Volvo C30: Guilty Pleasures
It may be hopeless as a hot hatch, but Chris Rees still has a soft spot for the five-cylinder C30
"What on earth are you thinking?" quizzed one. Work colleagues told her she'd be bored to tears by a Volvo, and our PH-minded friends sniggered and shook their heads in pity. And I began to feel bad about it, because I'd actually suggested the Volvo in the first place.
But hang on, we're not talking a V70 here. She bought a C30. Still not convinced? I'm not surprised. Few people are.
Drivers not required
But there's always the T5 version, isn't there? You know, the performance model with the Focus ST's five-cylinder engine, which kicks out 220hp-230hp depending on the year.
Almost everyone dismisses it, though, as being way off the hot hatch pace - and I do concede, they're probably right. Considering that it was based on the Ford Focus platform, and has an all but identical ST engine, it ought to have been something special. The T5's claimed 0-62mph time was actually 0.1 second quicker than the Focus ST (6.7 secs versus 6.8).
But Volvo's chassis engineers (who were ham-fistedly making everything as safe, and as boring, as possible at the time) really did cock things up. The suspension has settings as soggy as a trifle, leaving the C30 T5 to wallow and understeer around corners, made all the worse by over-assisted steering.
Polestar position
I recall driving the 250hp C30 Polestar and being quite taken aback by its bucking bronco nature. Not since the Fiat Abarth 130TC had I experienced so much torque steer in a car - with the possible exception of another icon, the 480ES Turbo. The chassis was completely overwhelmed by the torque. In fact, the mid-range pull was so strong that, on a wet road, the traction control light pretty much never stopped flashing.
But you know what? I had fantastic fun. It made the car - and me - feel alive. Knowing that a 'moment' might be coming up on virtually any corner if you hoofed the throttle really kept you on your toes. Pretty much every warm/hot hatch these days has some form of cornering brake control and a cleverer-than-thou diff - and as a result you never truly feel what the car's doing under you. The C30 T5 turns the clock back to a different era, when front-wheel drive cars very definitely had upper limits to the amount of power that could be fed through the front wheels. The C30 T5 exceeded them - with highly entertaining results.
Innocent pricing
According to my local Volvo dealer, you can still order a Polestar upgrade for the T5 (and indeed D5), priced at £830. Other similar remaps are available for less, but just for the cool of having that blue badge on the back, I reckon it's worth it.
Faulty but fab
Yes, I'm the first to concede that the C30 has a full quiver of faults. The rear seats are only accessible by Beth Tweddle. The all-glass tailgate is the smallest in the entire history of hatchbacks. And I've seen handbags with a more generous carrying capacity than the C30's boot.
It's very much a case of style over substance. But what style. Every time I see a C30 on the road, I think 'doesn't that look cool'? And every time I sit in ours, I admire the understated quality of its dashboard and - yes - that floating centre console.
Why Volvo never directly replaced the C30 after axing it in 2012, I'll never know. What could possibly replace the C30 in our garage? If you don't like Minis (and 'er indoors certainly doesn't), there's pretty much nowt out there with the cool vibe and charm that the C30 exudes. It's a genuine pleasure and, if truth be told, I don't actually feel guilty about it at all.
I think of them a bit like the 147 GTA- a hot hatch for people who want to be different for no other reason that for the sake of being different. And y'know what, that's fine.
They were a bit out of budget at the point when I test drove one but they now represent really good value. That 400+bhp Polestar one is IMO the best looking modern hot-hatch made (or not really made, in this case).
So I've just sold mine after nearly 3 years of usage.
I was under the impression the Focus ST used the Volvo engine not the other way round?
Anyway, it was very comfortable, very reliable, quick-ish, sounded lovely and was/is left-field enough for me. Hatch glass was odd, but I had no issues getting two bikes in there, when seats folded.
2 rear seats only was different and sufficient.
Stylish and classy clutter fre dash with 'floating' console appealed whilst others just called it bland.
Not overly economical though....
So not something to get excited about, but there as a certian somthing about it's chunky nose down, arse up stance and Swedish design that keepsit memorable. The fact you rarely see them I think helps alot too...makes A3s/Golfs/Focii and Astra just seem common (if not entirely more fun to drive)
He was looking at a diesel C30 or a Saab 9-3 diesel - as Saab had gone to the wall, I recommended the Volvo. He also wanted a Saab convertible - you can't have a diesel convertible, it's just wrong!
The boot is hopeless! He can't even fit a bike through the hatch & the load cover is so useless he uses a black blanket instead.
But the interior is a nice place to be with the leather & floating centre console.
Not a perfect car by any stretch of the imagination but it's a nice car & a bit left field - the world would be a poorer place without the option.
I'm informed the UK was the only country that bought them in any numbers.
So I've just sold mine after nearly 3 years of usage.
I was under the impression the Focus ST used the Volvo engine not the other way round?
Anyway, it was very comfortable, very reliable, quick-ish, sounded lovely and was/is left-field enough for me. Hatch glass was odd, but I had no issues getting two bikes in there, when seats folded.
2 rear seats only was different and sufficient.
Stylish and classy clutter fre dash with 'floating' console appealed whilst others just called it bland.
Not overly economical though....
So not something to get excited about, but there as a certian somthing about it's chunky nose down, arse up stance and Swedish design that keepsit memorable. The fact you rarely see them I think helps alot too...makes A3s/Golfs/Focii and Astra just seem common (if not entirely more fun to drive)
The ECUs are different enough that you need different bluefins.
The quality of the Volvo is a bit thin (our family hack is a diesel V50) - not necessarily poor but it simply doesn't have that mass to it that Volvo's once had and German cars still do.
I think they look good generally and very good particularly a white R design guise.
Had an S40 with the same engine, that was a great sleeper (Some would say dull...) and was a million times more practical!
Now I have a V70 D5 for work, the Mrs has a V70 D5, my father has a V70 T5 and I also have a 245 SE with a 2.3 redblock turbo conversion!
Didnt the new V40 replace the C30?
I got my other half's and my MTB in there, by takinbg front wheel off each.
Never used the (useless)parcel shelf, much nicer to leave that off and see more of the rear window between the rear seats.
Also bar the the old man's red C30, they're all white, silver or dark metallics - I've never seen a Polestar Blue one in the flesh
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