Stock 93 245 70k
I have found numerous post for various B23 and B230 Volvos claiming mileage in the high 20's. The listed mileage for the 93 245 is 20/25. I mostly make short trips around town and I am getting consistant 20. Do I have a problem or are the mileage claims I have seen overstated.

25mpg summer, 17mpg winter, very conservative driving style (you probably don't want to be behind me, and wouldn't be for long).
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Stef -- 1981 245 B21A SU M46 324000km my volvo pages

Driving the 83 (M46/OD) at 60-75MPH on a mix of interstates and two-lane mountain roads on a 1100mi trip last summer, I averaged 29.4 to a US gallon. I was following my wife in the 96 Dodge Gr. Caravan (3.8V6), so speeds and route were identical. It averaged 24.

Our son made the same trip a week earlier in the 81 (K-jet,M46/OD, 300k+ mi)and averaged 27. Probably heavy-footed (20-yr-old).

A couple of recent trips in the 940 through the Cdn. Rockies on high-quality uncrowded two-lane roads saw an average of 28.2. I have seen 30mpg in this car at steady 70MPH freeway driving. Around town in the winter it's more like 17-18.
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Bob (son's 81-244GL B21F, dtr's 83-244DL B23F, 'my' 94-944 B230FD; plus grocery-getter Dodge minivan, hobbycar 77 MGB, and a few old motorcycles)

Most of these cars have inaccurate speedometers/odometers at this point in their service life, due to a different than stock tire size (esp. wagons) and general wear and tear. I think that may account for some of the mileage discrepancies here.

The highest that I have ever seen in the '89 245 (150K, B230F, M47) was 26mpg on a long highway trip at a steady 70mph. Low 20's around town.

My 83 wagon consistantly gets 25-28 freeway miles at 65-75 Mph, In stop and go city traffic it gets 22Mpg or so. It seems that my milage is dependant on how much foot I place on it during take off. My 164 gets 18-25 dependant on foot, My 85 sedan gets similar milage to my wagon, but moves quicker. 23-28 is not out of the question for a brick.
Kzural
75 164,83 245,85 244.

There are differences for the various models. See www.fueleconomy.gov to get the range of efficiencies.

If you drive short distances consider yourself lucky to reach the city rating. A cold engine is much more inefficient then one that has warmed up.
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Paul NW Indiana '89 740 Turbo 110,000

Notiee the EPA ratings are subject to all manner of cheats....for proof, check out the late model stickshift Camaros with CAGS....better MPG than any 4 cyl sporty car.

I get 30 MPG in my 745, and usualy am in the fast lane. Hooray for 20:1 compression!

Paul, I have an '89 740 Turbo wagon and I am struggling with the mileage. It's got new AMM, thermostats, o2 sensor, etc. 17mpg, up from 13.

What mileage do you get in your '89 740 Turbo? And Is it a wagon?

Thanks.

I have the sedan. I get 17MPG but that is pretty much all short trips. The orignial sticker is 19MPG in the city for a turbo sedan.

Hanging around here for a while I believe I have everything on my brick in pretty good order. Maybe 17 MPG city is probably the best one can expect for the type of driving my wife puts on it.
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Paul NW Indiana '89 740 Turbo 110,000

I have a 93 245 auto. I recently drove from Dallas to Galveston with the wife and kids and out luggage and got 27 going 70 the whole way.

I get about 21 mpg without fail in strictly around town driving in both cars

-Chris
'93 245
'90 245

I don't think the mileage is overstated. My car (90 with AW-70) has gotten 20-28 mpg in the 5 years I have owned it. Normally falls in the 22-25 range... 20 mpg in the dead of winter during in-town driving. 27-28 mpg on long trips in warm, but not hot weather (no AC).


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90 244DL 253K - original engine/drivetrain :)

I drove my old 85 245 wagon on a 400 mile round trip last week. It was mostly freeway driving at about 70-75 mph. The old gal averaged 28.2 mpg. I regularly get around 25 mpg around home. This car is special. I've owned this car for 14 years and it has 220K miles. Out of all of the Volvo's that I've owned, it has been the best. I've never had to add oil between regular 5K changes (Castrol 10W40 by the way), and this particular B230F just seems to have more power. It has a M46 4 speed with OD. The differential ratio seems higher on this car than other Volvo's that I've owned, and it really doesn't run well in OD unless I'm going at least 60 mph.
steve

seems about right.

