Reader Review of the Week: 2011 Volvo C30
“Jkmw” of Rockville, Md., was looking for a car that has performance, versatility, excellent safety and a reasonable price. After checking out Subaru, Mini and Audi, Jkmw decided to go with the 2011 Volvo C30 R-Design. With some 2,000 miles on his new car already, find out what Jkmw likes about the C30 and what could use some work. Once you’re done, write a review of your own vehicle here.
“My very subjective review follows: Considered Mini S, Subaru WRX, Audi A3 and Volvo C30 R-Design. The Volvo’s well rounded blend of performance, utility, safety and price with options beats out everything. Mini is just too small, and you don’t get a lot for the money excepting its quirky dash layout. Add options and you can price it thousands more than the Volvo and still not get the performance. Audi? Here again, the price just doesn’t justify its lackluster performance. Subaru WRX? Too much performance at the expense of decent comfort. GTI? Didn’t really consider the GTI and don’t know why. My Volvo/Volkswagen dealer had the two cars practically sitting next to each other, but it’s as if it just didn’t exist. … I never looked.
“After 2,000 miles, the Volvo C30 R-Desgn is flawless and does everything we want it to. Spot-on performance: R-Design provides suspension upgrades that reduce roll and increase steering response (if you intend to test drive the Volvo, you REALLY need to compare both the R-Design and non-R-design versions), real R-Like acceleration (wife wanted the six-speed manual), and it stops on a dime. So why didn’t I give it a 5 for performance? Yes, the car stops on a dime, but I’m not convinced it will do it over and over again. No, I don’t intend to race it; I just like the added engineering of larger discs and dual piston calipers. Me? I want even more power. Volvo had no problem bumping the hp of this same engine in their Real R cars to 300. I suppose for eveybody else, including my wife, I should have rated it a 5.
“Utility for two is outstanding. Getting four people into the car can be a challenge, but then again it’s a coupe and Volvo does not offer a four-door version, nor do they offer any apologies for not doing so. So if you’re looking for a small car with a little more ease of entry for four people, this could be a major hang-up. The interior is clean without a lot of add-on pieces, but what’s there has a quality fit and feel. Some aspects of the interior are unique, like the ‘waterfall’ console and the ‘carbon fiber-like’ hard parts.
“I have heard from others that the console controls appear dated, but wow do they work well. The switches, knobs and push buttons all have remarkable tactile feedback and work instantly.
“Factory- and dealer-installed options are ample enough for even those looking for ‘boy toys.’ But what I liked about the Volvo option list is that they come in ‘packages’ with one price per package. As an example, the Climate/Comfort Package adds dual climate controls, heated seats, heated mirrors and the requisite heated rear window. The one price, I think, turns out lower than adding the parts separately as with other makes. We added premium sound, nav and Sirius radio that is all operated at the steering wheel. The only thing you touch on the console is the ‘on’ button and the mode selector.
“Happy Hunting!”
