2009 Volvo C30 consumer reviews

I have owned a 2009 Volvo C30 T5 R Design since new. The car handles great, is comfortable and has a lot of power from the 5 cylinder turbo engine at 238 hp. I average about 28 MPG on mostly highway miles.

Bought car with 54k , and drives as though it had under 10k on it. No rattles-tight as a drum. Great power and torque. Feels like more than 230h.p. I live in the mountains and the Volvo handles the curves with ease! Best of all-styling. What a head turner. Have gotten more complements on it. Probably the best quality car I have owned!

Everything works well, very nice transmission and clutch, fuel mileage is 25 to 30, very nimble and quick. I have driven my '09 for 15,000 miles with no problems and a lot of pleasure.

We purchased a C30 that a dealer had owned for 1 year. Before purchasing it we considered other European entry-level luxury autos: A3, BMW 1 series, etc. Were coming from a 2005 Volvo V70. Couldn't be happier with the car. Generally get around 25mpg, with almost 30 on highways. It's amazing how much we can fit in it, but it is still small enough to suit our tiny garage and parallel parking. Plus easy to maneuver. Tons of fun to drive but comfortable to ride in as well. Nice work, Volvo!

This car is great! Good looks and great performance. Mileage is dead acurate. If you are conservative and drive mostly highway, you will achieve 29 mpg. If you want to have some fun and drive around town a lot, you will get 22 or less. That's just how it is. This machine has a turbo. So all of you complaining about getting poor gas mileage, take your lead foot off the pedal. More power uses more gas. Deal. Best thing about this car is that they only produce so many for the united states. That means you don't see this car very often on the road. I drove this car over a thousand miles in less than a week. Get this car!

I purchased this car new in July of 2009. I currently have just over 20,000 miles on the car. The only problem I had with the car is a bent rim - last winter's storms left many potholes and I slammed in to a few of them. The engine is so quiet and smooth that I find myself forgetting to shift (I have the 6 speed manual). The 5 cyl turbo has tons of torgue from low to high rpms. Get this car on the highway, put it in 3rd gear and it screams. I am averaging 24mpg right now. My commute to work is 30 miles and it takes well over an hour, so I would not call this mixed driving. The best mpg I the car got was 29 and that was on an all highway trip averaging 80 mph. I looked at the GTI, the Mazda 3 and numerous other cars. I was after performance and mpg. The Volvo was the most confortable (I am 6'-4") for me and the best fit. I just wish the engine roared a bit more.

OK, my experiences have been driving 2 C30s as loaners those times that my V70 was in for repairs, but all in all I have very mixed feelings because the C30 seems to be two contradictory vehicles in one. The front half is ALL VOLVO - extremely comfortable seats, large controls, a super sound system, and wrapped in all of the safety features that define the Volvo legend. The two I drove had automatic gearboxes (not my preference) but except for a slight lag when first touching the accelerator they were proverbial pocket rockets that could keep up with just about anything else on the road. Unfortunately my impression of the back half of the car just about negates all the great stuff going on from the front seats forward. Volvo's designers have finally succumbed to the "I'm just so cool I can't stand myself" mindset that's spread throughout the industry. The rear of the car is so heavily tapered that it looks almost like an afterthought. The rear cabin walls are set in a good 8 inches from the lower body and the roofline slopes downward, resulting in a cramped, claustrophobic rear that may be useful only for small children, or maybe medium-sized dogs. The angle of the rear hunchback ... I mean hatchback ... is steep enough to lop a good third off what would otherwise be a reasonable cargo area. And in what I consider to be the most serious deficiency for a supposedly safety-conscious Volvo, the driver's view out of that otherwise wonderful large rear glass is cut in half by intrusions from the rear pillars and head restraints. Volvo made a name for itself by not giving in to fashion trends if it compromised the car. With the C30 it unfortunately looks like they've started to drift.

I just bought a 2009 C30 after considering the Mini and GTI. The C30 is a much more elegant car and performance is great. It has a very solid, quiet ride. I haven't put enough miles on to calculate the MPG yet, but it does seem to suck down gas (guestimate is < 20 MPG in mixed driving). The Smiles Per Gallon factor is very high however. There is a blind spot from the door pillar that takes some getting used to. All in all, I am very happy with this car.

Why is Volvo hiding this beauty? Engine is a screamer with the 6spd manual; very nimble - handles like a sports car; solid & smooth ride on the highway with low noise; averaging over 26 mpg in mixed use; comfortable but utilitarian interior; great instrument panel and ergonomics; and the styling is definitely not your standard 4-door blah blah blah. Needs a 4 or 6 CD changer without going totally high end, and lose the $300 customization fee, otherwise this is a real little beauty. Barents Blue is very sophisticated!

I had a 2008 C-30 and the overall MPG was 15-16. Volvo said their computer showed nothing wrong and would do nothing. My campaign to get another car was fruitful after I put signs on the car stating "MY VOLVO C-30 GETS POOR MILEAGE". They gave me a 2009 C-30. The MPG is 17-18 mixed driving , not much better. Volvo boasts about the the fuel economy in this car. I like the car, but there is no way this model gets good mileage