System i Addict

So my Volvo S60R is in the shop getting a computer looked at. No big deal, just one of those things. It’s the computer that takes care of the Active Suspension. In my S60R I have three settings for my ride type, COMFORT, STIFF, and RACING or Advanced. I can’t recall the actual names but they go from soft to tight with little to no body roll. Oh well the computer is broken so Volvo is fixing it under warranty.

They gave me a 2008 Volvo C30 to drive. I actually asked for it because I like to drive something different when I can. They always try to put you in a model either the same as the one you own or higher, but I wanted to see what the C30 was all about.

From the outside the C30 looks like a Volvo, and has the very distinctive Volvo lines. It’s nose is Volvo, and it has the Volvo hips on it that make it look very Volvo. I like the Volvo body style so the outside is a winner for me. It looks very exciting and very Volvo. The front bumper is very sporty looking and has an aggressive look to it. The rear is a bit odd but it works as a hatch back. I would have liked to have more room to slide in wider objects but over all it’s good.

The rims on this I think are 17″ and are really nice looking as well. The tires are decent with just the right amount of rubber so that you don’t ding you rims on every pot hole in town.

I lifted the hood, or bonnet for you brits, and the 5 cylinder engine with a the turbo looks very well placed. There is room around in there for some bit of performance kit and I know when Volvo was making this they were hoping to capture a bit of the tuner market.

The transmission is a auto with the auto-shift 5 speed and like all Volvo’s the shifting is slow. I will talk about that in a bit.

Once you get inside you start to wonder if Volvo built this or Ford. My S60R is well built and feels tight inside. The interior of my S60 is very well done, but the C30 is plastic, and way to much of it. Everything is plastic and I would expect this in a Ford Focus, but not a C30. Volvo is putting this up against VW’s and BMWs not the Focus, so why did they go cheap on the inside, the one place you will spend the majority of your time. I would rather the seat been in with the engine because that area looked nicer and better built. Oh well.

The seats are comfortable, but they are not Volvo seats. Volvo seats in other Volvo’s are really comfortable. Really huggy and make you want to drive more. The C30 seats are boring and kind of plain. They don’t hug you and they don’t make you want to stay in the car longer, they make you want to find a parking space as fast as you can or return home.

The instruments are also very Volvo and easy to read. I like the fact that Volvo made the gauges right and they work. I like that. They are very easy to read and have all of the bits you expect  from a Volvo in the gauges.

The radio is a nice unit. Volvo has done the thin center console thing they have been doing to all the new Volvo’s so it looks high tech and new age. I like that. The radio sounds great and is very easy to operate, there is even a place to plug in an MP3 player, CD player, or 8-track player, your choice . The only down side is you need someone to operate the player since the plug for it is under the drivers right arm in the center console.

The A/C is right below the radio right where any Volvo owner would expect to find it and it works just like every other Volvo on the market. The only issue is that because the entire interior is made by lego plastics it sounds like hell. No it really does, while It is very cold, I have to wonder what they could not have made it a little less noisy.  If you have it off and have the radio at a reasonable level listening to Ira Glass on NPR and you turn on the A/C you have to crank up the radio to hear it. I like being cold but I also like to be able to listen and think while it’s on. I could not wait for the car to cool so that I could turn it down.

The engine, the engine….where to start. I love the engine. It’s just the right size for the car. I love the power an I love it that it’s turbo. There is a bit of lag but it’s not in the way of going. I don’t like the auto-trans, and like all Volvos with auto-trans when you put it over and decide you want to be a little sporty and shift when you like you get a hammer to the head becasue the auto shifting on the Volvos is just poor and I think Volvo knows the shifting is bad but in the past 6 years has done nothing to make it faster. There is an unreasonable amount of time from when you request the shift to when it actually does. This is the one place and the one point where I would dump Volvo on it’s head. I have had auto-shift trans before and they are resonable with the shifting. Porsche seems to do them pretty fast, Audi is quick, other lesser car companies I expect it from, but Volvo needs to re-engineer this auto-gear shifting problem. It’s just pathetic, and I am sure there is an engineer in Sweden who would love to explain why and I don’t care, you all need to fix it and fix it now.

The ride quality is not bad. I like a car that is a little stiff and lets you feel the road, I just don’t want to hear the road. I am ashamed to say, but I owned a Kia Spectra at one time, and it was a noisy road car. The Volvo C30 is not that bad but it’s noticeable and that is bad. Volvos are comfortable and supposed to be quiet so that you and the family can talk and be happy, well in the C30 that is not going to happen and with the A/C on it gets worse.

Overall I like the C30, I like the performance and I like the ride and feel of the car. I don’t like the noise levels from the A/C and the road. I could also use a little more comfort and a little more Volvo in my Volvo. I think they missed the mark and need to try harder and make it soon. Maybe the 2009 is going to be better and maybe they know all of this and are addressing it now. For the price I think you would be better moving up to a Volvo S40 or and Audi A3. The Volvo is pretty to look at but falls short when it comes to comfort.

This is what I think Volvo wanted when they created this car. For it to be a platform for the Tuners. EVOLVE has taken it seriously and made this. I love it and wished I was 18 all over again. I would get one in  a heart beat and tune it to no end.