for any distance - which probably rules out regular teenagers or older children as passengers if this applies. The boot is bigger than it looks although with the hard luggage cover in place items are "posted" in to it. I have a large Samsonite suitcase that pretty much fills the boot area so my laptop bag has to go under one of the kids' feet when I am collected from my travels.

No intention of selling. Brill car and something a little bit different.

[Tannaton]

The C30 is a great car but coming from an XC90 you might find it a little different. All of the 5 cylinder engines have some sort of restriction on them in the small Ford derived platform due to either cooling and/or torque. In the C30 the engine and gearbox bolt straight to the bodyshell where as on the P2 cars such as the XC90 they are mounted on a subframe which further reduces vibrations. That said - the cars weight is substantially less so the power to weight ratio is better.

I think I am correct in saying that the torque restrictions on the AW automatic gearbox cars are effective in first and second gear only and are on all Volvo's with those gearboxes, not just the C30. I think also that it may only apply to the D5 which has more torque than the T5. In the C30 the D5 is detuned slightly, 180 BHP instead of 185.

The C30 is also much more tightly sprung than the XC90, so whilst is does have a big car comfort feel about it, it can be jiggly and uncomfortable on poor roads. This trait obviously makes it more fun to drive than the XC90 on good roads tho...

You mentioned about parts and hinted that you would be doing some of your own work - some jobs are more difficult on the 5-cylinder engines in that car as there is such little space. Those big Volvo engines have been shoe-horned into a Ford platform which was never designed for them and that makes some jobs tricky.

With regard to the economy on the T5, I've have three now and the very best I ever got on gently country runs (45-55mh) was about 34 - the in car computer always being a little optimistic. 40+ is probably possible if you do about 40mph on the motorway... but not realistic. It's a low compression high pressure turbo dating back to the early 90's but what it takes in fuel it makes up for in smiles. Have you seen how cheap petrol is again?

[Funky Diver]

Cheers Tannaton...

There were some key words there that about summed it up. Decision made... now just to find the right car, thankfully I'm not in a rush, so I'll just keep my eye out. Budget is about £5k, so we'll take it from there.

Ultimately...

Wife - needs a car to get to work
Me - NEED a car to have a bit of fun.

The XC is a fabulous family vehicle, and when this one has served it's current life span / purpose, we've already decided on getting another one. BUT, solo fun it aint.

I grew up in the era of a £50 Mini with 6 months T&T. Do as much work on it as you could, taking the racey parts off the old one to soup it up... get the timing right, etc etc.

I'd quite like to go back to that driving fun, with a bit more luxury, lol. The alternatives are currently...

2 seated Merc - SL
Old(er) Audi A3, Quattro - but they're a bit too bland for me.
And dare I say it... Mini - but it'd have to be something special.

The biggest draw for me on the C30 - I love the looks. Simple as. But I'd like some of the getting jiggy with it too.

The roads where we are, are in the main very decent. I cover about 30k miles a year through work, and cover pretty much anywhere I might like to go forra spin with the wife to say... get an iced cream, just because.

[Tannaton]

You mentioned the Merc SL - if you can find another £3k - have you seen how cheap post 2002 Merc SL500's are ?? Mini's are a hoot no doubt but I bet if you have a test drive in a good C30 T5 you'll buy it.

I just love the turbine like noise they make on full chat going up the rev range, as well as the demonic in-gear acceleration and overtaking ability.

[Funky Diver]

If I was going to up my budget unnecessarily it'd be on a Lotus Elise lol

Unfortunately £5K is max budget as decree HWMBO

[sscc22]

As a C30 owner for four years I agree with all of the positive points. However, I am desperately searching for a S40 or similar.

I have reached the end of my patience with the ridiculous boot (wanted for shopping ?) It is, in my view, a very impractical car - I would look for something different and useful : can still be a good drive.

[Funky Diver]

Fair enough. Have you found the boot to be the major sticking point for you?

It's not really going to be a consideration for us in all fairness, if any shopping is going in the boot... it'll be a pint of milk and loaf of bread the wife picks up on her way home from work.

For her : Commuting tool
For me : day off toy
For Us : XC90

That pretty much sums it up, lol.

[EJC67]

I'm on my second C30, the first was a beaut (still trying to sell the first one, but that's another story!) and the new one has been in the garage most of the 3 weeks I've had it.
This has forced me to drive my old ('58 plate) one again. This is the Ford engine I believe. Really love the look of the R Design 1.6 diesel. It's nippy, has a lovely engine noise and turns heads still.
Might even keep it if the new one's issues can't be resolved by Volvo Sweden soon!