I to have had similar coments about my 1800(wife and brother), but strangly not my 122. In an effort to understand I put the two to the test. Using a fish scale(hook on wheel, crossbrace intersection), I turned both, while pushing them at a steady speed with my lawn tractor in low gear. It turned out the 122 was harder to steer by 2 lbs. My conclusion from this experiance is that the lower seating position of the 1800 contributes to the effort required. Btw I did the same test on my Mazda rx-7, and it was harder than the Volvo's but strangely no complaints from the peanut gallery.

Merci

Yvan
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65 122s/73 1800es/80 262c(350ci v8)/89 745t/87 780/89 740/89 740t/ 86 745