Top 10 Reasons to like the Volvo C30

1. Fun. It's a fun car with a racy engine and sporty looks. How cool is it to have a fast performance car that has a hatchback. It's a great car for the married man who wants performance yet needs economy too. The twin exhaust pipes tells everyone you mean business.

2. Sporty. The car has a sporty stance and I like the fat exterior. The car reminds me of the Chevy Vega or the Monza, both cars were considered economy cars but some versions had a sporty look and race inspired engines. Both cars were misunderstood but most but dearly loved by some.
3. Polestar. The Polestar version is a really good looking car and the fastest production car Volvo ever made. Yes faster than the S60R. The Polestar appearance package and increased horsepower to a fun, sporty car which took it to the next level. The C30 Polestar concept was a 405-hp, all-wheel-drive rocket that was equipped with Brembo brakes, racing seats and four-point harnesses, and an aerodynamics package derived from the C30 Volvo campaigned in the Swedish Touring Car Championship. This Polestar Limited Edition, however, essentially is a tarted-up, front-wheel-drive C30 R-Design with a unique color combination—retina-searing Rebel Blue (which will be available on non-Polestar 2013 C30s) over matte-black 17-inch wheels—and some Polestar performance goodies baked in. Volvo started with the C30 R-Design equipped with the mid-grade Premier Plus trim level and added Polestar’s engine-tuning package (available on all C30s for $1295) and Polestar exterior badges.
4. R-Design. The Volvo C30 R-design model was a sporty version of the original with R-design badging and some interior and exterior upgrades. It is a limited (400 units 2008) version of C30 T5 for North America market. It included a choice of four body colors (Black Sapphire, Titanium Grey, Orinoco Blue and Passion Red), Sport Body kit, off-black Flex-tech seat upholstery, cushions and backrests trimmed in contrasting crème-colored leather, blue-face instrument cluster, center console with subtle circular patterns and aluminum inlay, wrapped steering with aluminum inlays, sport pedals, sport shifter, floor mats, 18" Atreus wheels, Sirius Satellite Radio with a 6-month introductory subscription. Other options include 5-speed Geartronic transmission, DVD-based navigation system with real time traffic, power driver's seat, Climate Package, power glass moonroof, bi-xenon headlights, Serapis alloy wheels and Dynaudio premium sound system. In 2012 more options were added.
5. Two Tone. A very unique feature on the early model was the ability to order the C30 with a choice of 6 different two two colors. What a very rare option on any car much less luxury cars. Although it wasn't my personal choice it was a unique way to personalize the C30.   
6. Awards. The C30 DRIVe was one of the finalist to the 2011 Green Car Vision Award. KBB (Kelly Blue Book) awarded the Volvo C30 with the 2012 lowest ownership cost award. The Volvo C30 has also won numerous awards for innovative design and the IIHS (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety) awarded the C30 as a Top Safety Pick. The Volvo C30 also won the European Gold Steering award.
7. Niche. If you are looking for your niche and want a car most people don't have then the Volvo C30 is for you. If you are trying to blend in on the road then probably not. The Volvo C30 is very unique and has it's own cult following.

8. Body Kits. The Volvo C30 was available in many styles and 3 different body kits were availble. It drives us Volvo parts people a little crazy trying to sell the correct spoiler or bumper but it makes the car highly customizable and different looks can be achieved by adding a spoiler or a body kit. You can line up 5 different Volvo C30's and they could look like five different cars.  

9. T5 Engine. The Volvo Turbo five cylinder has been around since 1993 and is known to be built like a tank as long you keep up with oil changes and maintenance repairs like a new timing belt at 100K and replace the oil trap then too. The Volvo 5 cylinder was beating BMW 3 series engines in 1995 and was the Volvo 850 was the fastest car in the market for many years. Volvo has won many races with the T5 turbo engine and people have reported getting more than 1 million miles on it without overhaul. 

10. Customer Reviews. Edmunds customer review rating for the Volvo C30 is 4.43 out of 5 and cars.com shows 5 out of 5 (dated 10/16/2015). Customers who purchased a Volvo C30 seem to really like them. The true test of how much people like the Volvo C30 is found when you try to find a used one for sale. My search results were a total of 10 used C30's for sale including all of the major car websites and even local dealership inventories. People who drive the Volvo C30 aren't selling them.