Photos: 2008 Volvo C30

The 2008 Volvo C30 makes for a fun and sporty little car that will stand out in a crowd. It can be optioned up with the full range of tech, though its stereo interface leaves something to be desired. Leave out the automatic transmission option in favor of the manual.

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Volvo looks back in its model history to design its newest small car. The C30 takes its design from the Volvo P1800ES.
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The premium audio system uses 10 Dynaudio speakers and produces excellent surround sound.
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You can choose how much surround to give your music. We thought it sounded best at maximum.
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Volvo's T5 engine, a turbocharged five-cylinder, is mounted transversely under the hood. It produces 227 horsepower.
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Although the grille retains a squarish shape, there is nothing square about this car.
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The switch gear on the C30 all felt solid and made from quality components.
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With its tapered rear windows, the C30 doesn't look as long as the original P1800ES.
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Seven wheel choices are among the many personalization options available with this car.
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The cabin is narrower than the car toward the back, creating distinct rear fenders that follow the belt-line forward.
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There isn't too much cargo area normally, but the rear seats fold down to maximize space.
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One customization option results in these two-tone seats.
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We really like the design of the floating stack, an element carried over from past concept cars.
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The steering wheel rim is nice and thick. You can also get a wooden steering wheel for the C30.
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We felt the five-speed automatic really held the C30 back. Even in manual gear selection mode, shifts were slow.
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Volvo's radio display is nicely done and easy to read. The graphic treatment for radio tuning is really nice.
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The display shows MP3 track information, but we don't like that you have to turn the tuning dial to select songs.
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Sirius satellite radio comes with the premium audio system. In the same way you can't navigate through folders on MP3 CDs, you can't choose categories of music on Sirius.
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The aux jack is mounted in the center console.
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You can fine-tune the audio output with front and back five-band graphic equalizers.
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