2008 Volvo C30 Consumer Reviews

Volvo strong. Fun to drive. Reliable, unique styling, great handling. Manual 6 speed is quick and responsive. Beautiful interior with very well engineered leather seats.

handles like a higher end coupe, built well and economical, 28mpg on highway, i was surprised at how smooth comfortable it rides since its a sporty coupe, lotsa space in backseats for adults, and hatch is more spacious than t looks to be.

I've had my C30 turbo 6-speed manual car for over 5 years. I have never driven another car that is such a complete joy to drive. The seats are incredibly comfortable, front and back. The manual trans is speedy and responsive. Nothing has gone wrong with the car, totally maintenance-free. It has exceeded my expectations for a small, zippy hatchback car. I've averaged 30-31 mpg over the 70,000 miles driven so far, so somewhat economical.

This vehicle was designed to cruise over 100mph. I know because when we picked it up from the factory in Sweden we took it to Germany and drove it from Keil to Munich at over 100mph and it handled like a dream at 125 to 130mph it seemed to meld with the autobahn. I've really enjoyed owning this car. It's quick, great handling, take corners like a MINI and yet you can cruise all day at 75 or 80 and be very comfortable. The seats are the standard Volvo amazing. Transmission is a smooth easy shifting 6 speed manual. The hatchback with the easy fold down back seats means you can go grocery shopping and carry all the groceries home with no problem. The R-design styling is an eye catcher and the car just looks fast sitting still.

I have owned it for about 2 weeks and have enjoyed her immensely learned to drive stick in order to get to the 6 speed manual and it is very easy. I recommend anyone drive this vehicle before making a decision on on passing this vehicle up when shopping for a sporty hatchback. To drive it is to love it.

I wasn't that into hatchbacks for the longest time, and i remember this car when it came out.. I wasn't blown away, but i took notice.. Now...? I think its the freshest approach to coupes in a long time. I've always had 2 door cars and love them, had a bmw 325ci (e46) before this and liked everything about it except the reliability.. Both cars are tremendously fun to drive.. And both are beautiful cars, but I've fallen in love with the look of specifically this hatchback. I especially love that it looks like a normal car from the front and front 1/4 views, and of course looks like a hatchback from the rest. But the C30 car is everything that the e46 BMW 3 is not. Reliable, turbo charged, and a hatchback. I will also say that there is a significant torque increase with the turbo charged T5 engine... and, even stock, the growl of the 5-cylinder is impressive.. even when you're not punching it, the sounds of a spooling turbo are always present as well.. Handles really well, very minimal creaking during hard turns, and a pretty smooth ride in all other circumstances. Excellent grip, and performance with early boost from the turbo and a responsive throttle.. Fuel consumption is somewhere between average to good, by today's standards.. And you'll need to get 91 octane fuel in order to get the full horsepower listed on the specs, otherwise you can still use 87 all the same and just take a small performance loss. Lastly, this car was made during the time Ford owned Volvo, so parts are very available and for very reasonable prices, with multiple manufacturers offering parts in almost any category. A surprising number of parts seem to work interchangeably with certain ford focus parts as well, as this car shares the chassis with a focus and some other hatchback during this time.. (forget which) and there are a vast number of performance, aftermarket bolt-on upgrades for this car, if that's your thing.. even a Polestar factory software upgrade, essentially a stage 1 tune, that doesn't change any of the car's fuel economy, or require any different parts.. but gives a 25hp increase and something like 25-50 lb/ft of torque. I like this car a lot, i'd recommend it. I read some of the reviews and thought someone who isn't super complain'y needed to chime in and keep it real.. ha

When I bought this car, I was looking for a smaller vehicle that was economical with great gas mileage but a safe vehicle. Having driven a Volvo previously, I liked the handling of the cars and safety record. I love the C30 R-Type edition! Great gas mileage. Great Handling. Everyone who sees it admires it. I rarely carry passengers which is the only downside to the car. Difficult to get into the back seat. Most of the time, I have the seats down and ample hauling area in the hatchback.

This sucker has a Polestar tune, bumping total output to a whopping 250bhp. She scoots, but she breaks once every few months. Oh and the stereo is bangin.