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My 2 cents are that if you want a 900 rwd, get the post 95 960 with the improved IL6. It is far better for mileage than a B230F n/a hauling around the sam weight 900 chassis of the 940. Having had numerous 740Ti, a bunch of 240's and two 960's, the smoothness and torque of the late IL6 got the best mpg of the lot (equal to my '89 245 w/5-speed), around 27-29 on the highway (doing 80+) The B230F/T is not even close in hp to the IL6, and if taken care of will last just as long. (70k mi TB intervals) The key is to get the car that will run at highway speeds at the lowest rpm's, where the constant 'rolling' resistance is low and momentum is achieved, not one that has to constantly raise rpm's or turbo boost to find enough hp to attain and hold speed. A BMW for example is very good at this with the 2.6l IL6 engine, getting about 32 mpg. I had a '67 Mercedes 230 w/2.3l IL6 that got 35 mpg at 100 mph.
BTW, all of these cars require 30k service intervals of brake, coolant& t-stat, auto tranny fluids, plus 5k intervals on the semi-syn oil to keep them runnning 100's of k mi, so your kidding yourself that anything can be more cost efficient if let go to once every 2 yrs regardless of miles. This puts even the Honda's & Toyotas in the same maintenance cost category.
Very few people get the rated optimum mpg out of the Japanese cars, and numbers like 24-30 are more like it, given the 65+ speeds on todays highways.
Hell, even my Brother-in-law with a Toyota Prius gets 34 mpg, not the 42+ it is advertised to get (on the highway at 65). A friend has a '02 Honda Accord V6 that struggles to get 24 mpg on the highway, and the wife has a '95 Accord that gets a poor 22 mpg mixed driving with the 2.0 IL4 engine.
There is always a trade-off of premimum vs regular gas. Having bounced back and forth between reg & prem on all my cars, incl the 245DL na/ B230F, the better mileage of using premimum gas has always remained the more cost efficient way than running regular gas and paying less at the pump, but suffering a 3-4 mpg difference. It is always best to use the highest grade you can afford, and not only on a Volvo, but certainy with the one's we're discussing here. The car will run better and last longer, especially with highway driving.
Having a car that can cruise with comfort and safety at nearly 30 mpg is better than having a car that may get a 2-3 mpg improvement, and is challenged to keep up a modest pace on the highway, working harder and ultimately requiring more maintenance.
My new V70 2.5 T is a pleasure getting 31 mpg at 65-75 mph on the highway. I wouldn't trade any of my Volvo's for a Honda or Toyota
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'89 245 Sportwagon, '04 V70 2.5T Sportwagon
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