740 Turbo does only 16 mpg. Normal?

[OrangeAirsoft]

I didn't know how to measure MPG. So what I did was top her up, full tank, & set the trip meter to zero. I then took the miles reading when the fuel needle was midway.

Halfway through the tank, I read 128 miles. So if the tank holds 15.8 US gal. (from the manual), it consumed 7.9 gallons to do 128mi. That is roughly 16.20mpg if my math and logic is correct.

This is rather steep, or is it? Maybe I'm just used to driving Civics all these years, that 16.20mpg is a shame to the 32++ mpg my Honda does. This is my first volvo, and first effort to drive a very cool car (i just love it) that is 19 years old. I just want to know if it is normal for this type/year of car, and if it isn't what is causing it/what do I need to check.

I do not have check engine light on, car runs great 100%, does not have weird sounds, smells, smoke, or anything. Odo reads 188k miles. Car was tuned up about 8-10 months ago, has new Pirellis inflated right, even PASSED smog test in (strict) California 2 weeks ago. So... I really expect it to do ~19/23 like what EPA says. But 16mpg isn't really pleasant when gas in Los Angeles is now $2.79 hehehe...

Thanks guys....

[ptootill]

I didn't know how to measure MPG. So what I did was top her up, full tank, & set the trip meter to zero. I then took the miles reading when the fuel needle was midway.

Halfway through the tank, I read 128 miles. So if the tank holds 15.8 US gal. (from the manual), it consumed 7.9 gallons to do 128mi. That is roughly 16.20mpg if my math and logic is correct.

The trouble with this is that you are relying on the fuel gauge being accurate. Depsite the leaps in modern technology, this is one area that has stubbornly refused to improve - gauges are notoriously inaccurate.

My approach is to fill up to the brim, note the mileage; drive until the tank is nearly empty; fill up and note mileage. Then you can work it out with a reasonable degree of accuracy.

If you have a Palm Pilot, then I recommend a program called AutoMobile from Linke Soft. Will track your expenses and economy for you.

I assume you are talking US gallons? My V90 3.0 does about 20 miles per US gallon.

Rgrds

Peter