Where did these come from?

Got passed by one on the highway, looks pretty cool.

200+ hp turbo 5, 6 speed stick. Only rated for like 30mpg highway and 15s 1/4 but the price looks like low 20's.

Guess I'll have to start watching the new car review stuff for these.

Are they AWD or FWD?

FWD. I was all excited about them when I first saw them coming out because thought it would be RWD

those are FWD, and they come from Gothenburg Sweden!

I think they are gorgeous, and I quite want one.

P1800 styling is timeless.

Jack

Nice Focus.

Very nice looking, too bad it's not RWD...also too bad they ditched the see-through triangulated A-pillars because they gave the illusion of being unsafe.

I have the S40, and love it. Far as I can tell, the C30 is just a trimmer version, and that's allright by me.

If it's like the S40, it's actually made in Belgium.

my biggest complaint about the c30 is that the rear hatch is tiny compared to most hatchbacks. It looks like the rear end would really hold up though in a rear end collision compared to some other hatches. They also have a funky dash.

meh, overpriced mazda 3

Nah, it's got a very different feel. I cross-shopped the 3 when I bought my S40. The 3 is very nice, but I liked the S40 better. Prices aren't that far off, either. At least around me, Volvo dealers don't know what to do with a manual transmission and are willing to make a deal.

I sat in one at the Seattle car show a while ago, but I didn't like it that much. The rear hatch is ridiculously small. You might not be able to tell from the pictures, but you could hardly fit a small suitcase in there. Maybe not even your groceries. Plus the dash was weird looking and really cheep feeling. They do look kinda cool though.

I haven't driven a new ANYTHING in years, so I have no direct experience with the C30 or S40. However, most car mags, certainly the European ones, don't give the C30 that great of a review.

From the British mag CAR:

"It's the only car here that you pull up a chair and stare at for a long, long time. Sadly, staring at it is more rewarding than driving it. There's a Focus ST engine and platform underneath the C30 T5, but not the ST we know and love. Tuned for comfort, the Volvo's steering, ride, grip, handling, and performance simply don't entertain. The C30 just performs competently. Proficiently."

Admittedly, this is the TOP of the C30 range tested against several of Europe's "hot hatches". One of the cars it was tested against was a the more expensive R32 Golf...which CAR preferred.

One of my favorite cars I've driven in recent years was a 2006 (around there) Volvo S40 T5. Six-speed manual, nice engine, and an interior that makes you happy when you touch stuff, like the dash. It is my cousin's. We used to switch cars for the day or weekend and that's what I got.

Two complaints: 1.) it took me 20 minutes to find the fuel door release; and 2.) the turbo charger seems to be regulated so that, by the time you reach max RPM, you are making no boost -- there is no progressive buildup of hp as you move to the redline.

I want to drive this new little oddity though.

This was the car I was waiting for when I leased my Jetta in Dec of 06. I wish I could have waited out the C30's arrival but I couldn't. They have been marketed horribly if at all. I haven't seen a single ad in print or on TV for them, and only one mainstream car mag review that was pretty positive. I've seen two on the road since they came out, and one had dealer plates, so it really doesn't count.

I saw them at the 06 Chicago Auto Show and loved it, although the hatch isn't the only small part about it, the cabin is cozy, too. Nonetheless, I was digging it and I love the lines. We'll see how they fare on the used car scene, my lease is up in April of 2010.

John Brown wrote: Nice Focus.

hahahaha!!