Discussion
Some may have seen my 'what car' thread.... MCS, Focus RS, R26, VXR, Gti.....in the end the car I targeted was a C30...a Volvo....quite the weirdest feeling after having read epic write ups on Mk1 Focus RS's and the R26, and firsthand knowledge of how good the MCS is....being a Porsche fan since I was 6...blah blah blah...
But I was after a mature, 4 seater, with pace, refinement, safety, a hint of economy, something attractive inside and out, and rare would be good.
I'd sold my 21 year old Mk2 CRX vtec for £2600 on Monday night, and found out a few hours previously that a cracking C30T5 had just been sold.....that left just one in budget in the UK. I live in Guildford, this was in Preston 200 miles away....they wanted £8k I had £7.5. We made a verbal agreement over the phone, and I went to see it on Friday, £82 worth of train fair
I had emailed the dealer to be nice to me and allow me some fuel to get started off back home.....I watched as he put in £6 worth.....thanks...:roll eyes:
The car thankfully was and is in great condition the 288 mile journey down to Bournemouth was a great cruise, and after the hectic raw, noisy and sometimes nervy drives I had had in the Honda, this was serene, effortless and extremely different.
So the negatives 2 days after picking her up?
My old Honda did 40mpg, this is doing 36...
The alloys need a refurb
It doesn't have the high end stereo option
there is no sunroof
It needs car mats
It needs a good clean inside and out
It feels heavy (but then most things would after the Honda....) initial handling confirms this though
I can hardly hear the engine...
The positives?
The looks are great and growing on me more and more as I take in different views and details
The interior has some nasty plastics but the grain and colouring means they sort of disappear amongst the general smooth and easy Swedish design philosophy. I just know I won't tire of being sat in the driver's seat, the dials, centre console, graphics and illumination are all top notch.
It feels to me like a big Mini...hewn from something solid rather than bolted together.
The performance and how to get the best of it will take some learning, but the smiles are coming, initially it felt inert, but I'm warming up.
I haven't seen another
Every mate I've shown her to, be they single and petrolheads or family men with preconceived ideas about car brands have all nodded approvingly....none had guessed what I had bought...despite playing lengthy guessing games...
It's ticking all the boxes on my brief, and it was a last minute idea, for literally weeks it was Focus , Astra, Megane, Mini, scouring the sites for the one....and at the 11th hour up pops this 220bhp, 6.5 second to 60, 149mph 4 seater with plenty of individual flair.
Early days but I'm chuffed to bits.
I'm off to join the C30 website ot learn what upgrades ad improvements I can make, and what issues to try and avoid.
But I was after a mature, 4 seater, with pace, refinement, safety, a hint of economy, something attractive inside and out, and rare would be good.
I'd sold my 21 year old Mk2 CRX vtec for £2600 on Monday night, and found out a few hours previously that a cracking C30T5 had just been sold.....that left just one in budget in the UK. I live in Guildford, this was in Preston 200 miles away....they wanted £8k I had £7.5. We made a verbal agreement over the phone, and I went to see it on Friday, £82 worth of train fair
I had emailed the dealer to be nice to me and allow me some fuel to get started off back home.....I watched as he put in £6 worth.....thanks...:roll eyes:The car thankfully was and is in great condition the 288 mile journey down to Bournemouth was a great cruise, and after the hectic raw, noisy and sometimes nervy drives I had had in the Honda, this was serene, effortless and extremely different.
So the negatives 2 days after picking her up?
My old Honda did 40mpg, this is doing 36...
The alloys need a refurb
It doesn't have the high end stereo option
there is no sunroof
It needs car mats
It needs a good clean inside and out
It feels heavy (but then most things would after the Honda....) initial handling confirms this though
I can hardly hear the engine...
The positives?
The looks are great and growing on me more and more as I take in different views and details
The interior has some nasty plastics but the grain and colouring means they sort of disappear amongst the general smooth and easy Swedish design philosophy. I just know I won't tire of being sat in the driver's seat, the dials, centre console, graphics and illumination are all top notch.
It feels to me like a big Mini...hewn from something solid rather than bolted together.
The performance and how to get the best of it will take some learning, but the smiles are coming, initially it felt inert, but I'm warming up.
I haven't seen another
Every mate I've shown her to, be they single and petrolheads or family men with preconceived ideas about car brands have all nodded approvingly....none had guessed what I had bought...despite playing lengthy guessing games...
It's ticking all the boxes on my brief, and it was a last minute idea, for literally weeks it was Focus , Astra, Megane, Mini, scouring the sites for the one....and at the 11th hour up pops this 220bhp, 6.5 second to 60, 149mph 4 seater with plenty of individual flair.
Early days but I'm chuffed to bits.
I'm off to join the C30 website ot learn what upgrades ad improvements I can make, and what issues to try and avoid.
You're lucking you're getting 36mpg. My T5 does about 30 on a run if i'm lucky 
Ooooo, I've driven that car! Friend of friend owned it and wanted it to have a good paint correction session. I may or may not have driven it hard.....very hard. 
Tell me, what sort of condition is the paint in swirl wise nowadays? Wasn't a mark on it by the time I was finished with it.
Tell me, what sort of condition is the paint in swirl wise nowadays? Wasn't a mark on it by the time I was finished with it.
NateWM said:
Ooooo, I've driven that car! Friend of friend owned it and wanted it to have a good paint correction session. I may or may not have driven it hard.....very hard.
Tell me, what sort of condition is the paint in swirl wise nowadays? Wasn't a mark on it by the time I was finished with it.
Paintwork from what I can tell is in very fine condition, I'm intending on some clay bar/polish/wax fun on Monday....as for your experiences with 'my' car....don't tell me anything else, please...just let me keep my sense of security in terms of her condition and stuff...please.....Tell me, what sort of condition is the paint in swirl wise nowadays? Wasn't a mark on it by the time I was finished with it.
Agoogy said:
Paintwork from what I can tell is in very fine condition, I'm intending on some clay bar/polish/wax fun on Monday....as for your experiences with 'my' car....don't tell me anything else, please...just let me keep my sense of security in terms of her condition and stuff...please.....
Sounda like the paint has been looked after then. Good to see my hard work hasn't gone to waste!As for my "hoon" in your Ovlov, I have mechanical sympathy so it was by no means abusive. Just plenty of tyre screeching and fast cornering. Gave my ST220 a good run for it's money upto very silly figures.
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff