Volvo c30?

[false_Aest]

Anyone drive one of these? Put bikes in the back?

It looks rad to me but the hatch doesn't seem to be designed well - opening looks small + narrow compared to the overall compartment width.

https://static01.nyt.com/images/2007/10/12/automobiles/600-Volvo-C30-01.jpg

[ultraman6970]

Seen the car, is small. Get a used minivan for a fraction of what that costs and toss like 4 bicycles inside w/o any problem.

No cool factor tho :)

[Ken Robb]

Kind of fun to drive but you got it right about the tiny hatch limiting the size of items to be loaded. Not good for bikes in back.

[thirdgenbird]

Pm gomango.

[Louis]

Kind of fun to drive but you got it right about the tiny hatch limiting the size of items to be loaded. Not good for bikes in back.

I considered buying one a few years back, but lost interest when I realized this. I'd call it a window-back, not a hatch-back.

In retrospect, I think the market as a whole agreed with me, because I can't even remember seeing one on the road lately.

But it does look very nifty...

[false_Aest]

Welp, there goes that idea.

I'm trying to find a replacement for my Matrix but nothing seems to do what I want it to:

same amount of cargo space
fold-flat seats
manual
more power
same or better MPG

. . . . so basically I want a BMW 328D w/out paying that much.

[ceolwulf]

Mazda CX-5?

[false_Aest]

i looked at the CX-5 but its too big

i want Goldilocks!

[Ken Robb]

Welp, there goes that idea.

I'm trying to find a replacement for my Matrix but nothing seems to do what I want it to:

same amount of cargo space
fold-flat seats
manual
more power
same or better MPG

. . . . so basically I want a BMW 328D w/out paying that much.

I can squeeze a 60cm bike into my 2007 MINI Cooper S if I remove the front wheel, fold the rear seats and push the passenger seat all the way forward. It is quite peppy, the 6 speed manual shifts well, and it corners like a go Kart. It also rides like a go-kart. 32 mpg overall on premium gas. Zero problems in 51,000 miles. You might like the extra room in a Countryman. A GTI is bigger/nicer but you won't get the MPG you seek.

[ceolwulf]

Baffles me that the CX-3 isn't available with a manual.

I guess there's the Juke? If you don't mind weird looks that is

[Louis]

i want Goldilocks!

Looking for a car that does everything just gets you in trouble.

Get a Honda Fit and a Subaru BRZ and you're good to go:

http://releasedatesofcars.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/2016-honda-fit-lx-front-.jpg

http://pictures.topspeed.com/IMG/crop/201506/2016-subaru-brz-ts-sti_800x0w.jpg

[Climb01742]

VW GTI? I can get a 56 bike in the back with front wheel off. Another option is a used BMW 3 series wagon. With the back seats down, the space is shockingly big back there.

[superbowlpats]

VW GTI? I can get a 56 bike in the back with front wheel off. Another option is a used BMW 3 series wagon. With the back seats down, the space is shockingly big back there.

GTI is on my short list after Dieselgate is over. 3 series wagons are really nice but hard to find, at least nice low mileage ones. and they are really pricey compared to a regular 3 series.

[purpurite]

Want a '12 GTI? 😀 I know of a sick one for sale... 😎

[fignon's barber]

VW GTI? I can get a 56 bike in the back with front wheel off. Another option is a used BMW 3 series wagon. With the back seats down, the space is shockingly big back there.

I had a VW TDI. Brilliant car, made in Germany, super fun and practical, and was getting 45mpg.

[Germany_chris]

Welp, there goes that idea.

I'm trying to find a replacement for my Matrix but nothing seems to do what I want it to:

same amount of cargo space
fold-flat seats
manual
more power
same or better MPG

. . . . so basically I want a BMW 328D w/out paying that much.

Have you looked a the 1 series? It seems to fit the bill and not particularly expensive.

[djg]

GTI is on my short list after Dieselgate is over. 3 series wagons are really nice but hard to find, at least nice low mileage ones. and they are really pricey compared to a regular 3 series.

