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Hi Evan,
I love Volvo's. I love 245's! I'm an owner of a 92 245 (123,000 miles) and a 97 Grand Caravan (124,000 miles). I must admit that my Grand Caravan has out performed my Volvo in every category except three: ease of maintenance, brake performance, and gas mileage. The Caravan is faster, smoother, quieter, handles better, rides nicer, has more cargo space, has great air conditioning, has a radio that actually works, doesn't leak, is more reliable, and requires less of my time. I have easily spent four times the number of hours working on my 245 than I have working on my Caravan. I also admit that working on the Caravan is generally not fun. Oil changes are easier than on the 245, but besides that, most everything on the Caravan is more difficult to do. The engine is totally crammed into the engine compartment and it is extremely difficult to work on anything on the back side of the engine. The 245 by comparison is wide open and things are fairly easy to get at (not had to do the blower motor yet, but that heater control valve is a bear). I admit that I am more attached to my 245 and that is probably because I have spent so much time repairing it. But the honest truth is that my Caravan has been a wonderfully reliable and comfortable vehicle that has many advantages over the 245. I wish my Caravan had disc brakes all around, rear wheel drive, and more room in the engine compartment. Besides that, I can't think of anything I would change on it.
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