I often get 25mpg mix of city/hyway from a CDN gallon which is almost 21mpg. This is from car in sig below.
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Norm Cook „  Vancouver BC „ 1989 745T 205,000KM

This isn't 240 mileage, but the same B230f, except for Regina FI with AW71L transmission.

I recently checked the 940 mileage on a 450 mile round-trip between here (rural central NY) and Yonkers, NY. The road conditions are about equally split between state & county roads (upstate) and faster interstate.

The trip used just over 16 gallons from the 20 gallon tank—which was refilled at the same pump, in the same way (stopping at the 2nd shut-off). Average speed for the return leg was 58.3mph (close to the same for the 1st leg). Tires were 34# pressure cold. Total mileage was 28.29mpg. I believe the locking torque converter contributed about 2mpg.
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Bruce Young
'93 940-NA (current) — 240s (one V8) — 140s — 122s — since '63.

That's normal to good. Mileage claims are affected by many things, stick/auto, driving style, driver honesty, tune, altitude, speedo error etc. I run the numbers every fill up and get 19-21 combined city/hwy for an average. Someone that drives like your grandmother at 4000' with a b-230/M-46 in good tune is going to get way better mileage than a driver trying go keep up with So Cal freeway traffic at sea level in a B-230 slushbox.

On trips I get from 23-30 strictly highway. Believe it or not altitude makes a heck of a difference, the best mileage I got was in the Rockies with 2 people a dog, and a full load of suitcases, 31mpg for a tank at mostly wide open throttle and ~8500-11300 feet altitude up by Leadville and Silverton. Of course at those altitudes a B-230F puts out a whopping 50-60 hp so what would you expect.
You're fine, in fact for mostly short trips you're great.

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Dave Shannon
Spring Valley, California
'67 1800s
'73 1800ES
'88-240
my pages

Considering the high cost of fuel, it's easy to understand why you'd want the best MPG you can get while still getting reasonable performance from the engine.

You can do a lot of things to up your MPG - most of which we've had pounded into our heads repeatedly since 1974! Keep the engine properly tuned, do your oil changes regularly, add a couple of pounds over the recommended tire pressures to reduce rolling resistance, and keep your foot light on the gas pedal.

Driving across the U.S. many, many times, I'd find myself holding the gas pedal right to the floor while climbing grades, as if I could help the engine make more power. I still have to remind myself to lift that right foot until I find the point where the power begins to drop off; usually about 1/2 way. Anything more than the minimum required pedal is wasting fuel.

Currently, I have three of what I'd call 'mileage plus' car; those that give better fuel economy than most of the other vehicles on the road.

First would be our workhorse, a 2003 Dodge Dakota Quad Cab with the Magnum engine. It's like driving a hotrod - all go and torque. We use it to pull our TINY 1984 Burro camping trailer (which was designed to be pulled behind a VW Beetle)and to carry my power wheelchair from city to city. Having a lot of power doesn't necessarily mean you have to use a lot of gas. We get 23 MPG on the highway with or without the trailer behind. Pretty good for a truck rated at 320 HP and 395 Ft/lbs of torque.

Second is our 'new' 2004 Mitusbishi Lancer. Tiny 2-liter engine, but reasonably comfortable and lots of fun power. We're hitting about 32 MPG combinded city/hwy right now, and I'll probably figure out a way to get more from it witha few add-ons.

Last of our current 'regular' vehicles is my old 1964 Volvo PV544 with the B20 and W-30. I don't push it hard, but I drive it fast enough to keep up with traffic. I get 30 mpg whether in town or on the road. Probably a good thing with that tiny 9-gallon gas tank! I fill up at 250 miles whether the gas gauge says I need fuel or not. ;-)

I also have a selection of specialty vehicles I've been working on: Foremost are two 1984 Cushman vans with the 22-hp engine and 3-speed manual transmission One is a 4-wheeler and is registered as a car, the other is identical except it has only three wheels and California says it's a motorcycle. They both get in the neighborhood of 60 mpg, but their top speed is about 40 mph, so I use them in town only.

The most surprising car I ever had was a 1985 Lincoln Town car I used to commute to work at the bank. I bought it for the comfort (and toys) and safety on the freeway, but I got 27 mpg on my daily 60-mile commute. Go figure!