Two used vehicles? I get that this might seem crazy to many, and impractical to an overlapping set of many, but it can work for others. A good price on a used 3-series that's not a wagon and an ugly, old, but functionally sound medium to large SUV? Drive the 3 series every darn day. A bike will fit in the back with the wheels off, or two will go on the roof or on the trunk with a rack. When snow is an issue, or when you need to cart a bunch more stuff, drive the stupid big vehicle with AWD or 4WD. A well used, no-longer-pretty, but still sound vehicle can be had for a surprisingly reasonable price. A beater mini-van can carry vast amounts of stuff, and get decent mileage, but may lack AWD.

Seems dumb, I get it, but I sorta accidentally did a version of this when I got my used (erm . . pre-owned) M3. I kept the old Volvo S60 AWD, thinking a kid or two would eventually learn to drive in it. It's a little too small for expedition purposes, but it has become my ski/roof rack/camping/snow car and has served well in that capacity. Clear roads and not much (or many people) to cart about? That's when I drive what I want.

[superbowlpats]

Two used vehicles? I get that this might seem crazy to many, and impractical to an overlapping set of many, but it can work for others. A good price on a used 3-series that's not a wagon and an ugly, old, but functionally sound medium to large SUV? Drive the 3 series every darn day. A bike will fit in the back with the wheels off, or two will go on the roof or on the trunk with a rack. When snow is an issue, or when you need to cart a bunch more stuff, drive the stupid big vehicle with AWD or 4WD. A well used, no-longer-pretty, but still sound vehicle can be had for a surprisingly reasonable price. A beater mini-van can carry vast amounts of stuff, and get decent mileage, but may lack AWD.

Seems dumb, I get it, but I sorta accidentally did a version of this when I got my used (erm . . pre-owned) M3. I kept the old Volvo S60 AWD, thinking a kid or two would eventually learn to drive in it. It's a little too small for expedition purposes, but it has become my ski/roof rack/camping/snow car and has served well in that capacity. Clear roads and not much (or many people) to cart about? That's when I drive what I want.

Not to move this thread further OT from the OP but...my other vehicle is a 2009 Tacoma, 4x4, extra cab which I use as my primary vehicle for transporting the bike to races. I have a Thule Insta-Gater and front fork mount (for bikes that don't work well with the Thule). I've fallen in love with CX racing so much that I'm willing to drive up to 100 miles for a race :crap:

The Tacoma (has 110k miles) gets horrible mpg (typ 18), is loud (tires), needs a wheel bearing replaced (loud, already replaced one), a/c stopped working etc. so I use mostly it for weekend trips to Lowes etc and want a comfortable drive to work and races. I like the roof height of the 3 series wagon, not too high if I wanted to put a rack on it. I'd buy a rack for my Golf TDi but its a 2 door and requires a special extra mount and with the Dieselgate I will wait to see what happens - 4 door GTI is on my short list because I'm hoping VW has a really good owner loyalty program after the dust settles.

[ravdg316]

Anybody have any experience with this? Test driving one tomorrow in my neighborhood

[Climb01742]

I had a VW TDI. Brilliant car, made in Germany, super fun and practical, and was getting 45mpg.

Putting aside VW's corporate behavior, a Golf/GTI is pretty much an ideal car for most situations. Fun to drive, practical amount of space, parks easily, decent milage, reasonably priced and (knock on wood) darned reliable.

[Lovetoclimb]

I bought the first gen C30 in 2008 when I graduated from college and started my first adult job. Amazing little car averaging 30-32 mpg with the 6s manual gearbox and so many nice design touches.

I could remove the front wheel and jenga my 60cm bike in the rear hatch with only one car seat folded down. My 85cm saddle height was the major pinch point with the small hatch opening and still is now when putting my bike in the back of a much larger Prius, albeit much easier than the Volvo. For $25k it was a lot of car to be sure and I would not dissuade anyone from buying. Then again this was pre sale of Volvo to its current parent holding company and when I compared the 2008 to 2009-10 models it was noticeably different in quality IMO.

