Where each one leads
Volkswagen Beetle
- Against cars of the same year, the Volkswagen Beetle comes out better in New York safety inspections (fails 17% less often than average) than the Volvo C30 (fails 16% more often than average).
- On Canada's official test the most frugal 2019 Volkswagen Beetle uses 8.1 l/100 km, the 2013 Volvo C30 9.9.
- New Volkswagen Beetle cars registered in Europe in 2022 average 152 g/km of CO₂ on the WLTP test, against 156 for the Volvo C30 in 2022.
Volvo C30
- Against cars of the same age, the Volvo C30 comes out better at its first MOT test (passes 3% less often than average) than the Volkswagen Beetle (passes 8% less often than average).
- Fewer Volvo C30 cars in the Netherlands carry an illogical odometer record (2.8% against 4.8%).
Only measures that do not depend on how many cars were sold: pass and failure rates against cars of the same age, ratings, fuel use and CO₂. How we compare
At a glance
| Volkswagen Beetle | Volvo C30 | |
|---|---|---|
| Model years in the US safety record | 1998–2019 | 2007–2014 |
| New cars registered in Europe | 178,641 (2010–2022) | 50,101 (2010–2022) |
| Licensed in the United Kingdom | 39,933 | 19,334 |
| On the road in the Netherlands | 5,221 | 8,166 |
| In traffic in Finland | 1,348 | 1,747 |
EEA new-car registrations (CC BY 4.0) · DVLA licensed vehicles (OGL v3.0) · RDW (CC0) · Traficom (CC BY 4.0) · generations: Wikidata (CC0).
Reliability and problems
| Volkswagen Beetle | Volvo C30 | |
|---|---|---|
| UK MOT first-time pass rate | 58% | 59% |
| … against cars of the same age | −8% | −3% |
| New York safety inspections failed | 1.7% | 2.9% |
| … against cars of the same year | −17% | +16% |
| Illogical odometer records (NL) | 4.8% | 2.8% |
| US owner complaints | 2,588 | 49 |
| Most complaints about | Power train | Visibility/wiper |
| Model year with most complaints | 2004 (349) | 2011 (14) |
| US recall campaigns | 24 | 4 |
| Manufacturer service bulletins | 10,891 | 1,401 |
| NHTSA defect investigations | 15 | — |
Complaint, recall and bulletin counts grow with the number of cars sold and are not adjusted for it. UK MOT: DVSA anonymised MOT results (OGL v3.0); New York: DMV inspections; complaints, recalls, bulletins and investigations: NHTSA (public domain); odometer: RDW (CC0).
Safety
| Volkswagen Beetle | Volvo C30 | |
|---|---|---|
| NHTSA overall rating | 5★ (2017) | — |
NHTSA New Car Assessment Program, most recent rated model year (public domain).
Fuel, emissions and price
| Volkswagen Beetle | Volvo C30 | |
|---|---|---|
| Official combined fuel use, Canada | 8.1 l/100 km (2019) | 9.9 l/100 km (2013) |
| Official CO₂ of new cars in Europe | 152 g/km | 156 g/km |
| Average power of new cars in Europe | 162 kW (217 hp) | — |
| Average mass in running order | 1,276 kg | 1,437 kg |
| Dutch list price when new (median) | €33,573 | €25,454 |
| Average odometer in Finland | 135,000 km | 222,000 km |
Canada: NRCan Fuel Consumption Ratings, most frugal version of the latest year (OGL Canada). Europe: EEA monitoring of new-car CO₂ and on-board fuel meters (OBFCM), CC BY 4.0. Price: RDW catalogue price (CC0). Finland: Traficom (CC BY 4.0).