> What mpg do you average around town? I live in a congested area in FL with lots of long red lights and usually only average around 16 mpg.

22 is good around town. It sometimes drops below 20. But I try to avoid congested traffic situations. (As for the length of the lights, try talking to a city traffic engineer.)

Since I only run about 32/29 tire psi, I've got no unfair advantage there. I am running a KandN air filter, which hasn't been serviced in a long time. Plus that 5-30 (my 'winter' weight) synthetic oil in recent unseasonably warm temperatures surely hasn't hurt mileage.

> I prefer driving the car in sport all the time buy may give E a try on freeway and see if it makes a difference. It seems to have more guts in S.

The only [significant] difference is how far you can get into the throttle before the transmission decides that a downshift is called for. Given that the more-occasional higher revs the engine experiences in "S" helps keep it cleaner, the "E" setting seems to me to offer a false (long-term real-world) economy, even if it actually did help the car's government CAFE rating.

> Also, Klaus, you suggest keeping the A/C switch on all the time. If I idle too long my A/C starts to blow warm.

In a sufficiently humid climate, the system will shut down (or at least cycle) to (try to) avoid ice formation. C'est la vie. I agree that Volvo considers leaving the A/C enabled all the time to be the proper default position, but given how infrequently I need to use the A/C where I live, I find that position wasteful and annoying (I can feel the clutch dis/engage, something I'm willing to put up with only in exchange for necessary climate control).

> Last year the A/C system had an awful odor...manure or worse. That lasted a long time. I live in a very warm, humid climate. Maybe that makes the difference.

Sounds like evaporator 'disease' to me. Mine only exhibited a hint of malodor, once, long ago. I think the key to long evaporator life is to keep it clean and dry to the extent possible. But if it's gotten dirty/dusty (that's why the cabin 'pollen' filter's a good idea) and then never gets a chance to fully dry, stuff will grow... (The way I figure it, if your cold can of beverage has condensation on it, so does your evaporator.)

One of the things that gives me pause about replacing this car is its light-colored dashboard top, which really minimizes interior heat gain. The car is dark but the interior stays cool. I wear polarized sunglasses so reflections are not a problem. A bigger problem is that relatively few new cars offer light-colored dashboard tops.

With any luck, I'll be trying Michelin Pilot Sport 205/50-16s this week. I never enjoyed switching from summer tires to the 195/60-15s as I did last autumn when the Goodyear Eagle GS-D3s came off the car (what a relief that was, not having to constantly steer in order to go straight!).

- Dave; '95 854T, 160K mi