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snowy · 12-02-2008, 08:37 AM

I consider around 30mpg to be good gas mileage. I'd like a car with more.

I drive a Volvo 940 turbo station wagon. Around town right now I'm getting about 20mpg, which is the best I've ever done. I significantly changed my driving style to do so (harder to do in an automatic over a manual). I rarely fill my car with fuel--the station wagon has a 20 gallon tank, and over the summer to fill it would have set me back almost $90. Not happening. So I put $20 in every time I think I need gas (there is a tiny thing that complicates this--my gas gauge occasionally stops functioning, so I am completely reliant on my odometer to tell me when I need gas). I buy gas before I need to because of this, and the little bit of extra gas I leave as room for error adds up after a while. I'll probably fill my tank today, but that is mostly to provide weight in the back of my station wagon (if it's not weighed down it slides around in winter, and it's a rear-wheel drive car).

I prefer a Volvo. I've driven them my entire life. My parents have a '96 960 they're going to replace with a new Volvo S60 in two years or so as a retirement present to themselves, and at that time my dad wants to give me the '96. It gets about 30mpg. Has a lot of bells and whistles, but it's a Volvo so there's little fear you're going to break anything. One thing this 960 doesn't have that my 940 does is heated seats. With leather seats, this is important. Unfortunately, the 960 came out of California, so it has no cold-weather package. But it does come with snow tires!

If we were going to buy ourselves a new car, we would likely look for a subcompact hatchback like the Honda Fit or the Nissan Versa--something that would fit us and some stuff comfortably in. I find the Fit appealing because it has a lot of the same versatility my station wagon has. Both have good fuel economy, and I've sat in both and found them comfortable for a woman my size. But honestly, we're going to try and make the hand-me-down Volvos go as far and long as they can.

12-02-2008, 08:37 AM	#5 (permalink)
snowy Kick Ass Kunoichi Location: Oregon	I consider around 30mpg to be good gas mileage. I'd like a car with more. I drive a Volvo 940 turbo station wagon. Around town right now I'm getting about 20mpg, which is the best I've ever done. I significantly changed my driving style to do so (harder to do in an automatic over a manual). I rarely fill my car with fuel--the station wagon has a 20 gallon tank, and over the summer to fill it would have set me back almost $90. Not happening. So I put $20 in every time I think I need gas (there is a tiny thing that complicates this--my gas gauge occasionally stops functioning, so I am completely reliant on my odometer to tell me when I need gas). I buy gas before I need to because of this, and the little bit of extra gas I leave as room for error adds up after a while. I'll probably fill my tank today, but that is mostly to provide weight in the back of my station wagon (if it's not weighed down it slides around in winter, and it's a rear-wheel drive car). I prefer a Volvo. I've driven them my entire life. My parents have a '96 960 they're going to replace with a new Volvo S60 in two years or so as a retirement present to themselves, and at that time my dad wants to give me the '96. It gets about 30mpg. Has a lot of bells and whistles, but it's a Volvo so there's little fear you're going to break anything. One thing this 960 doesn't have that my 940 does is heated seats. With leather seats, this is important. Unfortunately, the 960 came out of California, so it has no cold-weather package. But it does come with snow tires! If we were going to buy ourselves a new car, we would likely look for a subcompact hatchback like the Honda Fit or the Nissan Versa--something that would fit us and some stuff comfortably in. I find the Fit appealing because it has a lot of the same versatility my station wagon has. Both have good fuel economy, and I've sat in both and found them comfortable for a woman my size. But honestly, we're going to try and make the hand-me-down Volvos go as far and long as they can. __________________ If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau