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I'll definitely get behind this opinion will.
I recently ran in to some of the high-mileage AWD problems myself, and I don't think it was really that big of a deal. I really liked the AWD, but when the components started acting up I took the center driveshaft out in about an hour and made my car FWD. No problems at all. Many people have done this. Now my car is essentially a FWD with a sweet LP turbo and pretty respectable ground clearance (which admittedly means the handling is not quite as good).
I'll agree this is probably not the most reliable car on the planet, but if you're willing to make some sacrifices on what the car is capable of (ie: get rid of AWD when it becomes a problem) then I think it's just as reliable as the regular FWD cars.
If you do a search on here you'll find there are some things to look into doing right away, though none are very expensive, esp if you do them yourself.
flush the tranny fluid
flush the brake fluid
make sure the timing belt has been done on schedule and get it done ahead of schedule for next time. (You probably don't need to think about a new waterpump until closer to 200k.)
flush the coolant and get a new OEM thermostat
check/replace the PCV system
replace the vacuum hoses
the MIL is a bit disturbing. Find out what that's all about.
Actually, get the codes read and report them here so we can tell you all about them!!!
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1998 V70 AWD Turbo 190k+
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1999 Volvo V70XC - run away from this thing, don't look back [XC][1999]