Joey's C30 R-Design: Sold!

[Joey D]

So I wanted a 5 door, AWD car that was good in the snow...but ended up with a Volvo C30 R-Design, seems about right. It's a Volvo and they're from Sweden so I have to assume they're good in the snow or something. It's something I've wanted for quite sometime and I'm really happy with my purchase.

Anyway, I picked it up tonight. It's a 2011 with 32,000 miles on it and it's nicely equipped. It reminds me of a more adult MINI Cooper S, which is good, and I can't wait to take it down south with me to slay the dragon.

Oh here's some photos, I'll get more once the weather isn't being all Michigan on me.

Modifications

• Team Dynamics Pro Race 1.2 18x8 wheels
• 235/40/18 Michelin Super Sports summer tires
• Volvo Carbon Fiber B-Pillars
• EuroSport Tuning 2.5" Sports Exhaust System
• Polestar Tune by Volvo

 

[Davis]

I love these Volvos, and those white seat centers are sexy.

to slay the dragon.

Jealous. So jealous.

 

[Kent]

Cool car for sure, always liked the appearance of these.
That said, looks like it's missing two doors and one pedal but regardless of that I applaud your move away from the Focus. 👍
Btw, don't take the clutch thing the wrong way, I've actually heard this car was just as well off with the automatic and I can always understand when someone just doesn't want to deal with a clutch in daily driving.

 

[Downhill Dino]

I've always had a soft spot for the C30, especially after the redesign. Never realized how good it looked in black. Very nice. 👍 Always wanted one myself, they appear to be great cars with good response. It also must be a fairly quick thing being the turbocharged I5, I think. Right?

Also I like the corresponding avatar change. Where do you even get those?

 

[Ronald6]

I'm not much of a Volvo fan but I've loved the looks of these since they came out. Great daily driver. 👍 👍

... hmmm, I wonder how hard it would be to redesign the rear gate of Aviendha...

 

[motortrend]

Sweet ride! I drove one of the normal older T5s and the (manual) gearbox was really smooth. Also, the sound of the 5 cylinder and the compressor spool sound is very nice.

 

[Joey D]

Thanks guys!

I should be getting the new wheels on it tonight or maybe tomorrow weather depending. The Focus and C30 share the same bolt pattern so at least I have that going for me. I need to get an exhaust sorted for it too before I head down to the dragon.

It also must be a fairly quick thing being the turbocharged I5, I think. Right?

Also I like the corresponding avatar change. Where do you even get those?

Yup, turbo I5 with about 230hp. It'll hit 60 in the mid 6.0 range, so it's much quicker than any other car I've owned.

And the avatars come from some Facebook game, I think it's called Car Town.

 

[Dennisch]

Nice. 👍

I love the sound of the Volvo I5.

 

[Cano]

Pretty nice step up, Joey. I have always liked these, specially with the facelift front.

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

That is a nice looking car. I have to say I am shocked you went with another FWD car after all the issues you had this year of being stuck in the snow with your FWD Focus. Sounded like you were set on AWD. The optimistic way to look at it is we probably wont have another winter as brutal as the 2014 winter for quite a few years. So hopefully you will be fine when winter hits. What changed your mind from AWD to having FWD again?

 

[Ibonibo]

Awesome. I once test drove one of those. Cool car, congrats 👍

 

[Crash]

Nice buy. I've always liked how the C30 looked and liked that it stood out from other hatchbacks. 👍

 

[Hayden]

There's something really cool about a nice hot hatch. Theres something utterly awesome about a nice hot hatch with a Volvo badge. Looks great that colour too, i'm interested to see how the wheels look.

Have fun with it and give it some jandal! 👍

 

[Azure Flare]

and I can't wait to take it down south with me to slay the dragon.

I think that a stretch of The Dragon should be closed off for a bit so that we could really wring our cars out.

 

[Joey D]

Thanks again!

The wheels are ready to go on, I just need some free time to either do it myself or take them over to Discount Tire, which is what I'll probably do since I need the TPMS reset. I'm also looking at which exhaust to buy and I want to get the turbo piping and couplers replaced ASAP since apparently that's the biggest fail point on the cars for whatever reason.

The car is also going into the dealer on Monday since for the life of me I can't get the satellite radio working, I think there's a bug in the software and it needs to be updated. Good thing the car is still under a factory warranty.

That is a nice looking car. I have to say I am shocked you went with another FWD car after all the issues you had this year of being stuck in the snow with your FWD Focus. Sounded like you were set on AWD. The optimistic way to look at it is we probably wont have another winter as brutal as the 2014 winter for quite a few years. So hopefully you will be fine when winter hits. What changed your mind from AWD to having FWD again?

The short answer is that I'm not a very smart man.

