While looking for a premium small car with a real back seat and a hatchback and a manual transmission, I came across the C30. As an alternative to a Mini, I like the interior a lot better. I think the Mini would be a better choice for the occasional Autocross, but I am looking for something for my daily commute. If I hit the autocross, it will be just for fun and it may be once a year.
Anyone have any experience?
its no kia rondo
http://instantrimshot.com/
Adrian? I think has one, he seems to like it a lot.
It is really close to being a great car for me, but it just isn't quite good enough--It doesn’t get good enough MPG, and it is not RWD. If it could clear 35 MPG highway, or if it was RWD, I’d probably be in one. If it was about 5k cheaper, and my commute was much shorter, it would be a different story I'm sure.
mtn wrote: Adrian? I think has one, he seems to like it a lot.
He does. Prepare for a 1000 word post extolling it's virtues. 
I like them. I consider them both a successor to the P1800 and the Saab 900
Get the C30 R Design
I like them. I think there is ONE in my town and I pass it on the way home each day. .
They are also one of the few cars that looks good in yellow
I had forgotten about these. Tell me more about the usable back seat??
This isn't too bad. Keep in mind I just need room for a wee little kid and a teen, and only occasionally.
My daughter always hated my last rear seat:
(I'm kidding. That's not my daughter or my 911)
I always thought these were really neat and you don't see them around much.
We have the wagon variant of the chassis/drivetrain (an '08 V50 T5). It's been a great car. Has ~135K on it now.
The only real knock most had when new was that they were overpriced compared to what you could get for the money, but Volvo depreciation took care of that, and now these are appealing at used prices.
Fueled by Caffeine wrote: its no kia rondo
Well, sadly, no car available today equivalent to the Rondo. It is a burden that all American Citizens must bear.
Yes, it's the car I've now owned longer as a DD than any other car I've had with no intention to get rid of it.
I picked it up new in Sweden, its done 6 years and 85k miles since then. I'm now considering replacing the shocks, but that's it. All it's had in that time is one set of brakes, tires and oil changes. The seat back reclining mechanism has stripped a gear on the driver’s side now, but it’s in the correct position for me so not an issue.
The great thing about the back seat is that the wheel base is the same as the bigger S40 and V50. As the car is slightly narrower it's a 4 seater, but with great rear accommodation. I have spent literally hours at a time back there on road trips with no issues. It's much bigger inside than you would think. It carried 4 up 2,200 miles around Europe with all our luggage inside the car with no issues. You can also take a family and bikes camping with a top box and light trailer.
It's not as flat out sporty as a MazdaSpeed 3 or Mini Cooper S, but its overall ride / handling balance is excellent, especially when you have to deal with Michigan roads which are worse than some third world countries.
The T5 has massive amounts of low end torque with 90+% of its 240lb/ft being available at only 1,800rpm. I swapped cars with Tom Spangler when he had his Miata and he said it had way more torque than his old M3. There is no perceptible turbo lag either.
To top it all it's still the best looking sub $50k (new price) car built in the last 20 years (Note. My opinion only, your results may vary if you have different (read wrong) tastes compared to me)
Good job you’re looking at manuals as while I am a great defender on here of automatics, the auto on this car is plain simply dreadful, stay far far away. I am half tempted to get an upgraded ECU. 250hp and 280lb/ft are only about $800 away with total reliability, the only other thing I’d do is a stiffer rear sway bay. Mine is the V2.0 rather than the base V1.0 so it got the slightly uprated suspension, that became standard on the R design that wasn’t out when I got mine so you may want to check what suspension the one you’re looking at has. There are masses of different options available, the only think I regret is not getting leather and a sun roof, but that would have added $2k to the price. Try and get manual seats not electric as the electric seats take forever to move forward to let people in the back, I ordered manual specifically for that reason. Also with the V2.0 is an awesome BOSE stereo for you drive to work. I’m not an audiophile, but it’s the best stock system I’ve ever had in a car.
Sorry Tom, only around 500 words. I’ll try better next time 
Seriously, I pretty sure I've only seen two on the road since they were introduced. That doesn't help, does it?
bravenrace wrote: Seriously, I pretty sure I've only seen two on the road since they were introduced. That doesn't help, does it?
