Anyone own a C30 T5 ?

Buckster

Buckster

Buckster

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just wondered if anyone owned one- and whether they liked it ?

had a FN2 Type-R test-drive today and was disappointed - so that ones off the list - next highest in the list was the C30 T5

somehow owners reports of mpg seem better than the Focus ST - even though same engine, gearbox etc. Perhaps different map ? CO levels seem lower too

budget is sub £10k

remaining cars:

C30 T5
Octavia VRS
Golf GTI (hard to find a cheap one)
Golf R32 (nice but £10k for 2006 plate car is quite a lot)
Mazda 3 2.2d 185
and a complete outsider, but stupidly cheap - Colt Ralliart (saw one today - 5k miles for 8k)

has to be big enough for 2 kids in the back

thanks
 
thanks for suggestions - MPS are very tempting as well - I missed a mint one down the road - one day too late:(

can you really get a 130i in reasonable condition for sub 10k ?
 
I haven't owned a T5, but I did have a 2.0D. Here is what I have previously written about it.

Wizardskills said:
I owned a pre facelift C30 2.0D for 18 months so I may be able to answer some of your questions.

The car was ideal for my needs when I had it. If you are looking for a practical hatchback this is probably not the car for you. There are only 4 seats and access to the rear ones is not that easy. Also while the boot is quite big, it can be hard to get large objects in it due to the size and shape of the rear hatch. While the car only has 4 seats they are Volvo seats which means they are excellent. All of the 4 seats in the car are the same (so the rear seats are the same shape as the front seats) and in this class of car I don't think you will find a more comfortable place to sit.

The build quality of the cars is very good. To me it felt well put together (More so that my current BMW z4) but some of the plastics that are out of initial sight are a bit cheap. While the styling is a bit bland it does have some interesting touches with the floating dash and black and white seats (these look the best imo). The one thing I did find was everything is easy to use it the car. Cruise control and stereo control are all on the steering wheel which means you hardly ever have to take you hands off the wheel and if you do all of the main thing you want to change are on the 4 dials on the dash.

The 2.0D engine in my car was, in my opinion, very good. While it wasn't the most powerful it felt quite brisk. The power delivery meant that changing gear was not really necessary for overtaking. I covered about 200 miles a week of mostly A and B road rush hour traffic and would average 45 mpg. Motorway runs would see me average high 50s. The cars handling was OK. It is quite prone to under-steer when pushed. This improved when I swapped the standard 7.5” wheels for some 8” wide ones. With the post face lift I believe Volvo changed the engines and they are not not as good. As for having the 1.6D I'm not to sure how well this engine would go with the car as it is quite heavy. I guess this will come down to personal taste/needs but thing you would have to drive one to see how it was. Another thing to note is that volvo servicing can be a bit more expensive than say for a Ford, Honda, Vauxhall etc.

The car overall is quite a marmite car. You are either going to love it or hate it. I personally enjoyed my 18 moths of ownership and if I had to move back to hatchback it would defiantly be on my list.

If you have any questions let me know :)

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Wizardskills thanks for the write-up - interesting read

still looking around - not many 130is around within 70 miles of here - but did find one nice one at a main dealer, but not sure whether I want to spend north of 12k or not :( - 1 owner, 30 odd thousand miles 07 plater
 
My brother has the 2.2d Mazda 3 and it is very good. He has almost all the options bar leather. Considering you have kids to go in the back I think the 3 would suit you well. Is probably the sensible option on your list. Obvious diesel caveats apply is no good for short miles etc.

Edit: I say this but what were the reasons for being unimpressed by the fn2 because if it was speed etc then obviously the 3 isn't for you.
 
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skippy2421 said:
My brother has the 2.2d Mazda 3 and it is very good. He has almost all the options bar leather. Considering you have kids to go in the back I think the 3 would suit you well. Is probably the sensible option on your list. Obvious diesel caveats apply is no good for short miles etc.

Edit: I say this but what were the reasons for being unimpressed by the fn2 because if it was speed etc then obviously the 3 isn't for you.
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FN2 - mainly the rock rock hard suspension - wasn't as crashy as expecting - but you could literally feel every bump, divet etc in the road

I could prob. live with it - but not sure if wife and 2 kids could ....

it did feel fast - but I was expecting it to feel light speed faster than my current 8 year old 1.8 VTI - which it didn't.

re the 2.2d - the local Mazda dealer (whilst I was looking for a MPS) - suggested a 2.2d 185 Mazda 3 (300lb/ft torque) - and yes very practical etc etc - but only DPF reports really put me off :( I do perhaps 1 or 2 longer journeys (100 miles plus) a week - but mainly I'm into and out of work (4 miles ish each way)
 
I suspect you'll have similar experiences across a lot of the top sporting versions of the various hatchbacks. I don't know if that mileage will cause dpf issues and will leave it to someone more qualified to answer but might be worth a look on the 3 and trying the golf gti and 3 mps just to see if they are too crashy. I suspect the models that sit just below the models you have listed may suit your comfort requirements more. Maybe something like a golf gt? Otherwise would you be averse to a slightly bigger car as there may be other possibilities there that give you the required pace and refinement?
 
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