What is the best Volvo 240 DL/GL/Turbo for fuel economy?

The strongest year was 1984 at 26 mpg combined, against 17 mpg in 1984. That is a 9 mpg spread across the nameplate's history.

How much does a Volvo 240 DL/GL/Turbo cost to fuel each year?

At 11,500 miles a year the 1985 model uses between 523 and 676 gallons, or $1,830 to $2,368 at $3.50 a gallon.

What does the Volvo 240 DL/GL/Turbo emit?

EPA reports 403.95454545454544 to 522.7647058823529 grams of tailpipe CO2 per mile for the 1985 model year, or about 4.6 to 6.0 tons over a year of driving.

Volvo 240 DL/GL/Turbo MPG by year — every rating on record

The Volvo 240 DL/GL/Turbo has a combined EPA fuel economy rating for 2 model years, from 1984 to 1985. Across those years its best rated version returned 26 mpg (1984) and its thirstiest returned 17 mpg (1984). The EPA record holds 19 configurations for this nameplate, most recently a Compact Cars.

In the EPA record this nameplate also appears as 240 DL/GL/Turbo and 240 DL/GL/turbo. The figures below cover every one of them.

26best combined mpg (1984)

17worst combined mpg (1984)

22latest year best (1985)

19configurations on record

Year-by-year EPA ratings

Model year	Configurations	Best combined	Worst combined	Class rank that year	Drivetrains	Fuel	EPA class
1984	14	26 mpg	17 mpg	#17 of 36 (54th pct)	n/a	Regular, Diesel	Compact Cars
1985	5	22 mpg	17 mpg	#28 of 45 (39th pct)	Rear-Wheel Drive	Regular	Compact Cars

Where it has stood in its class

Ranked against every other nameplate the EPA filed under the same class that year. The Volvo 240 DL/GL/Turbo placed highest in 1984 at #17 of 36, and lowest in 1985 at #28 of 45. It spent 1 of its 2 ranked years in the top half of its class.

Every configuration on record

All 19 configurations EPA lists for this nameplate, newest first.

Year	Configuration	Engine detail	City	Highway	Combined	Gallons/yr	Barrels/yr	EPA fuel cost/yr	CO2 g/mi	GHG
1985	2.1L 4-cyl Rear-Wheel Drive Manual 4-spd Regular	(FFS,TRBO) CA model, turbocharged	15	21	17	676.5	17.5	$3,650	522.7647058823529	n/a
1985	2.1L 4-cyl Rear-Wheel Drive Automatic 4-spd Regular	(FFS,TRBO), turbocharged	15	19	17	676.5	17.5	$3,650	522.7647058823529	n/a
1985	2.1L 4-cyl Rear-Wheel Drive Manual 4-spd Regular	(FFS,TRBO), turbocharged	15	20	17	676.5	17.5	$3,650	522.7647058823529	n/a
1985	2.3L 4-cyl Rear-Wheel Drive Automatic 4-spd Regular	(FFS)	18	22	20	575.0	14.9	$3,100	444.35	n/a
1985	2.3L 4-cyl Rear-Wheel Drive Manual 4-spd Regular	(FFS)	20	26	22	522.7	13.5	$2,850	403.95454545454544	n/a
1984	2.1L 4-cyl Automatic 4-spd Regular	(FFS,TRBO), turbocharged	16	20	17	676.5	17.5	$3,650	522.7647058823529	n/a
1984	2.1L 4-cyl Automatic 4-spd Regular	(FFS,TRBO) CA model, turbocharged	16	20	17	676.5	17.5	$3,650	522.7647058823529	n/a
1984	2.1L 4-cyl Manual 5-spd Regular	(FFS,TRBO), turbocharged	16	21	18	638.9	16.5	$3,450	493.72222222222223	n/a
1984	2.1L 4-cyl Manual 5-spd Regular	(FFS,TRBO) CA model, turbocharged	16	21	18	638.9	16.5	$3,450	493.72222222222223	n/a
1984	2.3L 4-cyl Automatic 4-spd Regular	2.3L 4-cyl	18	22	19	605.3	15.7	$3,300	467.7368421052632	n/a
1984	2.3L 4-cyl Automatic 4-spd Regular	CA model	18	22	19	605.3	15.7	$3,300	467.7368421052632	n/a
1984	2.3L 4-cyl Automatic 4-spd Regular	(FFS)	18	23	20	575.0	14.9	$3,100	444.35	n/a
1984	2.3L 4-cyl Automatic 4-spd Regular	(FFS) CA model	18	23	20	575.0	14.9	$3,100	444.35	n/a
1984	2.3L 4-cyl Manual 5-spd Regular	2.3L 4-cyl	20	26	22	522.7	13.5	$2,850	403.95454545454544	n/a
1984	2.3L 4-cyl Manual 5-spd Regular	CA model	20	26	22	522.7	13.5	$2,850	403.95454545454544	n/a
1984	2.3L 4-cyl Manual 5-spd Regular	(FFS)	20	27	23	500.0	12.9	$2,700	386.39130434782606	n/a
1984	2.3L 4-cyl Manual 5-spd Regular	(FFS) CA model	20	27	23	500.0	12.9	$2,700	386.39130434782606	n/a
1984	2.4L 6-cyl Automatic 3-spd Diesel	(DIESEL), Diesel	22	26	24	479.2	14.9	$3,750	424.1666666666667	n/a
1984	2.4L 6-cyl Manual 5-spd Diesel	(DIESEL), Diesel	23	31	26	442.3	13.7	$3,450	391.53846153846155	n/a

How the rating has moved between model years

Comparing the best-rated configuration of each year. 0 of 1 year-over-year steps improved the top rating.

Change	Best combined	Delta	Gallons a year at the newer rating
1984 → 1985	26 → 22 mpg	-4 mpg	523 gal

What 240 DL/GL/Turbo fuel costs over a year

At the EPA's 11,500 miles a year, the 1985 Volvo 240 DL/GL/Turbo burns 523 to 676 gallons depending on configuration. Below is what that costs at three pump prices, and how much more the thirstiest configuration costs than the most efficient one.

Pump price	Most efficient	Thirstiest	Spread
$3.00/gal	$1,568	$2,029	$461
$3.50/gal	$1,830	$2,368	$538
$4.00/gal	$2,091	$2,706	$615

EPA’s own estimate for the 1985 model year is $2,850 to $3,650 a year in fuel, or $7,000 more than the average new vehicle over five years.

How it compares with other Compact Cars

Across the 498 nameplates EPA classifies as Compact Cars, the median best combined rating is 26 mpg. At 22 mpg the Volvo 240 DL/GL/Turbo is 4 mpg below the median, which is worth about $281 a year at $3.50 a gallon.

All Compact Cars rankings — every nameplate in the class, best to worst.

Other Volvo nameplates

Every Volvo model compared → — all nameplates ranked by best combined rating, with what each one costs a year.