I remember well years ago seeing a Volvo C30 T5 R unicorn for the first time. As I noted in the last review of a C30 I did here two years ago, it was the sleekest Volvo I could remember since I spotted a 1979 262 Bertone back in my Army days. Didn’t know much about the C30 when it was introduced by Volvo in the US as a 2008 model. Automotive expert Wiki tells us the C30 draws on the rear hatch lines of the P1800 ES in the late sixties and early seventies. Perhaps. Here’s another 2011 C30 T5 R with a manual transmission spotted by my bud Hans.
The six-speed manual transmission should make this a fun hatchback. Mated to the 2.5 liter turbocharged five cylinder motor, pumping out only 227 hp, the C30 is only good for a six-second 0-60 mph run. The Volvo has more horsepower than a VW GTI of the same era but not as much as the four bangers to follow. Oddly, Car and Driver was not terribly enamored with the C30 T5 R when reviewed in 2011 here, complaining about the harsh ride, rubbery shifter, and lack of cargo space compared to the VW and the Mini. But HotCars.com in 2020 gushed over the car in a look back at unusual hot hatches in 2020 here. I think for cars like this there will always be a 50-50 crowd that loves-hates them. Hell, there were even people that don’t think my ’77 Gremlin was hot! (Hmmm – check out the Gremlin-C30 mug shots at the bottom? That won’t help sell this car.)
The Volvo is pretty spartan with features – Bluetooth and a USB port but no rear view camera or seat heaters. The C30 I covered two years ago was $5,000 cheaper than this one (but with 60 percent more miles) and seemed like more of a bargain.
The car sold new for maybe $32,000 and over a decade later is available here in Oxnard, California for almost $19,000. It’s a low mileage, one-owner, accident free car. As with more and more old European cars I’m seeing CarMax is limiting MaxCare to 125,000 miles and 60 months. But the reviews suggest these motors are good for 180,000 miles without missing a beat. Not a fast car, but a bit unique and certainly has Scandinavian style!
