Which C30s to avoid?

[xco]

My missus has got the D5 se lux (MY57) and a very nice beast it is too. If you already have 2 versions of a D5 then you already know what to buy dont you?

RTI Satnav/ Phone/ Beautiful FULL blue leather heated seats/winter pack/ Barentz Blue Metallic finish/ and a Wicked sound system.

Eats up the miles and at 45 mpg
not bad for a 185. And at 0-60 7.5ish secs. if you feel inclined for a bit of "getamoveon" it dont hang about.

Been very reliable. Only downside is only a 4 seater but missus's run around so no biggy.

We just take my XC90 out if we need more seats.

[martin93]

I would recommend the 5 cylinder D3 as well. I used to have a C30 with that engine and it was fabulous. Basically a slightly de-tuned D4 but mine still had more than enough poke. Definitely go for heated seats as well, that would be a must for me as well.

As long as you get a 5 cylinder in one of these, you'll love it. I currently have a 1.8 4 cylinder V50, with the MZR engine and the lack of timing belt is great... pity about LITERALLY everything else on the engine (throttle body, piston rings, sensors etc etc).

[simonsen]

After owning almost every engine in Volvo lineup I can tell you few things :
- my first one was d5 auto engine was great but gearbox made it slow and its not Rev happy
- then I had to have t5 so much fun, but few problems with sensors map, maf etc and economy was rather poor
- 2.4i 170 bhp but you don't really feel its pointless its better to go t5 or 2.0
- than I had 2.0d ok not many problems but unappealing everything including performance and sound is just about ok
- 1.6d it moves the car cheap to maintain even if this engine will go you can fetch a second hand unit for £200
- just fixing my next 1.8 it goes but just about and it has a lot of common problems ( I have to sort out piston rings) and it delivers bad mpg too
-1.6 and 2.0 can't comment as I haven't had one but if 1.8 just about to move the car then 1.6 must be a paaaiiinn.
- and now I had D3 and D4, both great both have plenty of torque both sounds great with great economy so far same as d5 but I feel like D3 and D4 are a bit more Rev happy

[aland]

I'm still on the hunt.
I've seen a nice 1-owner T5 that I may go to view.
The emissions cr@p on modern diesels concerns me. My '08 Euro4 D5 XC90 has been OK, but mostly does longer trips - however there are plenty of worrying stories about DPF issues and them drinking oil. I assume newer cars have more emissions stuff on them?

I think for this i'd rather go petrol. The existing car this will replace does about 5k miles / year at about ~35mpg. Typical journeys are about 12-15 miles.
If a T5 does 30mpg average, it would cost about £130/year more in fuel, not too bad.
I'm ignoring the extra road tax cost for now.

Sooo - which of the other petrol engines are 'proper' Volvo engines (and preferably 5-cylinder), and NOT Ford, Mazda etc ??

[LizardOfBodom]

I...

Sooo - which of the other petrol engines are 'proper' Volvo engines (and preferably 5-cylinder), and NOT Ford, Mazda etc ??

To my knowledge, ONLY 5 cylinders are "proper" Volvo petrol ones - 2.4i and T5. Unless late C30 has different engine setup...

[aland]

I'm still on the hunt.
I've seen a nice 1-owner T5 that I may go to view.

That fell through, seller let me know it had sold shortly after i'd left to go and view it!
Looks like the 2L models are both cheaper to buy and run - is that the Mazda engine?
Any known issues with this engine?

[Thassos]

having owned one,

The 2L Petrol is based on a mazda block, and shares some parts with ford ancilliaries, super quiet engine that needs some revs to get some reasonable accel, but then anyone who is used to diesels is going to notice that 😁

Petrol makes a v sensible choice esp if your doing lots of short journeys, one thing i found was the thermostat was causing the engine to not properly get up to temp leading to some excessive oil consumption.. just dont rely on the gauge as an indication of real temp as its a "temp approx warm" indicator, and wont show you an engine running at 75c instead of 90c as it should be.

One thing to watch out for is the aircon, if its not working often the assumption is it just needs a re gas, not so, can often be the compressor or condensor which can be an expensive fix, but at least the ford oe parts not as exp as volvos own.

[TheFiend]

That fell through, seller let me know it had sold shortly after i'd left to go and view it!
Looks like the 2L models are both cheaper to buy and run - is that the Mazda engine?
Any known issues with this engine?

Don't write off the Mazda engined C30's..... I've had 6 years of trouble free motoring with mine - starts first time every time and get between 38 and 42MPG.

[Mancuniandragon]

I have the D4 and it's a cracker that good I have kept it since new and it is 9yrs old and I still wouldn't change it.

[aland]

Bought one!

Soooo...
Today I put a deposit on a 11-reg white 2.0 Petrol in Lux SE trim with heated seats.
The 2.0 doesn't feel 'quick' (but I did drive there in my V70R!), but adequate for a small car.

The only feature it doesn't have which would be nice is bluetooth hands-free, so i'll fit an aftermarket solution for that. I see 'Bluepower' replacement radios recommend a few times - just expensive!

The seller is due to sort out a few niggles I found and i'll collect next weekend.

Thanks for the help all.

[Markos01]

Congrats! Regarding Bluepower, customer service is considered to be non-existent, and by all accounts they do go wrong...