When in the wife's XC70 pretty slow as I am not used to the car.When in my C-30 like a bat outta Hell cause it seems to be the way it wants to be driven.It aint happy below 80mph.Lol.BJ

 

Here's how I drive my Volvo:

When I want to move, I start the engine, put the shifter in gear and step on the gas pedal (gas pedal is a misleading terminology, as the pedal is actually regulating the amount of air entering the engine).

When I want to slow down, I apply brakes.

When I want to turn, I use the steering wheel. If I want to turn right, I turn the wheel clockwise, and vise-versa.

When I drive at night, I turn on the lamps and.....

Lame, isn't it?

1. CITY: I like to drive with the gear in 3rd. For cars with OD switch, I turn off the OD.
2. FREEWAY: Steady cruise at about 65-70mph, depending on local limits.
3. MERGING INTO FREEWAY: Full power (keep the tach off of the red line and try to keep the needle close to the torque band), get ahead of the main stream and slow down to merge.
4. WINDING: You all know it, we drive in the same manner, don't we?
5. RAIN: Drive slower than usual and never expect the ABS to do its job (the warning is on anyway)
6. SNOW: Play around in an empty parking lot. Parking brake is a must for FWD cars.
7. TORNADO: Take-off power until I escape or the engine falls apart[8D].


JPN

 

A lot slower since I got a speedingticket. LOL

 

Depends on my mood as well. I bought the R and she really is a drivers car. On the highway just normal day she sits comfortably at like 72mph in 6th gear. The first fact I look at when researching a car is the 0-60 time, so I have launched her off the line a few times, but only once revved her up and dumped the cluch, which is a fun way to get AWD to chirp. She drives amazingly on windy roads, its truely what the car was made to do going through the curves and hills at like 60 or so, its a quite a thrill. I've reached 152mph on the highway, which she still had tons of power and room to keep going but at that speed the wind pressure had actually forced the sunroof open an inch, so I backed off and let her slow back down, but she still wanted to keep going and had plenty of power to do so.

 

I drive her pretty careful on normal roads, but as soon as I hit the freeway all bets are off. I LOVE hearing the turbo when I jack up the speed.

 

I'm going to borrow this nice little template and try my best to describe my experience (1996 850, non-turbo, automatic transmission)

First off: I am one of these guys who always goes the speed limit even if others aren't. The law is the law, after all.

1. CITY: I do most of my driving here. I'm in a hilly area so my tranny gets a nice workout every time it's out. I don't accelerate hard and try to brake as gradually as possible to save wear and tear on the car.
2. FREEWAY: With hills, it's tough to use cruise control (I don't think I've used cruise since before I had my Volvo) so I just try to maintain the speed (50, 55, 65) myself.
3. MERGING INTO FREEWAY: I like to wait for a nice break in the traffic so I don't have to gun it.
4. WINDING: If what you mean is winding in between traffic, I don't do this. When I pass I get around whatever I want and then go over and stay there until I need to pass again. I only pass someone if they're going 10 under the speed limit, are driving erratically, have a trailer or some other device on the back of their car, or are a tow truck (I don't trust them).
5. RAIN: Since I already drive conservatively it's not really an issue for me although I may increase my lane changes if I know a right lane gets flooded often.
6. SNOW: If there's ice, I try not to drive. If I have to, I will usually go about 5mph under. If the conditions get bad, I always pull off to the side of the road and wait around for the salt truck or plow.
7. TORNADO: With lots of hills, you really don't see too many tornadoes. I think the last one that went through my neighborhood was about ten years ago, and it didn't even affect me personally aside from knocking out the power for three days.
8. NIGHT: It's deer country. I drive slower if it's a deer-populated area. Otherwise no difference.

 

I drive my S60 like I can afford the gas I put in it!

 

I drive my 240 like I hate it!
It's seen the high side of 5 grand many times, and the brake pedal is meant to be stomped on. Too bad it's so slow.
My wife's S40 gets driven the same way, only not quite as hard on the throttle.

 

How I drive my '97 850 T-5 depends on if I am in Economy mode or Sport mode.To be honest with you all years ago i scoffed at the idea of a 5 cyl.engined car...then last yr when i bought the 850 I scoffed at the switch for the Econ/Sport mode....but when I tried it out ...I couldn't believe it!The power the car has in sport mode makes this 4000 lb brick get out of its own way...after coming from my old '89 240 wagon this was like being shot out of a 16' gun off the USSNewJersey! When driving the 240 there is only one mode to driving that...s l o w l y .....but that is why these cars are still around

 

For some reason, My car feels the same in both modes... The button works as its Green in Econ mode and orange in Sport .. But I dont feel a difference...

 

Well based on my limited experience...I'd say you should feel a huge difference...I'm not sure exactly how it works but the Sport mode makes the engine rev faster and the turbo spools up much quickerwhen pushed and the transmissiondownshiftsmuch more agressivelyand pulls through the overdrive gear like nobody's business!So it has to do with the timing in the engine and tranny..that must mean its controlled by a chip...also could be your turbo is good but might need new oil cooler lines.I had mine replaced as they were leaking and i had a noticeable improvement in fuel efficiency,smoother running engine,and smoother delivery of power....Also take note that i have the T-5 turbo and not the GLT turbo.If you have the Econ/Sport switch at all then there should be a big difference between them..I still have the original turbo now with 150k miles...so somethings' rotten in Sweden