Volvo C30: I can't believe I'm enjoying a diesel

[drivingnirvana]

So I'm getting notorious in my circle for impulse buying cars in my area every time something weird shows and two days ago I found a one owner 2008 Volvo C30 1.6 diesel for sale half an hour from me. Having had an automatic BMW for the past 8 years and an electric Smart ForFour for commuting I had an immense itch for driving a manual again. The owner had a stack of recent receipts where she had had everything done in 2021 (timing belt, brakes, brand new Continental tires etc) and spent almost €4000 on it because her son from abroad was supposed to get a job and move here but he never got a job lol, somebody's loss became my gain!



The car is surprisingly agile (my brother has a 2012 Volvo S60 with the same engine and that car is dreadful to drive in every sense of the word). The gearbox is actually very nice. Every works, the breaks are great, the seats are truly amazing and I've had 4 people in the car and no one said it's cramped. Really clever design. The engine isn't like a Type R of course but to be honest it's still fun to mash the throttle and once you're moving you can get a nice flow. My mate couldn't outrun me in my 184 hp 4 series so I guess it's better performance than expected too. And I'm definitely pleased to see the needle barely move after I drove it relatively hard all night, this is good one!

I'm looking forward to chip tuning it (100-ish hp to 140).

Edited by drivingnirvana on Thursday 20th January 08:50

[drivingnirvana]

I used to hate how these looked but now I think they're cool somehow

[Roboticarm]

Always liked how these look, I'm a big fan of something a bit different.
The view of the back is really unique
Good choice

[drivingnirvana]

Roboticarm said:

Always liked how these look, I'm a big fan of something a bit different.
The view of the back is really unique
Good choice

Thanks! Bet they would have sold plenty more if they had marketed it as a shooting brake GT for the masses 😂

[The Bearded Tit]

Always loved the C30. I was on the hunt for one years ago before my 240 came up. This one must ride pretty well, too, with wheels that small?

[Paynewright]

Don’t they share a platform with the Ford Focus? We had a second generation Focus estate and that had a volvo washer bottle.

[cologne2792]

I love that they exist in 2.4 five cylinder diesel with 180 bhp and 300 lb/ft of torque.

It's the idea more than anything else the and low 7 seconds to 60.

It's almost like a MK2 Focus ST in weird form.

[5harp3y]

love a c30, they look great when modded

[drivingnirvana]

The Bearded Tit said:

Always loved the C30. I was on the hunt for one years ago before my 240 came up. This one must ride pretty well, too, with wheels that small?

You have a Volvo 240? You legend

Actually the reviews I had seen and read all said that the ride was a touch firm, but I don't feel like it's the case at all. My 4 series BMW can be a bit bouncy in the city (around Tram tracks etc.) and my Smart ForFour was a bit jumpy too so maybe that's why I don't feel it's firm.

The wheels are for winter, I have a summer tire set also

[drivingnirvana]

Paynewright said:

Don’t they share a platform with the Ford Focus? We had a second generation Focus estate and that had a volvo washer bottle.

I believe this this diesel engine is shared with Ford and Peugeot, but I'm not sure about anything beyond this.

[drivingnirvana]

cologne2792 said:

I love that they exist in 2.4 five cylinder diesel with 180 bhp and 300 lb/ft of torque.

It's the idea more than anything else the and low 7 seconds to 60.

It's almost like a MK2 Focus ST in weird form.

Didn't know 5 cylinders diesels exist Weirdly wonderful

[drivingnirvana]

5harp3y said:

love a c30, they look great when modded

Absolutely, they look like proper Touring race cars!

[Cambs_Stuart]

I like them too. I used to have 480 turbo and these are the spiritual successor to those.

[cologne2792]

drivingnirvana said:

cologne2792 said:

I love that they exist in 2.4 five cylinder diesel with 180 bhp and 300 lb/ft of torque.

It's the idea more than anything else the and low 7 seconds to 60.

It's almost like a MK2 Focus ST in weird form.

Didn't know 5 cylinders diesels exist Weirdly wonderful

It's very weird

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202112240...

[The Bearded Tit]

drivingnirvana said:

You have a Volvo 240? You legend

Actually the reviews I had seen and read all said that the ride was a touch firm, but I don't feel like it's the case at all. My 4 series BMW can be a bit bouncy in the city (around Tram tracks etc.) and my Smart ForFour was a bit jumpy too so maybe that's why I don't feel it's firm.

The wheels are for winter, I have a summer tire set also

Yep, I have a thread on here detailing its restoration, among other cars I have also owned.

Reviews are frankly useless. Everything is either too scratchy or low quality or too uncomfortable or not sporty enough, unless it's a Ford, BMW or Porsche, then it's completely faultless even if it's rubbish. Reviewers quite honestly have no idea what people actually want.

drivingnirvana said:

I believe this this diesel engine is shared with Ford and Peugeot, but I'm not sure about anything beyond this.

