Volvo C30 T5 Review & Ownership Experience
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- Опубліковано 5 жов 2024
- Video review on my 2007 #Volvo C30 equipped with the turbo’d 2.5L 5 cylinder (T5) that rated at 217hp with 236ft lbs of torque and pared with a 6 speed Getrag M66 manual. Later, the engine was bumped up to 227hp. As some of you know, I live in Ontario Canada and from what I’ve seen available across the province on the classifieds, this combo with the manual and turbo’d engine is quite rare. As an update, I purchased the car in November 2017 and put about 25,000km on it, this car only had just over 120,000 when I acquired it. #carreview
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Going through the background on this car, the #VolvoC30 was available through the years 2006 to 2013. This car is part of the Volvo P1 platform. Included in that platform is the Volvo S40, V50, C70 and Ford Focus, Mazda 3, and possibly some other models, this will vary between the different markets around the world. Many components or parts are the same and interchangeable between these models of the P1 platform.
The exterior styling somewhat resembles the original P1800es styling, both being a coupe hatchback, with a full glass hatch and flare out rear quarter panels. According to some sources I’ve found online, only around 200,000 C30s were made and with the drastic drop in sales towards the end of its years of production, Volvo decided to discontinue this model. Engine, transmission, and fuel types varied depending on the car and market it was available in.
For a sport compact, it is spacious in some aspects, but not others. The trunk space I find can be filled quite quickly, however you can fold down the rear seats and this can double the cargo space. Space upfront for the driver and passenger is great overall. There is plenty of legroom, headspace great, comfortable even on long trips, and all of the center console controls are easily reachable when driving. I dashboard does have a textured finish and is a soft touch. But the door panel, on the other hand, is a hard plastic and I would have like to see at least the same texture from the dash continued on the door panel. Being a Volvo, I would have expected a little more quality-wise on the interior.
From a performance standpoint, the T5 is no slouch by any means. It has a wonderful sound, even with the stock exhaust. The engine is quiet for the most part until you get into the higher rpm, but the overall cabin noise when cruising down the highway certainly isn’t as quiet as my old E39 BMW. Comparing the engine note to my old 850 T5, the C30 tends to be a little more toned down. Fuel economy is a bit of a grey area. At times it’s great when highway driving at around 110km. But as soon as you kick that speed up or if you have a heavy foot overall, the T5 gets very thirsty.
Handling is excellent, the independent rear suspension allows the driver to hug those corners. But with that being said, these cars are known for wearing tires quicker due to the negative camber, especially in the rear even with the suspension in good condition. The only way to overcome the excessive negative camber in the rear is by purchasing adjustment control arms which is an aftermarket opinion. Currently, I have 17” wheels for the winter wrapped in 225/50R17 rubber. In the summer I have the factory 18” 215/45R18.
As for maintenance wise, any repair that was done I did produce and release videos for. When I did purchase the car it had a worn CV joint due to a ripped boot, I purchased an OEM replacement as issues with the aftermarket units can be quite common from what I’ve read. Cracking coolant tanks is also an issue that I did replace as well, again an OEM unit for the quality. I experience a PCV diaphragm failure not too long ago, due to the type of system which is heated and also houses the oil filter, Volvo wants you to purchase a whole new unit and it’s not cheap by any means. I have also replaced the spark plugs, changed the oil, new serpentine belt with tensioner, engine air filter and cabin filter, just your basic maintenance. And the low beams can have a poor light output either due to the projectors being dirty or the chrome falling off the reflector.
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Thank you
I just bought a 2010 c30 t5 thank you so much
You’re very welcome and I hope you enjoy it!
Who ever disliked this video probably the mustang driver that crashes leaving a car meet. Great car man! These are hard to get
LOL. Thank you, I really appreciated the positive feedback :) Unfortunately I no longer have it. I've only ever seen a handful for sale in all of Ontario since I had the car.
I've got a 2012 C30 T5 R-design and I've had it for almost 5 years now. It has been my first and only car and I've gotta say, it's a dream. Minor issues here and there, AC compressor just went out a few weeks ago, a crack formed in the coolant tank, and my sunroof drain clogged, but otherwise, it has been a breeze to maintain. There's just a certain joy to driving a C30 that I have yet to experience in any other car, whether it be a friend's or family member's. The biggest downsides sadly remained the same with almost every single model as far as I've seen. Noise level, trunk space, and parts for maintenance. Although the last issue is to be expected with a discontinued model. But, I've clocked nearly 75,000 miles in my C30, and it still drives like the day I got it. For reference, my sister's 2016 XC60 has needed critical maintenance 3 times in the 2 years she's had it.. My C30, on the other hand, hasn't had any major mechanical or electrical failures in the 5 years I've owned it. There's something to be said for the engineering simplicity of older cars, and I think the C30 exemplifies that perfectly. Despite the age, this car is a joy to drive and I wouldn't replace it with anything available on the market today, save for the Polestar version.
Thank you so much for sharing your experience!
I have a 2011 S-40 T5 that I purchase used with 11,500 miles on it 4 years ago. I've put about 40,000 miles on it since then and the only major repair was the PCV failing which required me to replace the whole oil filter unit. Otherwise, I absolutely love that little car. It's too bad Volvo has opted to get away from manufacturing those smaller gas and diesel powered cars.
Greetings from Poland! C 30 2009, 1.6 diesel, 190 000 km as far. We've been living in Czech Republic for last four years so we travel 1000km back home at least 5 times a year. For me c30 has the most comfortable seats from all my previous cars. Even better than our 1988 Jeep Cherokee ;). DPF is a pain in the ass... But milage - 6 l/100km makes it a very affordable rig. We did had to change wheel bearings two times, front axel shafts, broken front springs, cooler core... No problems with parts here in EU. But still we love it! Lack of character - naaa! Stays with us forever ;)
Thank for your films!
Cheers!
p.s. clone of VIDE diagnostic tool is extremely useful
Thank you, I really appreciate to feedback and kind words :) I really wish we had more diesel vehicles available in Canada. Only up until recently we are getting BMW diesels, VWs are fairly limited with engine selection diesel wise, the same goes for Mercedes too. Even getting diesel at the pump, not all fuel stations have it. I've heard the DPF can be a pain with a lot of diesel cars. Would a DPF delete be possible?
@@4DIYers Yes, it is pssible to cut of dpf. But you need a real specialist with a good computer. Otherwise the car will constantly show some error codes. Of course it is illegal.
Hey, I love your C30 vids. They have helped me a lot. I have a 2008 Volvo C30 T5 (version 2.0) with the better speaker system, aluminum M66 shifter knob, same style seats but power, sports steering wheel, and I think it has the camber like you talking about. Ive has a pretty good experience with the car, but the list of things I’ve done will continue to grow. The 5 cylinder turbo is just a different beast.
Things I’ve done so far:
Cold air intake
Cabin filter
Passenger axle
New brakes (upgraded)
Turboback exhaust
New PCV housing
Timing belt and water pump
New Bridgestone Potenzas sitting on 18 inch alloy (OEM) wheels.
Most of this stuff I’ve done myself, as labor costs are just getting stupid. Most of everything suspension wise, as well as nonmotor wise has “FoMoCo” on it, so I was like well, some of this stuff can’t be too hard to find considering Volvo was part of ford during the C30s production life. Overall I love this car and I know more it to come! I dream of making it like the 2011 or 12 polestar prototype with its KKK K26 turbo, improved intercooler, awd, and 380-400 wheel horsepower with an LSD! But that’s money I don’t have, at least for the AWD part. Volvos will forever have a special place in my heart, especially the 5 cylinder ones. Cheers to Volvo owners worldwide!
Awesome to hear, thank you so much for the kind words! I really wish I had the opportunity to install exhaust on mine, love the sound of the 5cyl. Yep, there's a lot of Ford parts on these cars. But I tried to source out parts at the dealer, managed to get a European spec Focus ST vin and my local dealers weren't able to even pull up the catalogue.
How did you do a new shift knob??
I have a 2005 s40 t5 with the m66 and it is a really fun car. I have a full exhaust system and a k&n intake. It sounds pretty mean
Thank you for your vids on fixing issues w this model I'm a current owner and my pcv went hay wire and my boot needs replacement and I'm happy you made the videos. Take care
Glad to help and thank you for the feedback :)
Absolutely great video and as a 2009 r design owner, I'd have to agree with virtually all points made. Unfortunately I've had an after market axle put into the car, but it was at dealers expense so I can't complain. However I would certainly advise conservative acceleration on the cheaper axle. After one "hard" launch at about 1800 rpm I've had a noise develop. The rides what I would classify as hard, but I imagine a non-r design strut may be softer, certainly not a complaint from me as I agree, the car turns in quickly and keeps great composure through turns all while being fwd. It shares a Porsche recirculation valve on the turbo, and I find it perfectly audible and not outrageously loud, but would love to hear anyone's opinion on any aftermarket ones. Also have been searching for a way to raise my intake noise , without going to a hot air intake as I've seen many do with the ecu relocation bracket that eliminated the oem air ducting.
Thank you for the kind words and sharing your experience. I would think with a larger diameter intake and boost pipes, that would increase the intake sounds to some extent. The other option is removing your hood insulation. However I have heard that can sometimes damage the hood paint. Not entirely sure if that’s true or not.
i have a 2011 s40 t5 that i really enjoy - i have to put maintenance into it every six months, but i expect to drive it for a long time
I have uk car 1.6d has a nice punch with the torque and if you work with the gearbox sympathetically you can get it to fly well. Seats are comfy. Getting 58mpg no complaints.
Same here 58 is my average no matter how hard I drive it
Thank you for the info, I’m researching and this is the second video that mentions some of the same problems
K16 turbo upgrade is a must if you wanna track it
I have one that my mother in law bought new 2009. I really love this car. It came with the factory r design package. Also car !
I have a red 2007 2.0 Turbo Diesel 6spd manual. Like you I love the original pre facelift design. I have the much maligned floppy boot cover, which i actually think is superior as it can be rolled up and kept in the car when load lugging. Being the diesel it isnt the quickest but is swift enough and still does 50mpg after 150,000 miles. I have had problems with the transmission over the past 3 years, having had to replace the gearbox, clutch and flywheel twice 😱 The latest gearbox is from a Ford Focus (one of the advantages of being a shared platform 😉).
Thank you for sharing your experience :) Red is a very rare color here, don't think I've ever seen one in person but have seen a couple for sale within my province. I really wish we had the diesel option here too. Over the years it's become more common than compared to before, but even then there's only a handful of cars offered with that option. VW is the most common and has been for years. BMW diesels were offered in the 80s and just a few years ago they started offering it again.
Hey man i laso have the 2007 Diesel 6 speed, just bought it. May I ask if you had any issues with the shifter? Mine can sometimes go in reverse without me pressing down on it. Also 1st gear is not fully top the left and up but that might just be the way it is here
@@pirvansebastian2930 I havent had any issues with gear selection on mine and Ive had it since 2009. Once the car hit 150k miles Ive had transmissions issues ever since, but I think that may be more to do with the replacement gearboxes I have used rather than being a typical issue for C30s 😉
@@davidhall7744 and is the 1st gear like all the way up in the left and reverse only accesible by pressing down on the shifter?
@@pirvansebastian2930 yip, havent had any issues with it.
I have a '06 V50 w/150k miles (timing belt, clutch, a/c compressor, coolant reservoir, battery, alternator replacements), wifey has '12 C30 w/58k miles (rear brake caliper, a/c recharge, battery, front wheel bearing), oldest son '12 C30PLE w/65k miles (battery, a/c recharge), second son '10 V50 w/108k mi (a/c compressor, timing belt, sun roof drains, battery), third son '10 S40 w/79k mi (climate control module-warranty, battery, sun roof drains-warranty) ALL WITH MANUAL TRANSMISSIONS! Vey happy, reliable, fun, just keep up the maintenance and you will be fine. The location of the pesky cabin filer is the only aggravating feature.
Really excellent video. Well done.
Thank you!
Hey man!
Just bought an T5 Summum R-Design - Geartronic 5 speed with 230HP to replace my 2.4i C30.
I will stick with 17" OEM rims/tyres instead of the 18" I've had on my 2.4i. The 18" is way too bumpy in my opinion.
First thing will be stage 1 tune to 260HP. :D
do you have to permanently run premium now? I know the c30 can take regular stock but is a stage one enough to make it run premium only?
Great video, your explanation is very good!👍🏻
Thank you!
I have a 1.8 flexifuel and love it but i really want a t5 😬
Sharing the same platform, engine, and transmissions. All you need is
K16 Turbo
Upgraded Intake
Upgraded Exhaust
Max Summer Tires
A tune
RS Rims (Optional)
Performance Blue or Ultimate Green or Frozen White paint job (Optional)
Success, you have a US spec Ford Focus RS MK2
My sister and her husband have 1 each, a tree fell on hers in the driveway today. Just nosing around out of curiosity.
solid video! Thanks!
No problem and thank you!
do you think its worth getting one 135k miles on it?
I owned a Focus SVT for a while and it had a Getrag MT-285 transmission in a limited production car (approx. 20,000). Wouldn’t you know it, Getrag won’t service the product and Ford and a regular maintenance shop can’t do anything for you. If you’re considering one of these, make sure you confirm that Volvo can and will service a Getrag transmission; bet it’s costly.
Good to know, thank you for sharing!
I'm looking at a 2009 111,187 km C30 T5 R- Design. It has the Cam belt done 9,000km ago. Going to get our Automobile Assoc to check it out. Any advice thanks from New Zealand
You also dress like 2007 which fits
i wanna ask about something in the car. does this car have a sunglasses case at the top of the driver's seat? and does it have lights in the mirrors on the front seats? the c30 1.6 premium models have these. i am curious about does this model have these? I will be glad if you answer. thank you
I sold this car a couple years ago, but if I remember right it didn't have the sunglasses holder but did have the vanity mirror lights.
The only c30 worth it is the t5 6spd!
I just bought an 08 c30 t5 6spod yesterday lol. Such great cars
The bmw at 3:20
Yep, that's my baby. Hoping to get back to driving it this year.
idk why this made me cackle
I own one in Australia. Great car.
You selling it then?🙁
Already sold actually, had it for about 2.5yrs.
That’s a shame thanks for the videos especially the pcv diaphragm and the rear sway bar links 👍
Four vehicles was getting a bit much, especially since I don't have a garage unfortunately. Happy I could help and thank you for the feedback :) But don't worry, I'll have generic videos which can be applied to any vehicle. I do have a couple basic tutorials to finish up for this car too. I think I lost a couple too, had an issue with some of my files and lost about 10.
Have you had any issues with the timing belt?
I didn't replace the timing belt, but didn't experience any issues either.
It's an interference engine so a change every 100,000 miles is ABSOLUTELY needed. DIY is possible, though room to work is microscopic.
What's price of it's ac compressor there? I really need it.
A lot. More than 500 dollars new.
You probably do not need a new compressor. There are replaceable shims on the compressor clutch that wear and are a simple and cheap fix. $5 in parts and a few simple tools. Here is how you do it: ua-cam.com/video/p1EjB7_2jmQ/v-deo.html Here is a link to a compressor shim kit and a replacement clutch (if the clutch is worn), although I'm sure you can find them elsewhere too. www.fcpeuro.com/Volvo-parts/Compressor-Clutch
where did you get the pcv diaphragm from?
Ebay, but IPDUSA also stocks it too.
It may not be still in force, but I got it done as a factory recall item for free.
Twilight happened that's why...
LOL, a friend made a reference joke when I first bought the car.
It was my dream car when it came out and was finally able to buy one used a year ago... The first words that my wife said, "oh, that's Edward's car!“... 🤯