Wall Street Journal article: http://301url.com/ccm

If that price is for the T5, then you folks (in the US) are getting it a
darn sight cheaper than we are down here in Oz !
Using today's exchange rate of AUD$1 = US$0.86, that equates to AUD$27,273 !

The C30 T5 Geartronic is around the AUD$44k here (US$38k) and that's before
taxes and on-road costs which brings it up to around AUD$50K on the road.

They are right about the fuel consumption too, it's very thirsty around
town, but pretty good out on the highway.

Cheers
Mal
Oz

"Ed" <nobody@pseudo.borked.net> wrote in message
news:fe0eefd76d4639a1ef7f31c67b86e22e@pseudo.borke d.net...
> Wall Street Journal article: http://301url.com/ccm
>

On Sep 21, 12:21 pm, Ed <nob...@pseudo.borked.net> wrote:
> Wall Street Journal article:http://301url.com/ccm

It's a nice looking small car with a cramped interior that is best
described as a 2 seater with modest storage room. A much roomier V70
2.5T can beat the really poor MPG of the C30 easily.

Cramped ?? You must breed them long and tall where you come from !

Correct it is not a large car, definitely not aimed at families with
children or a large dog. I had a couple of 6 footers in the rear, and their
feedback was along the lines of 'good leg room for a car of this size',
they were impressed. Granted this was on a relatively short trip.

It is a 4 seater (only 4 seats and belts) but it appears the rear seats are
pushed back a little to create the rear leg room. This probably accounts for
the very small boot (trunk). This can be an issue if you carry a lot of
stuff around. Folding down the rear seat gives you some additional room
(quickly) and I haven't had any issues with this so far apart from trying to
fit a 6 burner BBQ in the back - a bit optimistic !

Storage space for books, maps is Ok, but not great. Glove Box is very
small. The map pocket under the front seat is a good idea though. I use
the central arm-rest storage box for my CD's. Once this is gone there isn't
much left apart from the doors and behind the floating console. But you can
manage. We go out most weekends into the hills and take the kettle, camping
stove, a couple of folding chairs, picnic basket etc and it all fits in
nicely without having to fold the seats forward.

This car isn't going to suit a lot of people and there are other Volvos that
will meet their particular needs better. We need to remember the rationale
behind the design of the C30 in that they (Volvo) are trying to attract a
new demographic to the marque - one that may not have considered Volvo in
the past. Whether we like them or not the 3-door sports hatch format seems
to be very popular (aka VW GTI, BMW 1 Series, Audi A3, Alpha 147, Opel Astra
etc) so what better way for Volvo to take advantage of this popularity and
introduce the C30. This strategy appears to be working down here in
Australia as each shipment is presold before it hits the shore.

According to Volvo my wife and I fit the target demo quite well, late 40's,
kids left home and a bit of disposable income to play with. We bought it
because it's the format we like (3-door) looks great, is well appointed,
drives well and is (for the moment) a little more exclusive on the
Australian roads.

Cheers
Mal
Oz
(no, I don't work for Volvo..just a satisfied customer)



"Roadie" <hjsjms@cs.com> wrote in message
news:1190646892.096425.238760@n39g2000hsh.googlegr oups.com...
> On Sep 21, 12:21 pm, Ed <nob...@pseudo.borked.net> wrote:
>> Wall Street Journal article:http://301url.com/ccm
>
> It's a nice looking small car with a cramped interior that is best
> described as a 2 seater with modest storage room. A much roomier V70
> 2.5T can beat the really poor MPG of the C30 easily.
>

"Mal from Oz." <here_I@am.com> wrote:

> We bought it
> because it's the format we like (3-door) looks great, is well appointed,
> drives well and is (for the moment) a little more exclusive on the
> Australian roads.

The 3-door format may look good but the doors are much larger and much
more difficult to use when parked next to other cars. Of course some
people are more concerned about looks than practical matters.
--
Cheers, Steve Henning in Reading, PA, USA
Owned '67,'68,'71,'74,'79,'81,'87,'93,'95 & '01 Volvos.
The '67,'74,'79,'87,'95 and '01 through European Delivery.
http://rhodyman.net/homevo.html

Concur, you do need to be careful when opening the doors. This is my 3rd
hatch so I'm quite used to squeezing out through the small gap - it also
helps that my wife and are are not endowed with the 'tall' gene!