[akelman]

Then again this was pre sale of Volvo to its current parent holding company and when I compared the 2008 to 2009-10 models it was noticeably different in quality IMO.

Other than the facelift, what do you mean? What changed?

[wooly]

I've been driving this baby for the last couple of weeks giving it a good shake down before my son begins to learn to drive. What a blast. Sorry to highjack the thread but my first two cars were Volvo's. 30 years later, my son's are getting the same :beer:.

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160422/d7de43e89ce15a997b63ea6f5c45f3c6.jpg

[Climb01742]

I've been driving this baby for the last couple of weeks giving it a good shake down before my son begins to learn to drive. What a blast. Sorry to highjack the thread but my first two cars were Volvo's. 30 years later, my son's are getting the same :beer:.

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160422/d7de43e89ce15a997b63ea6f5c45f3c6.jpg

Such a sweet car. 240s live forever. And the PERFECT car for a teenager to drive (or a Saab 900/wagon). Well played, sir!:D

[djrider]

I owned one for about 5 years. My size 54 bike fit great all i had to do was remove front wheel. Bought it new never had any problems with it. I recently sold it because the warranty expired and didn`t want to take any chances! Fun Car!

[redearedslider5]

as hot hatches go, the GTI is the benchmark and for good reason. i had an old mk4 with the vr6 and loved it. the newest generation arguably is the best one yet. personally, i've had two cars for the last several years. the best combo was a honda fit and a miata, one practical as HELL but miserable to drive and the other not so practical but amazing to drive. two cheap-ish cars is more fun than one new car :)

[ceolwulf]

Focus ST would be well worth a look too in the hatchback department.

[Bruce K]

PM Skyrider

He has a rather slick C30 with Thuke racks on top

He still gets a bike inside with no issues

BK

[cmg]

buddy had a volvo like the photo, had about 350k miles when it gave up the ghost. excellent car. easy to fix and relative cheap. trouble free driving has way more value than looks.

[eBAUMANN]

i drove a 1990 740 in high school...then bought a '98 V70T5 for $1k a few years back, 21k miles later (151k total) its still going strong with very little maintenance required beyond the expected (tires, brakes, etc)
Not the most amazing mpg in the world (22-23), but i only drive on the highway (bike trips) so its not so bad.

Fits 4 people, 4 bikes on the roof, room for bags.

Hard to beat a wagon if you are trying to find a car cooler than a minivan that can still haul a ton of crap.

C30's look like a lot of fun to drive but they really should put a proper hatch on the back of the thing.

[adamhell]

Subaru wrx - i drove this one around in high school. fits a few bikes.

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h184/adamleibow/Subaru4.jpg

[akelman]

The hatch is an homage to the P1800 (I love it). Also, if I took off the front wheel and lowered the back seats, I could get a 56 cm Speedvagen with a seat mast into the trunk rather easily.

[Ken Robb]

I've been driving this baby for the last couple of weeks giving it a good shake down before my son begins to learn to drive. What a blast. Sorry to highjack the thread but my first two cars were Volvo's. 30 years later, my son's are getting the same :beer:.

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160422/d7de43e89ce15a997b63ea6f5c45f3c6.jpg

It looks new. The paint is terrific.

[makoti]

Funny. I was just today telling a friend that I had looked at this car & decided no mainly due to that rear hatch. I couldn't see stuffing a bike in that opening without scratching up something. The fact that the hatch didn't lift at the bumper was a big sale killer.

[GonaSovereign]

I drove the C30 for a weekend. Nice car, but miles behind my mk7 GTI. I've driven pretty much every hatch that might compete with it (exception: BMW 1 series) and none do. Admittedly some are better in one dimension or another, but not close as a complete package.

I have a Thule roof rack for the GTI, but if I'm transporting one bike I generally just pull the front wheel off and toss it in the back. You can jam quite a lot into the back of those things.

