Well this is my mom's vehicle. Her loyal 26 yr old son (that's me) takes care of the ride. Her 2001 XC has 118k on the clock. New Yokohama Avid A/S tires (very well reviewed on tirerack.com). Recently aligned and numerous parts, deferred maintenance done last year.

This is a well maintained car. And it shows. Tonight I did a bomb run down the interstate just at 75-85 mph to see how she cruises. Although I was not always a fan of this vehicle, this one runs very solid. Its handling is about as good as it ever was (which is unsettled... it likes to CRUISE and that's it). The Yokohamas are excellent rubber for the car. It is quieter and steers better than stock.

The tranny has clean ATF, the ECU is upgraded (no tip-in delay) and even with 118k it has no mechanical issues. This is a solid car, and a great highway cruiser. Mileage on this 60 mile run was about 24 mpg... pretty good considering mostly 80 mph speed @ 2900 rpm. What a solid car. Impressed for the moment!

Hi
Where can one purchase the Yokohama Avid A/S tires? What do they cost?
Thanks
Jerry

I always buy tires at www.tirerack.com. I think these were about $80 per. They have treadwear 740 or something outrageous.

We had some snow during the winter and the Yokohamas seemed quite capable in 12-18" of powder. Not as good as my Jeep Grand Cherokee w/ Pirelli Scorpion AT (very aggressive treads). But good. No getting stuck.

And, they are quiet and steer better than stock.

Regarding fuel efficiency, this one seems to get 26mpg or even 27 at 60-70 mph, the 24 was just for speeds above that. Overall it seems to be a good solid ride. Next up might be some aftermarket shock absorbers.

Anybody have any good results with shocks? The car seems a little "floaty" to me ever since it was new. Now, a little more so.

With regard to Shocks, i can comment on rears. Stock is Stock and I think that's all you'll find. With the self leveling there are three made, one for each different model. The buggers are almost $400US each and less then a joy to install. When you do get the car aligned, I've had many cars with tuned suspensions but the XC is the toughest. Tires must be matched front and rear, even tread ware and pressure. Slight variances and it will hop skip and jump for you.

With regard to Shocks, i can comment on rears. Stock is Stock and I think that's all you'll find. With the self leveling there are three made, one for each different model. The buggers are almost $400US each and less then a joy to install. When you do get the car aligned, I've had many cars with tuned suspensions but the XC is the toughest. Tires must be matched front and rear, even tread ware and pressure. Slight variances and it will hop skip and jump for you.

Sounds like the start of an affair to me.

But in regard to the comment regarding MPG. there's a driving technique called riding the cam or curve. This refers to the engine power curve. There is a point at higher speeds where more pedal is not better. Some people just feel it, others can learn it.

It goes like this, you reach a point in the amount of energy/fuel that you put into an engine where the returns start to decrease. At this plateau you can actually watch the rpm's go up and the mph stay static or decrease. With this in mind try getting up to 80, I'm not condoning Speeding so do it on a closed course like on TV, note the rpm's, back off the peddle ever so slightly, you'll keep your mph at a lower rpm. Thus MPH/RPM = < MPG. You'll see this in auto racing, one guy can go a lap or two more without refueling

Thanks for your explanation. Your explanation makes complete sense to me. As a matter of fact, I had noticed that phenomenon before but never connected it with fuel efficiency.

Ta-ta, j.
--
Nautica-Blue XC70 and Green S70: Volvo: 'Volvo: Anything else just isn't up to it.'

Not bad. But mileage could be improved, I believe. I have just driven over 2000 miles to Toronto and back, and my average was 31MPG. I still cannot figure out why some people get worse mpg on their bricks than others.

Ta-ta, j.
--
Nautica-Blue XC70 and Green S70: Volvo: 'Volvo: Anything else just isn't up to it.'

Not bad for an old station wagon :)
Now you know why we love our Volvos. Great front seats, goes where it is pointed, gets reasonable milage, and is safe.

Klaus
--
1995 854T and 1998 V70R