Mind you the worst one we had was a Mitsubishi Lancer my wife had a few
years back, the doors were bloody huge

It's just a pity other people are not as careful when they open their's.

Cheers
Mal
Oz


"Stephen Henning" <pighash@aol.com> wrote in message
newsighash-2CFEBC.11125025092007@news.isp.giganews.com...
> "Mal from Oz." <here_I@am.com> wrote:
>
>> We bought it
>> because it's the format we like (3-door) looks great, is well appointed,
>> drives well and is (for the moment) a little more exclusive on the
>> Australian roads.
>
> The 3-door format may look good but the doors are much larger and much
> more difficult to use when parked next to other cars. Of course some
> people are more concerned about looks than practical matters.
> --
> Cheers, Steve Henning in Reading, PA, USA
> Owned '67,'68,'71,'74,'79,'81,'87,'93,'95 & '01 Volvos.
> The '67,'74,'79,'87,'95 and '01 through European Delivery.
> http://rhodyman.net/homevo.html

In article <pighash-2CFEBC.11125025092007@news.isp.giganews.com>,
pighash@aol.com says...
> "Mal from Oz." <here_I@am.com> wrote:
>
> > We bought it
> > because it's the format we like (3-door) looks great, is well appointed,
> > drives well and is (for the moment) a little more exclusive on the
> > Australian roads.
>
Added to that, the

In article <pighash-2CFEBC.11125025092007@news.isp.giganews.com>,
pighash@aol.com says...
> "Mal from Oz." <here_I@am.com> wrote:
>
> > We bought it
> > because it's the format we like (3-door) looks great, is well appointed,
> > drives well and is (for the moment) a little more exclusive on the
> > Australian roads.
>
> The 3-door format may look good but the doors are much larger and much
> more difficult to use when parked next to other cars. Of course some
> people are more concerned about looks than practical matters.
>
On top of that, the rear hatch is so darned small that the C30 is less
useful than a 1990 Honda Civic hatchback! You'd have a hard time
squeezing a boxed full-size microwave oven into the back. Too bad - I
really like the styling.

to me, volvo is still all about safety...how will the c30
do in a blunt/fast collision w/a gmc yukon ?





On Sep 28, 6:44 pm, Espressopithecus (Java Man)
<Espressopithecus<java...@espresso.org>> wrote:
> In article <pighash-2CFEBC.11125025092...@news.isp.giganews.com>,
> pigh...@aol.com says...> "Mal from Oz." <her...@am.com> wrote:
>
> > > We bought it
> > > because it's the format we like (3-door) looks great, is well appointed,
> > > drives well and is (for the moment) a little more exclusive on the
> > > Australian roads.
>
> > The 3-door format may look good but the doors are much larger and much
> > more difficult to use when parked next to other cars. Of course some
> > people are more concerned about looks than practical matters.
>
> On top of that, the rear hatch is so darned small that the C30 is less
> useful than a 1990 Honda Civic hatchback! You'd have a hard time
> squeezing a boxed full-size microwave oven into the back. Too bad - I
> really like the styling.

If you want to regularly move big stuff, don't but the bloody C30 then !

or pay the microwave shop to deliver the darn thing !

--
Cheers
Mal
Oz
http://maloz.bigblog.com.au/index.do
"Espressopithecus (Java Man) >" <Espressopithecus<javaman@espresso.org>
wrote in message
news:MPG.21673fb55fee33469898cb@shawnews.vc.shawca ble.net...
> In article <pighash-2CFEBC.11125025092007@news.isp.giganews.com>,
> pighash@aol.com says...
>> "Mal from Oz." <here_I@am.com> wrote:
>>
>> > We bought it
>> > because it's the format we like (3-door) looks great, is well
>> > appointed,
>> > drives well and is (for the moment) a little more exclusive on the
>> > Australian roads.
>>
>> The 3-door format may look good but the doors are much larger and much
>> more difficult to use when parked next to other cars. Of course some
>> people are more concerned about looks than practical matters.
>>
> On top of that, the rear hatch is so darned small that the C30 is less
> useful than a 1990 Honda Civic hatchback! You'd have a hard time
> squeezing a boxed full-size microwave oven into the back. Too bad - I
> really like the styling.