[Lewis Moon]

Rather have this one:

http://allfotocars.com/data_images/gallery/02/volvo-p1800-es/volvo-p1800-es-07.jpg

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e4/1973_Volvo_sportwagon.JPG

[Louis]

Or this one:

http://www.stanceworks.com/2014/01/keith-ross-1966-volvo-amazon/

http://stancewords.stanceworks.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/stance-slammed-volvo-amazon-122.jpg

[AllanVarcoe]

Welp, there goes that idea.

I'm trying to find a replacement for my Matrix but nothing seems to do what I want it to:

same amount of cargo space
fold-flat seats
manual
more power
same or better MPG

. . . . so basically I want a BMW 328D w/out paying that much.

Golf Sportwagen? Even the new 1.8L TSI motor is quite quick and my wifes '14 Jetta TSI gets 38mpg highway with family and dogs inside! Plus they are like 5 or 6 grand cheaper than the diesel models.

[gomango]

Pm gomango.

I had fun with mine.

Unfortunately, our boys were just on the cusp of learning how to drive.

We wanted a bit more metal around them for a while, so it went bye bye.

In addition, our commuter car, a Fit, had better interior space to haul things such as bikes.

The final nail in the coffin for the c30 came from maintenance issues.

[downtube]

Or this one:

http://www.stanceworks.com/2014/01/keith-ross-1966-volvo-amazon/

http://stancewords.stanceworks.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/stance-slammed-volvo-amazon-122.jpg

Louis, You find the coolest cars. That Volvo would be a dream come true. Not as cool as your GTV but still a totally cool ride. I always dug that body.
chuck

[Louis]

Louis, You find the coolest cars. That Volvo would be a dream come true. Not as cool as your GTV but still a totally cool ride. I always dug that body.
chuck

Thanks for the compliments. :)

[oldpotatoe]

Welp, there goes that idea.

I'm trying to find a replacement for my Matrix but nothing seems to do what I want it to:

same amount of cargo space
fold-flat seats
manual
more power
same or better MPG

. . . . so basically I want a BMW 328D w/out paying that much.

VW-Golf or GolfSportWagen-1.8T..great deals to be had right now-

[false_Aest]

I've been avoiding VWs since the early 2000s. Sister owned a Beetle, neighbor owned a Passat, GF owned a Jetta, few others owned Passats + Jettas -- they all complained of ridiculously expensive dealer maintenance, bad design (e.g. having to remove wheel to replace headlights), rattles, etc.

Can any of you speak to issues like that now?

[gemship]

I've been avoiding VWs since the early 2000s. Sister owned a Beetle, neighbor owned a Passat, GF owned a Jetta, few others owned Passats + Jettas -- they all complained of ridiculously expensive dealer maintenance, bad design (e.g. having to remove wheel to replace headlights), rattles, etc.

Can any of you speak to issues like that now?

Upon reading this I recall owning a made in Brazil VW Fox I had. It was a 93' that I bought used with 60k in 98' and what a piece of kaakaa it was. Every two weeks that car would get this round spiral vented doohicky that stuck into the top of the head all gummed up with this milky oil/water residue. The car would act like it had water in the gas or something impeding air flow to the injectors. So I would take the doohicky and clean it out with some gas and voila no problems with the car. I never got it fixed but I bought another doohicky and got in the habit of putting the clean one in when the dirty one got gummed up.

Honestly I bet changing bulbs is a PITA but I don't think you're supposed to own a VW long enough to do that, lol.

[Seramount]

gotta throw some like at my ride...2006 RSX Type-S.

can easily get two bikes in it (just toss a mover's mat between them).

nimble, quick (an 8200 rpm red-line is kinda fun), good mileage (24/32 mpg)...

[SoCalSteve]

Tommy,

My friend Angela ( who I think you've met and ridden with ) has owned a small Subaru station wagon for like 10 years. She has beaten it to death and it still keeps running with very little to no maintenance issues.

I'd stick with a Japanese hatchback or small wagon. Seems like it would fit your bill better than anything euro.

Good luck!

S

[protorio]

Putting aside VW's corporate behavior, a Golf/GTI is pretty much an ideal car for most situations. Fun to drive, practical amount of space, parks easily, decent milage, reasonably priced and (knock on wood) darned reliable.

