I’ve got to correct you on the little guy for the climate controls since I’ve seen it pop up in a few different reviews. That was actually something started by Volvo in the late 90s with the P2 generation cars (starting with the S80)! Ford took that from the P2’s and used it across its own platforms after buying Volvo out. You’ll find a lot of Volvo engineering across Ford products at the time as Volvo’s technology/engineering was a large part of the reason Ford bought them in the first place!
Fun fact! These were sold as the Ford Focus RS and ST in Europe. Lots of people think we didn’t get that RS but we did secretly 😉 there are a few changes but they’re very similar.
@@batelmo2779 If by “heavily modified” you mean they swapped out the K24 turbo for a smaller K04 turbo, then yes. The internals, engine layout, and pretty much everything else is exactly the same, so much so that there are K24 kits sold for the C30 T5’s that put it around Focus RS500 power levels.
@@jennydonne8946not based on the mk2 focus, it’s built on fords c1 chassis same as the Mazda 3 and V40 and all other P1 Volvos. All exterior and interior is volvo the suspension geometry is the only thing the share in design
Awesome review Zack! Thanks for stepping out of the box and giving this car some love! I’ve owned one of these for 5 years with a 6 Speed, R-Design package, and almost 200k Miles and I love it! I’ve got some videos of it on my channel if anyone is interested to learn more!
I have a 2012 C30 T5 - great review! However I did want to point out that the "tiniest little cubby in the world" (4:17) is actually a placeholder for cars not optioned with BLIS as that's normally where the button goes. Additionally, the interior materials hold up pretty well over regular use and hardly creak despite being plastic-y. However, my headliner failed recently, and I would honestly make that out to be the only exception.
These are underrated cars, though Volvos aren't known for long-term reliability. I'm impressed that this car has so few miles. I always thought it funny how European cars put a full phone keypad in the radio controls. The glass hatch was a callback to the P1800 shooting brake.
If I had to pick any atrribute that describes a Volvo between 1990 and 2010, it would be long term reliability. You rarely find any used V70s unter 200000 kilometers for example
These things boogie. Lots of low end power, and they getup and go. My only ONLY complaint is that they are a touch on the stiff side in handling, which is great and sporty, but on the potholes of NYC can be a bit of a headache. These are sport-tuned hatchbacks and they totally act like it. Absolutely slept-on by those who are seeking a quick, brisk, mid-performance hatch.
I was driving a modded FRS before getting a C30 daily and I wish it was stiffer and more direct lol. It's comfy, but feels a bit lumbering. Still like it a lot, though
I have a 2009 r-design 6speed with black leather and it's in galactic white/Java mix in color. I need to submit it for review more that they're becoming popular.....the 6 speed makes this car transform into a whole other level; also being PRE-facelift, it looks so much more "hot hatch" ❤ ❤ I'm at 95 thousand with an immaculate interior. I'd also like to report it does a ridiculous top-speed of 132+ mph I'm not sure how much more it had in it, maybe another 8-10 mph as it was still pulling. The Porsche rs owner I was behind found it hilarious as I have the prancing moose fender decals mocking the super great companies as did his. This is an iconic little car more people are warming up to
If someone wanted a Volvo hatchback with four doors from the era, there was the V60 (previously the V50). However, that looked more like a wagon than a hatchback.
the V50 is the wagon version of the S40, and the C30 is the hatch of this platform, there is also the C70, a coupe/ convertible , they all share the P1 platform, they are basically the same car
being European it was funny when you called the saturn astra "weird" because they were sold as the Opel astra here and were quite popular (Vauxhall if you're British)
fun fact: the C30 was the "car designed for women" from volvo, they wanted to make a car to appeal to women, easy to park, great visibility , easy to drive and cheap to fix, so they went and used the P1 platform(C30,S40,V50,C70), they shared most parts, the front ends being basically identical, also this platform is also the MK 2 ford focus (well, volvo did some magic to make it their own, mostly safer)
I used to own 2008 with a 6 speed. A fun car I eventually traded and picked up a 2013 Mazda Mazdaspeed3. Each very different but fun in their own rights.
I brought the pre-facelift model from 2009 as a brand new car then. It´s great to look at, nice sound, nice powerful engine and so on. But it was and still is very very very very very often in the garage because of some minor or major problems from the beginning until now unfortunately... great car, but i wouldn´t recommend it any more :-(
It has 5 spark plugs and 5 pistons on a crankshaft that has 5 connecting rods that align in 5 cylinders in a row…. Pretty sure the Volvo 2.5 5 cylinder is in fact, still a 5 cylinder.
@@doodleboodle4233 no shit sherlock. When referring to an engine as inline means that it is mounted in the engine bay from front to back. This engine is mounted transverse as i previously stated. By saying that it is an i line 5 is misleading to ppl who don’t know anything about cars like yourself. But thank you for your input.
Volvo designs their cars themselves, I believe. Ford just gave them platforms and funding for the cars. For example, this platform was used by the MK2 Ford Focus in Europe, and the RS even got this 5 cylinder engine.
