News: Volvo ending production of C30 in December

It is about style indeed. It's not meant to be a track car. A fellow member on Volvospeed just purchased one (as well as a couple of other members, one even went the OSD route and went to Sweden to choose his brand new Polestar Blue C30). Here are shots of this one:

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You can't say that it's a bad looking car. It's also unique. The interior is simplistic and stylish at the same time.
 
Form over function :p
 
Not to mention that the back seat is incredibly difficult to get into (again...way harder than my car's) and the controls on the side of the seat are super hard to get to with the door closed...

I also didn't get a "quality" impression from the leather (almost sorta felt like cardboard "leather") , and as "funky" as the exterior is, it NEEDED a bespoke interior. A copy-and-paste from the S40 didn't do the exterior styling justice. So, its form wasn't as good as it could have been to make up for the lack of function.
 
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NecroJoe said:
Not to mention that the back seat is incredibly difficult to get into (again...way harder than my car's) and the controls on the side of the seat are super hard to get to with the door closed...

I also didn't get a "quality" impression from the leather (almost sorta felt like cardboard "leather") , and as "funky" as the exterior is, it NEEDED a bespoke interior. A copy-and-paste from the S40 didn't do the exterior styling justice. So, its form wasn't as good as it could have been to make up for the lack of function.
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I actually disagree on the last bit. I'm soooo over fucking crazy ass interiors just for the sake of being crazy: see Nissan Juke, Sonata, Chevy Sonic, etc. The S40/C30 interior is classy and refreshing in it's simplicity and style.

I like the new Passat's interior for the same reason. The simplicity and restraint used in the design elevates it above other models it competes with (New Accord, previously mentioned sonata, etc.)

Also, i'm single and will likely only use rear seats in a pinch..who needs or expects easy to access rear seats in a two door?

/needs to start saving pennies now!
 
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_HighVoltage_ said:
You can't say that it's a bad looking car. It's also unique. The interior is simplistic and stylish at the same time.
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I have to disagree with the interior. I know its already a couple years old, but it looks incredibly dated and boring.

It does make sense that they are stopping production though. Since the biggest quality of the car is its style, it would make sense that after a few years the cool-ness of the new styling is fading along with the cars popularity.
 
I just came back from test driving a 2008 C30 T5 R-Design, GT (geartronic-automatic).
1. I love the way it looks
...
...
that's about it.
Here is the thing - I already have a luxurious, relatively fast Volvo. The seats are great...but so are the ones in my car. Interior space is cramped - plenty of room for the driver, but the rear seats are a joke. Rear visibility is not great either. Especially compared to the S70. Steering is a little numb - I can see why non-enthusiasts like it, it does not transmit any bumps from the road. In my S70 you can feel everything through the steering wheel.

It's heavy, and combined with the automatic gearbox it feels slow. It pulls strong in gears, but gear changes take a good 1-2 seconds (not miliseconds...full seconds!). The shifter is also positioned badly and feels uncomfortable if you decide to manually change up/down all the time. My old T5 with the manual is noticeably faster.

It really is a car for an individual who may have a girlfriend. It's definitely not a family car. And with the auto gearbox, it's not fun either.
 
p0w3r said:
hah in new york, I dont know anyone with somewhat wealthy parents get a used bmw. Most girls get a brand new C-Class/328i/A4 while alot of the boys get a 335i/G37; also brand new. Don't even get me started with the 20 year olds I know with brand new M3s, C63s, and Porsche Cayennes.

.
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It's just like that down here, in fact, the people responsible for that down here are probably from New York.
 
_HighVoltage_ said:
I just came back from test driving a 2008 C30 T5 R-Design, GT (geartronic-automatic).
1. I love the way it looks
...
...
that's about it.
Here is the thing - I already have a luxurious, relatively fast Volvo. The seats are great...but so are the ones in my car. Interior space is cramped - plenty of room for the driver, but the rear seats are a joke. Rear visibility is not great either. Especially compared to the S70. Steering is a little numb - I can see why non-enthusiasts like it, it does not transmit any bumps from the road. In my S70 you can feel everything through the steering wheel.

It's heavy, and combined with the automatic gearbox it feels slow. It pulls strong in gears, but gear changes take a good 1-2 seconds (not miliseconds...full seconds!). The shifter is also positioned badly and feels uncomfortable if you decide to manually change up/down all the time. My old T5 with the manual is noticeably faster.

It really is a car for an individual who may have a girlfriend. It's definitely not a family car. And with the auto gearbox, it's not fun either.
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Since I'm the kind of guy who would drive a Transit Connect Wagon for fun, I could live with that. :p
 
Sorry for bumping this, but I stumbled upon this review:


I think it sums up well why the C30 didn't sell and got canceled. It failed to do anything really well.
 
True, I drove an example the other day (not the most exciting one, the 1.6 diesel so I won't comment on performance) and it is a nice car, but not something really worth remembering. The interior is not bad, but the central console looks a bit dated now. The driving experience was quite good. Very stable like all Volvo's, but the steering feel didn't suffer because of that. It meant the ride wasn't the softest I have ever encountered though.

Most importantly, it is not practical, which is not at all Volvo-ish. In the Netherlands, it didn't do that badly though (but then, all Volvo's do well here, the new V40 is a big hit and in the top 5 in the monthly sales rankings).
 
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