I agree. When my wife needed a new car (our first new one), we ended up with the base model TSI wagon. The base is the only one that comes with a manual transmission, which was a must for me (and I convinced my wife, too - husband of the year award forthcoming). Fits A LOT under the wagon floor, more on top, looks good with roof racks.

[protorio]

As for the C30, sharp little car. I love Volvos, but my adoration ends at 1995, when they abandoned RWD and simplicity. Here's my '66 that can fit a frame in the trunk: https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1500/24512019371_219d42c9d0_b.jpg

[bikesickness]

I have to admit the styling grew on me. At first I wasn't a fan but now I'm keeping my eye out for an R-Design version

[josephr]

Mazda CX-5?

drive a CX-5 and you're hooked! There's more space in the back of a Mazda3 than the CX-3. Hard to replace a Matrix though --- really wish they'd make another Carolla or Civic hatchback (on the way?). Honda Fit too go-carty for me -- gets blown around on the interstate too much.

[Anarchist]

i looked at the CX-5 but its too big

i want Goldilocks!

cx-3 .....

[Tex Willer]

As for the C30, sharp little car. I love Volvos, but my adoration ends at 1995, when they abandoned RWD and simplicity. Here's my '66 that can fit a frame in the trunk: https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1500/24512019371_219d42c9d0_b.jpg



nice amazon, they are pretty rare these days, is it a us version?, in europe they usually came with b18 engine and 4 speed manual gearbox.

[adamhell]

i love the p1800's. it is a mistake not to include subaru in this discussion, too, IMO.

[protorio]

nice amazon, they are pretty rare these days, is it a us version?, in europe they usually came with b18 engine and 4 speed manual gearbox.

This is a US version. Originally had a B-18 with 4 speed, and at some point a B-20 from a 140 was installed - niche to have the extra power. 4 speed is a blast. Vintage Volvos are as fun as it gets, and still accessible in terms of $$$.

C30 was a cool design. Volvo is redesigning their entire line around a turbo-charged 2 liter 4 cyl. across all models. Chinese ownership is throwing a lot of money at the Swedish-run operation. I wouldn't be surprised if a variant of the C30 appeared again down the line.

[Tex Willer]

Had a couple of 142's 30 yrs ago, sure had a lot of fun and learned a lot about wrenching. Is thre any leaded petrol available, or do have make your own?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[oldpotatoe]

Upon reading this I recall owning a made in Brazil VW Fox I had. It was a 93' that I bought used with 60k in 98' and what a piece of kaakaa it was. Every two weeks that car would get this round spiral vented doohicky that stuck into the top of the head all gummed up with this milky oil/water residue. The car would act like it had water in the gas or something impeding air flow to the injectors. So I would take the doohicky and clean it out with some gas and voila no problems with the car. I never got it fixed but I bought another doohicky and got in the habit of putting the clean one in when the dirty one got gummed up.

Honestly I bet changing bulbs is a PITA but I don't think you're supposed to own a VW long enough to do that, lol.

Changed front and rear bulbs on 2000 VW Beetle..easy, no tools..

[Nooch]

I don't think anyone mentioned the scion iM, which *is* the new Corolla wagon...

http://jalopnik.com/the-2016-scion-im-is-not-bad-but-not-what-scion-needs-1753035334

[bismo37]

I've had a C30 since they first showed on on the Volvo lots in Portland. It's been a great car. Reliable and fun to drive. Almost at 100K miles and runs solid. I'll probably need a new AC compressor and tires soon. But for the first 90K miles this car has been problem-free.

I have had bikes in the back with the seats down. It ain't pretty, but it works. I generally ride 56-58cm bikes. They will fit crammed on their side with the front wheel removed. The opening to the hatch probably won't allow a taller bike in w/o lowering the saddle.

Not as spacious in the hatch as my wife's '11 Impreza but I didn't buy the Volvo to put bikes in the rear.

Here's a pic with the Volvo racks (by Thule):