2011 Volvo C30 consumer reviews

I tried several before settling on the C30, Honda SI, Mini, Subaru WRX. No comparison. The best value in automobiles if one is in the market for a cheap, fun to drive rocket.

My 2011 C 30 is a really good little car, but it needs some help. The good points: great seats, good seating position, well designed instrument panel, very good handling, mostly good visibility. Suspension is compliant and direct, damping out most road imperfections while keeping the car well planted. NO torque steer! The brakes are just OK. Too much pedal travel makes them touchy to modulate but they grab well. The not-so-good points: Needs a sixth gear and wider dead pedal. Weird electronics. The climate control won't turn off by pushing the button. Not good at highways speeds. I use the instant mileage message to modulate the throttle to improve economy (I'm getting 25.6 mpg. at the moment) but there are maddening inconsistencies: driving range after fill-ups runs from 415 to 365 miles on the same amount of fuel. The number rises or drops quite a bit after short jaunts. MPG numbers are not reliable, either. I can drive highway miles for days without seeing improvement (it takes three days to rise a tenth) but then drops a couple tenths in a few short blocks. Then it takes days to recoup the losses. That said, I'm getting good economy from such a heavy (4,300 pounds!) car but I have to sacrifice a lot of driving fun to not feed OPEC.

I like the styling of my new (well, new since Nov. 10) Volvo C-30, and its comfort. Like driving on silk (most of the time). Salesman told me that the tires had hydrogen therein (?) but turns out that was specious. It is a smooth ride, in any event. I was promised (think Conumer Rpt my source) 26 mpg and never ever got that, so far (more like 23.5); only criticism re the body (besides the fact that moving the front seat for someone to clamber in the back seat isn't a lark) is the concave lump on the floorboard, to the left of the clutch pedal. Gets in the way. Esp if the diver has big feet; I wear size 8 sandals and sometimes that lump gets in the way of my left foot (I have a 6 speed shift car). Glad I bought it; like the long warranty; also like that there aren't very many cars like mine in the neighborhood! So far so good. marie

Purchased my 2011 Volvo C30 in March. I had done extensive research on various small sporty vehicles and found this one for a very good price at a Volvo dealership in Ft Worth Texas. The 5 cylinder turbo with 6 speed manual is a blast to drive. It corners very well and accelerates very quickly even in 6th. The interior leg room is limited, I'm 5'11 and with the seat all the way back long road trips get uncomfortable. The MPG is decent at around 30 highway and 26 city. Interior styling is fair to good but the Volvo engineering and safety features more than compensates. With over 10,000 miles already, I will be looking for this model again in 2016 and I hope with some improvements to comfort.

I have been looking at the Volvo C30 for the past three or four years, but had decided against it because I could not find one equipped the way I wanted. However, the 2011 model made it possible to get what I wanted. I chose the T5 with a six speed manual transmission, 17" wheels and leather power seats. The power leather seats are be more comfortable than the manual fabric seats, provide for more seating options and wrap around you better than the fabric seats. The car takes two months from date of order to delivery. It is quick, comfortable and fun to drive. Although it is not a sports car, the transmission is sporty. It shifts smoothly and quickly. The shifter is tight. There is not a lot of space between second and fourth or third and fifth gears. Thus, it may take some time for those who have not driven manual transmissions very much to get used to, especially when downshifting to fourth and not hitting second or third and not hitting fifth. The lines of the car are very well executed and it draws looks whenever I am driving it or when someone passes it when it is parked. Although it is not a P1800, it sure seems like one when seated in it. The interior feels much larger than it is. There are plenty of seat pockets, console trays and armrest, door panel and dash compartments that provide plenty of space to store travel necessities. Entrances into and exists out of the C30 are easy and aided by large doors that swing wide. The solid nature of the car is felt when you open and close these doors. When they close, they sound the way a solid car door should sound. The two rear seats accommodate two adults comfortably with the front seats pushed back. The power buttons located on top of the seat backs make it easy to move the two front seats forward and backward for entering and exiting the rear seats. The car's ride is very stable and quite when driven on the highway. It is easy to talk to everyone in the car without having to raise your voice. The C30 handles cross winds and turbulance caused by large trucks like a much larger car. There also is no need to downshift from sixth gear when wanting to pass on a straight road or a hill. This car still has a lot of punch in sixth gear when you want to go facter than 70 mph. The audio, ventilation and information systems are easy to read and operate and the performance of all is excellent. The heated seats and heating system work quickly. I read in previous reviews complaints about the rear window opening. I have found no problems nor have any complaints about it. I did not expect it to function as a hatchback does. It is a nice design feature and it works well for what I want to carry in the car. I have only two complaints about the car, which is very few for someone as picky as I am about new cars. I wish the dual exhaust was not so tame sounding and I wish the car handled curves better. It feels light when moving quickly through tight turns. However, once through a turn, it stabilizes quickly when accelerated. Overall, I recommend this car for those looking for a fun and sporty car that provides outstanding safety and good value for the money.

Up here in the Northeast Volvo's are very popular on the roads, but not so much this model; the C30. Im not sure why. I was actually cross shopping different vehicles when I came across one for sale on a dealer lot. It's sharp, tidy and clean lines give this little two door hatch a solid and sporty stance. Once I looked into more info on the trim levels, I decided on the 2011 R-Design. This has standard leather, body color lower body kit (lesser versions have black plastic) special interior trim, 18 inch wheels up from the standard 17 as well as a lowered and stiffer 'sport' suspension. Amazingly hushed compared to my prior car a 2004 Acura RSX Type-S. Ive only owned the car nearly a month and for the first week, I really missed driving the Acura's direct and informative steering and gear box, but the Volvo has come into its own with understated luxury and passing power from the turbo 5 cylinder that my Acura couldnt touch unless you redlined it. The lighter and quick steering took a while to adjust to, and now i just point it and stomp on the gas. My mostly highway commute has turned in a 25 mpg average, which I think is good given the good power turned out by the turbo. For me its a more unique option that the dime a dozen Volkswagen GTIs and Subaru WRX's cannot match. Together with Volvo's 5 year/60,000 complementary factory scheduled service (including all wear and tear items that need replacing except for tires) , roadside assistance, and warranty pretty much sealed the deal on signing off on this deal. Its a very good car that turns heads, though a little on the pricy side. In time, I expect the quality of the car to pay for itself.

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 alot 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 lack lustor 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 2000 miles, the Volvo C30 R-Desgn is flawless and does everything we want it to. Spot-on perormance: 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 6 spd 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 4 people into the car can be a challange but then it's a coupe and Volvo does not offer a 4 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 4 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 pushbuttons all have remarkable tactile feedback and work instantly. Factory and dealer installed options are ample enough for even the 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 requisit 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!

I drove all the minis save and except the Cooper Works model, and was negotiating the price when I saw this car from the freeway one day and stopped to test it. I drove the R model and the T5 and decided on a 6 sp T5. 2 months and 5000 miles later, I am convinced I mada the right decision. The only car I wanted to drive but was unavailable was the Subaru turbo. Very comfortable and fast and a real highway cruiser.