Volvo C30 D5 - what am i missing?

[Tophatron]

Hi,

As a future replacement for my Kia Proceed 2.0 CRDi, I was looking for other torquey hatchbacks when I came across the Volvo C30 D5, which I didn't even realise they made.

This is a Focus sized car with a walloping great 5-cyl 2.4 diesel lump, producing 180bhp and 295lb-ft of torque. It does 0-60 in a claimed 7.5 seconds too, which can only mean the midrange must be on a 330d level.

This seems to be a fantastic Q-car, but is there anything I'm missing? Do the injectors go pop every 40k miles or something? Any general reliability issues? There must be a negative somewhere!

[Locke]

I was thinking exactly this the other day myself. Strange that the D4 & D5 both have the same bhp.

Edited by Locke on Monday 29th April 02:33

[blaineuk]

Great engine, I have a v50 with the same engine, think volvo have changed there badging a bit as you can now get d3/4/5, but think they are all the same.

[GingerWizard]

I dont think your missing anything, my old man has one and its a absolutly cracking car to drive. He has nearly 100k on it and it seems fine so far. Midrange poke on the motorway is pretty fun, and great for making progress on a quiet road.

[MJK 24]

Unfortunately (for me) they were only ever auto only I think.

[Jayho]

I actually think they're quite a bit smaller than the focus. 2+2 seating and smaller boot. But all in all think they're really good looking cars and been in a few d5 driven cars they are very smooth. Very nice place to be in inside too.

[Jon999]

They do a manual. Had a drive of one at Volvo and was going to buy it but it felt underpowered especially pulling onto the motorway compared to the 2.2 Mondeo I had at the time so didn't bother. I'm sure a remap would sort that out though.

[CooperS]

Jayho said:

I actually think they're quite a bit smaller than the focus. 2+2 seating and smaller boot. But all in all think they're really good looking cars and been in a few d5 driven cars they are very smooth. Very nice place to be in inside too.

Unfortunately boot is a joke. Otherwise good car

[Pablo16v]

CooperS said:

Jayho said:

I actually think they're quite a bit smaller than the focus. 2+2 seating and smaller boot. But all in all think they're really good looking cars and been in a few d5 driven cars they are very smooth. Very nice place to be in inside too.

Unfortunately boot is a joke. Otherwise good car

The boot is indeed a joke. I was given a C30 as a hire car and my suitcase only just squeezed into the boot. Nice to drive though.

[ewenm]

We had a C30 for a while and loved it. 4 proper seats (definitely NOT 5), good styling, good interior, decent to drive. We had the 2.0d which was fast enough while not being anything special. The boot is comically small although friends of ours are somehow managing with a C30 as their only car despite 2 kids under 3 years old!

Volvo changed their engines in 2010 (I think), so a pre-2010 D5 is not the same as a post-2010 D5. We've got a D4 in a V50 now which is a 177PS 2 litre.

[Tophatron]

Yeah the later cars seem to have similar power and torque, but much better emissions.

They're also a second slower to sixty, which seems odd - maybe related to the gearing?

[ewenm]

Geared for better emission-test results maybe.

I'd have another one, probably an early T5 if I could find one R-Design spec is a must-have though.

[Snowman23]

I looked at these a few years ago as a company car, overall the lack of a proper boot killed it for me

I had an auto on test for a few days, it was reasonably quick, but never felt like it had nearly 300lb ft. It was a cruiser as you would expect, with comfy seats etc, I was looking for more of a hot hatch feel at the time

[Sten J]

Nice engine.. but I'm not sure they return very diesely MPG? I think I'd go 2.0D if I needed the economy or the 2.5T petrol for fun, big fan of those. A Focus ST without the Focus ST image.