2008 Volvo C30 T5 Road Test Review

The Volvo C30 T5 has just about the most comfortable seats of any car in the Press Fleet ~ which follows a Volvo tradition that includes light clutch, direct steering, tight turning circle, great interior space utility and a space-frame chassis safety-cage that shows Volvo’s long history of concern and success with  active and passive occupant safety.

The roots of the C30 T5 go back to the Volvo 1800 ES Wagon, a car that came to the North American market in 1972 and 1973. The clean lines and all-glass tailgate made it look sporty. It didn’t hurt sales that Roger Moore drove an 1800 coupe in the very popular television program, “The Saint.” And as opposed to the 1950s stylings ~ that preceded it and the “let’s make lots of boxes, nice boring boxes” that followed it ~ the 1800 Series was stylish and attractive.

In the 1980s, following the lead provided by Saab, Volvo starting turbocharging its cars, and even went so far to post ads in 1985 stating that the Volvo Sportwagon matched the acceleration of the Lotus Esprit Turbo. This was good. Because earlier Volvos came in three speeds, slow, slower and “I just got passed by a horse.” In the last few years, Volvo has discovered something that Detroit has known for five decades ~ style sells.

The exterior of our test car was a brilliant blue with a blue and yellow Swedish Flag graphic covering the entire roof plus matching flag graphics “bursting through the metal” on each side of the C30 T5. Not one day went by that someone didn’t either give me a thumbs-up or come over and ask about the graphics.

At first glance the interior looks plain but appealing. Soft-touch plastics, industrial-grade woven cloth seats with a nice tight fit to all the pieces and good color matching. Nice touches include a seatbelt rail that is the first simple and logical approach to prevent rear passengers from having to dive under, over or around the front seatbelts. The interior has its nice touches of aluminum and black. The rear seats offer plenty of comfort, room for two, with space for a Costco run in the hatchback tail. Or, fold the rear seats and gain enough room to move a kid off to college. This simplicity has appeal to the kinds of Volvo owners the author hangs around with ~ i.e. those who think that their Volvo hasn’t been broken-in until it’s been pushed over 200,000 miles.

The 5 cylinder 2.5 liter DOHC VVT turbo-motor cranks out a smooth 227 horses at 5,000 rpm with a lovely 236 foot pounds from 1,500 to 5,000 rpm. The six-speed manual is very easy to stir when you feel like it, fun for playtime. Tossing it into fifth or sixth when piddling along in 25 or 35 mph zones became habit for two reasons - the motor has the torque, and donations to the local constabulary might otherwise have been a bit too frequent. Volvo threw the book at the C30 with every safety component they could stuff in from ABS and EBD, airbags for everyone, and anti-whiplash headrests on a list that drones on forever.

Even with 205/50/17s on nice alloy rims, with a short 104-inch wheelbase, the front-wheel drive C30 T5 was little affected by crappy conditions. Nicely weighed power rack and pinion steering and supple multi-link suspension made plowing through bumper-to-bumper city traffic, carving back-country roads or zipping down the freeway fun; the superb balance of ride, handling, acceleration (zero to 60 in 6.2 seconds) and stopping (60 to zero in 125 feet) all contributing.

The EPA rates the C30 T5 at 19 city and 28 highway. We saw just under 25 mpg on regular gas, only half-emptying the 15.9 gallon tank.

But the real surprise was the price of $23,920, which included metallic paint and the destination charge. That brings the C30 T5 in below a similarly equipped Mini Cooper S, which does marginally better on fuel but is a much smaller capacity vehicle. The Volvo even offers a 2,000 pound tow capacity.

The C30 T5 is a pleasure to drive and is one of the most enticing premium small hatchbacks on the market. If you’re the kind of person who likes to buy a small hatch every ten or fifteen years or so, then try the C30 T5 and consider splurging a little.