Any 15 year old car experience will depend on how it has been driven and maintained much more than the brand,

I ca trash a Toyota in 3 months without doing anything ridiculous, the brand is driven by bland people who think Olive Garden is a good restaurant .

Ouch, I’m snarky today,

Surface gap plugs and the older Bosch with the teeny weenie platinum wire electrode are the only plugs I have seen these engines not like when they are at correct gap. They don't like Volvo correct for application plugs if someone gaps them wider. The CEM doesn't give a hoot about plugs but if you h...

That cat efficiency code is rarely the cat, it's usually some other fuel issue. Changing the OXS will clear the code but not solve the issue. By the way, the PM model replaces OXS after100kmiles and certainly by 150k miles.

If it has the excessive oil consumption issue it will show up by 50 K miles or before. The engine, like almost all others, uses low tension friction reducing rings. Oil sludge from long drain intervals, when the operating conditions don't support long drain, causes oil depositss in ring grooves to b...

The only real downside I believe is the questionable performance/economy ratio. It used fuel like a T6 but doesn't pack that much more oomph in the heavier P3 than the considerably more economical P2 2.5T (especially if you stick a software tune on the latter). On this end it never sold well for tha...

That it has that milage in 9 years would lead me to believe it was no 3 miles at a time school bus. It likely is good. The oil filler grate keeps you seeing a lot but if it has some deposits that is normal but 1/4 inch or more of g=sludge would cause me some pause.

The cat on these car is of very high quality (and really expensive to replace, aftermarket are a hit or miss and may not pass some inspections). Aftermaket O2 sensors can also throw a cell Indeed when an ignition coil fails (engine starts missing and shaking a little), we need to stop driving or at ...

I'm old fart enough to not trust any substantial part of my life to any always-online device, but Kenwood DDX6705S is doing great in my XC70. It has that smartphone integration you need, however it is all done via the only one USB cable. If smartphone apps on 2DIN display would be must have for me, ...

Your followup post is both informative and appreciated

Not to steal anyone’s thunder, but, unfortunately, yes. The expense that comes with P2 AWD suspension repairs (at a shop) comes chiefly in the labor involved. All AWD P2’s require removal of the entire assembly to replace worn out shocks or cracked springs. To do either, you will need spring compres...