The long answer is that I've wanted a C30 since I first saw them and love how quarky they are. When I saw this one pop up online I figured I'd just go take a spin it in and fell for it pretty hard. We are probably going to sell the Focus in a year or two so my wife can get a Jeep, so I guess it's only going to be a pain for a bit longer. There's also a Blazer for sale down the street and the guy wants $3,000 for it. I might just say screw it and buy it as our winter car, but I still need to go check it out. Good thing is if there's anything wrong I can pretty much repair the 4.3L in my sleep.

I think that a stretch of The Dragon should be closed off for a bit so that we could really wring our cars out.

I feel like they've closed the Dragon before to run time trials on it but I might be wrong.

 

[Anathema]

One of my favorite hatches ever (I like the pre-facelift better though.) Very jealous.

Gourgeous car, take care of it.

 

[Crash]

There's also a Blazer for sale down the street and the guy wants $3,000 for it. I might just say screw it and buy it as our winter car, but I still need to go check it out. Good thing is if there's anything wrong I can pretty much repair the 4.3L in my sleep.

And if that's the case, then we would have come full circle.

Make sure not to go too Xtreme on that Blazer.

Enjoy your C30. 👍 Any mods or changes you're thinking of doing to the car?

 

[homeforsummer]

Nice car Joey, big fan of C30s and Volvos in general. Engine is a cracker - basically the same as that used in the last-generation Focus ST. Should be a fun thing to zip around in 👍

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

The short answer is that I'm not a very smart man.

The long answer is that I've wanted a C30 since I first saw them and love how quarky they are. When I saw this one pop up online I figured I'd just go take a spin it in and fell for it pretty hard. We are probably going to sell the Focus in a year or two so my wife can get a Jeep, so I guess it's only going to be a pain for a bit longer. There's also a Blazer for sale down the street and the guy wants $3,000 for it. I might just say screw it and buy it as our winter car, but I still need to go check it out. Good thing is if there's anything wrong I can pretty much repair the 4.3L in my sleep.

Okay that makes a lot more sense. I thought you were going to drive the C30 in the winter. Having a separate vehicle designated to winter driving is actually a GREAT idea. I did that for MANY years. It will help keep your C30 in even better shape since it can rest during the winter and avoid the salt. Which, as we all know, just kills vehicles. I think that Blazer will be a great winter vehicle for you. The 4.3 is an excellent engine. Congrats again on the C30. Sounds like you have everything figured out. 👍

 

[Pagey279]

Good choice! I've always had a soft spot for these, I think I'm right in thinking it's got the same engine as the Focus ST. At least the earlier models used to.

A couple of questions seeing as I'm thinking about buying one of these too.
How does it ride? What sort of MPG are you getting? And what is it like in the corners and is the steering responsive? Are the seats comfortable?

 

[Joey D]

Any mods or changes you're thinking of doing to the car?

Going to put the new wheels on it in the next few days. Other than that I want to get an exhaust, intake, and redo the turbo piping. I'm also really thinking about getting the Polestar tune, it's $1,200 but is fully covered under warranty and bumps the car up to 250hp. I also want to get HID's in the car too since the stock lights aren't great.

A couple of questions seeing as I'm thinking about buying one of these too.
How does it ride? What sort of MPG are you getting? And what is it like in the corners and is the steering responsive? Are the seats comfortable?

The ride is stiff, but not awful, it feels like my MINI Cooper did. Michigan roads are notoriously bumpy and my spine hasn't shattered, so I think I'm good. Getting some different tires on will probably help that too. The MPG is decent, I'm averaging about 25mpg right now with all city driving and I've been flooring it quite a bit. Also, I'm sure the dealer didn't put premium in it like they were supposed too. I'll have a better idea what it's like on the next tank, I'm guessing 27-30mpg. The cornering is nice, but there's all-seasons on the car right now, it'll be much nicer with the summer rubber on it. It's really responsive though. And the seats are really nice, probably the most comfortable ones I've had in a car.

 

[Cale]

Every post was TL;DR


What happened to the Focus?

 

[Joey D]

Every post was TL;DR


What happened to the Focus?

Wife has it now.

 

[Doodle]

I love it.

 

[ExigeEvan]

Great choice, love the R-Designs.

 

[Joey D]

"New" Shoes

I was able to get the rims I had on the Focus put on the Volvo today. While I really liked the 5 spokes that were on the car they were a bit narrow and they were pretty heavy. With the Team Dynamic wheels I'm able to run a 235 tire instead of a 215 which makes the car a bit more planted in the corners. The Volvo wheels will be going on the Focus though because I think they'll probably look pretty good.

 

[Azure Flare]

👍

 

[homeforsummer]

Really can't go wrong with those wheels. On the right car, it's instant Touring Car stuff.

 

[CDailey]

Love these things! Don't see too many of them down here in AlaBAMA, unfortunately. Congrats on the purchase. 👍

 

[MedigoFlame]

Always loved the C30, although I'm still trying to like the later facelifted model like yours. But it really does look good in black! The wheels as well! 👍