Didn't know 5 cylinders diesels exist, Weirdly wonderful

The C30, S40 and V50 all share their platform with Ford, though fairly modified to satisfy Volvo's safety standards, so they're generally heavier, much safer and a bit more solid to drive. All engines in these Volvos were also offered in the Focus except the D5;
-The 1.6, 1.8 and 2.0 petrol are bog-standard Focus Zetec engines.
-The 1.6D is Peugeot's efficient-but-fragile DV6, also used in several Fords. Personally my least favourite but if driven right and looked after can do plenty of miles.
-The 2.0D is also a Ford/Peugeot engine.
-Three Volvo engines are offered. One is the 220bhp(ish) T5, the same 2.5 litre five cylinder turbo that Ford used in the Mk2 Focus ST. The other is the 185bhp D5, a diesel variant of Volvo's five cylinder engine, which is also used in every other Volvo. The rarest is the 2.4i, which is a naturally aspirated five cylinder petrol with 170bhp. Absolute beasts are the T5 and D5.

[drivingnirvana]

The Bearded Tit said:

drivingnirvana said:

You have a Volvo 240? You legend

Actually the reviews I had seen and read all said that the ride was a touch firm, but I don't feel like it's the case at all. My 4 series BMW can be a bit bouncy in the city (around Tram tracks etc.) and my Smart ForFour was a bit jumpy too so maybe that's why I don't feel it's firm.

The wheels are for winter, I have a summer tire set also

Yep, I have a thread on here detailing its restoration, among other cars I have also owned.

Reviews are frankly useless. Everything is either too scratchy or low quality or too uncomfortable or not sporty enough, unless it's a Ford, BMW or Porsche, then it's completely faultless even if it's rubbish. Reviewers quite honestly have no idea what people actually want.

drivingnirvana said:

I believe this this diesel engine is shared with Ford and Peugeot, but I'm not sure about anything beyond this.

Didn't know 5 cylinders diesels exist, Weirdly wonderful

The C30, S40 and V50 all share their platform with Ford, though fairly modified to satisfy Volvo's safety standards, so they're generally heavier, much safer and a bit more solid to drive. All engines in these Volvos were also offered in the Focus except the D5;
-The 1.6, 1.8 and 2.0 petrol are bog-standard Focus Zetec engines.
-The 1.6D is Peugeot's efficient-but-fragile DV6, also used in several Fords. Personally my least favourite but if driven right and looked after can do plenty of miles.
-The 2.0D is also a Ford/Peugeot engine.
-Three Volvo engines are offered. One is the 220bhp(ish) T5, the same 2.5 litre five cylinder turbo that Ford used in the Mk2 Focus ST. The other is the 185bhp D5, a diesel variant of Volvo's five cylinder engine, which is also used in every other Volvo. The rarest is the 2.4i, which is a naturally aspirated five cylinder petrol with 170bhp. Absolute beasts are the T5 and D5.

Lots of great information here for a Volvo newbie, thanks mate!

Yes, I agree regarding the reviewers, one will say that the road noise is bad and the next one will call it quiet, one will tell you that it handles well and the next one will tell you it doesn't handle at all etc.

[IanOE]

I am glad that you are enjoying it.

It looks really similar to my C30 which I bought last June and I don't think that I've seen another in the same colours. I'm not sure if you know, but I think that the colour scheme is based on the C30 concept car:

[Challo]

Nice car OP.

This was my C30 which was a D5 automatic which I really enjoyed driving. The torque is excellent, and just pulls on the motorway. The only thing I didn't like was the auto box, and I think it would have been more fun in a manual format. I eventually sold it after 6months as we got a second dog, and my job become WFH full time and i just didn't need a diesel.

Its the only car i wish I hadn't sold as it was owned by an elderly driver, and in 13 years he had only done about 17k miles. It was mint inside as well.

[carinaman]

IanOE said:

I am glad that you are enjoying it.

It looks really similar to my C30 which I bought last June and I don't think that I've seen another in the same colours. I'm not sure if you know, but I think that the colour scheme is based on the C30 concept car:

I didn't know that.

I went to a view one that looked pearlescent grey rather than pearlescent white, but there was a rush hour traffic snarl up on the road to the industrial estate where the car sales place was. It looked great in the photos. I don't think I'd own a 1.6HDi engined one.

[IanOE]

carinaman said:

I didn't know that.

I went to a view one that looked pearlescent grey rather than pearlescent white, but there was a rush hour traffic snarl up on the road to the industrial estate where the car sales place was. It looked great in the photos. I don't think I'd own a 1.6HDi engined one.

It is an unusual colour, mine is the same as the OP's and it's registered as white, but it does look more grey.

Here's mine from the dealer photos: