Volvo C30 2.0 Review: On four now

Volvo C30 2.0 Review: On four now

Everyone knows the svelte 3-door hatch from Volvo. And we all know why it didn't really make it big here - an engine capacity that's too big for our audience. Now with a 2.0-litre engine mated to Volvo's twin-clutch Powershift, can it shift (no pun intended) sales here?

OneShift Editorial Team
OneShift Editorial Team
02 May 2009
What we like:
pros
Retains the same package as the T5 brethren
pros
still a beautiful 3-door hatch
pros
stylish interior
pros
smooth dual-clutch gearbox.
What we dislike:
cons
Flat and lethargic engine
cons
missing paddle-shifters.

At $93,988, the new C30 variant, together with the similarly powered S40 saloon are the most affordable Volvo models on sale here. For the money, you get that distinctive style with the C30, as well as a nice list of standard equipment.

But there are major drawbacks, especially in the engine department. The Ford sourced engine is hardly a technological tour de force. It lacks urgency when worked hard and it is short of any form of refinement - rev it hard and the boom it makes just rings in your ears. To be fair, the C30 goes well enough in a straight line but this is not thanks to the engine - it's more to the efficient Powershift gearbox.

It's no T5, but if you are not particular about how that big block of metal under the bonnet performs, then the base C30 is a very convincing style machine indeed...

Credits: Story by Raymond Lai, pictures by Azfar Hashim

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