Hi all - new C30 owner!

Posts

Post 748396 by cjj on 2014-11-17 19:44:37

Hi guys, Decided to bite the bullet and get a C30 recently - I've had quite a lot of cars in the past, but grew up driving my dad's '94(M) Volvo 440 2.0GLT. It had been a company director's car and my dad bought it for about £3k when it was around 5 years old but was pretty well specc'd. By the time I got old enough to afford to insure one, it had aged quite quickly so moved on to a merry-go-round of cars. I've had a 240 estate and a green 480 from the Volvo side of my car flirtations. Anyway, for the past few years I'd been walking past the facelift V40's (2001 or so) and quite liked the front end, but not so much the body shape - I had no need for a 'big' car or any practicality, and although I'd sacrifice that for a T5R the fuel consumption put me off. So recently I had been tempted to upgrade my old peugeot diesel snotter for a new car through work (Ford), but decided it'd be easier to buy something for half the price and actually own it - as opposed to a contract purchase, even with discount. Wanted something comfortable on the motorway with decent economy, so with a bit of searching and trying to find the right spec and colour I bought this: C30 D5 Sport R-Design: Image Image Gave it a quick clean on the weekend, as the valeting was crap and there was no signs of any paint protection. Due to the weather, I didn't have time for anything other than a quick wash, some AG UDS and a quick coat of Gtechniq C2. I'll probably get the DA out when I have time one weekend, as there's signs of oxidisation from bird much and some scratches. I work in Essex (obviously, Ford and all) and often have to deal with the M4 and M25 - had some pulsating bottom moments with variable speed limits and gantry cameras in my old car, so I've been happy with this one to sit at 60-65 with cruise on. Anyway, with some obsessive eco-driving I've been averaging 60+ mpg on motorway runs; this Friday with minimal congestion I saw an indicated 66.6mpg over 145 miles :) Not sure how accurate Volvo's fuel computer is, but still happy with that! C30s seem to be a bit a bit sparse on the roads, compared to other >8 years old cars, so there doesn't seem to be much activity on the net, but thought I'd sign up anyway!

Post 748404 by Santa on 2014-11-17 20:17:22

Welcome :)

Post 748421 by Hound on 2014-11-17 21:22:42

Welcome! I like C30s, and that one looks nicely understated. 60+mpg!! I wish I could get half of that!

Post 748423 by LiamT4 on 2014-11-17 21:23:30

Welcome. Lovely car, would quite like a c30 d5 myself. Must go well for small car.

Post 748430 by cjj on 2014-11-17 21:54:10

[QUOTE=Hound;748421]Welcome! I like C30s, and that one looks nicely understated. 60+mpg!! I wish I could get half of that![/QUOTE] I like a good Eco drive. Of course it's only as useful as the accuracy of the trip computer - not sure how others find theres, but based on the fuel usage it's not far off (will have to try a tank full & refill soon). [QUOTE=LiamT4;748423]Welcome. Lovely car, would quite like a c30 d5 myself. Must go well for small car.[/QUOTE] Yeah, 177bhp claimed as new. Don't have to try to get it to move normally, hence the easy mpg to be honest. If you need to shift then it pulls really strongly and with the sound of Thor gargling. Not sure if it's the norm, but it is quite nice anyway, but if you accelerate slightly you can hear the turbo spooling, then let off and it settles again. It makes all sorts of manly noises that you'd want, main reason it sold itself to me! A lot of the 'reviews' didn't match up to reality, with many saying it's slow and horrible to drive - I've found it the exact opposite. One thing I am a little suspicious over is a little 'noise' it makes. Not sure if it's just the engine warble, but at 20-50mph you can hear (and perhaps slightly feel in the pedal) a bit of an imbalance. Doesnt change when steering, so unlikely to be a wheel bearing. It's almost like what you'd feel/hear if you had badly warped brakes, rotational and speed related, except it doesn't seem to be affected by the brakes or steering. Like a 'whum whum whum' noise. Sounds stupid to explain.