Funny, at Ford in the Design center there are three of us, plus another couple I see regularly and others I see occasionally. I would say I 'recognize' at least half a dozen I see around SE Mi, but yes not common, I like that. When I first got it in 08 and was still driving around on my Swedish export plates before my vanity plate arrived people would come up and tell me it was a cool car, pity you couldn't buy one here in the states. Once I was on Michigan plates people came up and asked how I imported it, they were amazed to find you could walk into a dealer and buy one here in the country. Most people still don't know what it is, they just never advertised it properly other than that silly vampire movie.
US Sales figures:
2007 2103
2008 4299
2009 4266
2010 3906
2011 3471
2012 2827
2013 1361
2014 the scraps left over 
So only a little over 20k in seven ish years
"Zero local results found. Here are some from nearby areas."
Might as well be looking for a '69 Corvette ZL-1
In reply to pinchvalve:
Its a second generation Focus(ST version at that) that we didn't get otherwise. It'll handle very well.
They are on the radar, especially since my first car was an 1800E and I used to be a real Volvo fan. They still haven't depreciated enough around here, that and I'm not looking forward to another car hunt where manual transmissions are rare. It seems like if you put yourself in that position, you always feel obliged to buy the first manual you find, or end up passing on ten good ones that are automatic.
Ugh, ebay and Autotrader both have 2 manuals each in the whole country
Adrian_Thompson wrote:bravenrace wrote: Seriously, I pretty sure I've only seen two on the road since they were introduced. That doesn't help, does it?Funny, at Ford in the Design center there are three of us, plus another couple I see regularly and others I see occasionally. I would say I 'recognize' at least half a dozen I see around SE Mi, but yes not common, I like that. When I first got it in 08 and was still driving around on my Swedish export plates before my vanity plate arrived people would come up and tell me it was a cool car, pity you couldn't buy one here in the states. Once I was on Michigan plates people came up and asked how I imported it, they were amazed to find you could walk into a dealer and buy one here in the country. Most people still don't know what it is, they just never advertised it properly other than that silly vampire movie. US Sales figures: 2007 2103 2008 4299 2009 4266 2010 3906 2011 3471 2012 2827 2013 1361 2014 the scraps left over
Your car even drew attention at the Woodward Dream Cruise when you first got it, as I recall.
Tom_Spangler wrote: Your car even drew attention at the Woodward Dream Cruise when you first got it, as I recall.
Yes, I got so many questions as to 'what', 'where' and 'how' by the end of the night when people asked where I was from I just started shouting back 'From Sveedan' in my best fake Swedish accent 
Way more attention than any modern day sports cars or exotics were getting. But it was brand new then and people had no idea, even now as an 'older' car it still gets pictures taken and compliments.
How durable is the Volvo turbo 5-cyl (forgive me for not knowing the alphanumeric designation for this engine)? Are there any trouble spots to watch out for? How easy is DIY maintenance?
These have always appealed to me as a GTI-ish sort of car, but without all the VAG drama.
One of my MINI/1800 friends bought one a few years ago. It replaced his 2003 MCS. Bullet points from him:
-better gas mileage than his R53 over the same commute
-roomier interior
-better ride
-more power
-doesn't handle as well, but he figures some minor mods could bring the C30 up to stock MINI levels
-has been more reliable than the MINI
They're a pretty big Volvo familiy. They also have a '71 1800E, a '73 1800ES and a '13 V50. Their daughter drives a 850 sedan.
quick Google search via CL turned up more than 2:
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sgv/ctd/4493306910.html http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/ram/ctd/4455744450.html http://charlotte.craigslist.org/cto/4466038018.html (salvage title) http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/hnp/cto/4476653673.html (Polestar upgrades) http://losangeles.craigslist.org/wst/ctd/4449056164.html http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/ctd/4493032861.html https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/cto/4485121192.html http://boston.craigslist.org/bmw/ctd/4473155414.html etc.
The third from last one that is on Philly Craigslist is at a dealer roughly 20 mins from where I live. Must resist!!
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