volvo c30 Road Test Reports and Car Reviews

Volvo C30 2.5 T5 R-Design SE Sport 2008

My C30 is a company car, and I do about 2,000 miles a month in it. Plus points: Extremely comfortable. Seats are great, very quiet at motorway speeds. Performance from the 2.5 petrol turbo engine is good, the high torque means that the engine will cope with a range of gears for any speed - it’ll pull in 6th from 35mph (try doing that in a diesel) and it has a lovely off-beat 5 cylinder warble to it when revved. Handling & grip are good without giving a hard ride.The looks are also good, especially with the R-Design kit and 18" wheels. There still aren’t many about so it does attract attention. Sound from the ’High Performance Audio’ option is excellent, and the Premium Dynaudio version is even better still. Overall build quality, inside and out is also good, which makes it a viable and more individual alternative to the default A3 choice in this area. Especially when you can get decent engines/lots of options for a similar price to a poverty spec A3 with a puny engine. Minus Points: Only 4 seats, boot is quite small. Fuel economy for this engine isn’t great - I get a 30mpg average but it will do 45mpg if you don’t mind sitting at 55mph. Dipped headlights aren’t the best, but there is a bi-xenon option. Overall. I’ll give it 5 stars as it fits my needs perfectly. Some people may score it down for practicality, but it’s not being sold on that basis and there are plenty of other cars that fulfil this need. It offers a good blend of performance and comfort - recommended!