 UPDATE: Back in March of this year I wrote a review of our M35 AWD and complained about, among other things, the poor gas mileage.  In all fairness I need to report that somewhere around 9K miles the mileage improved.  I now get a solid 21 mpg of mixed driving and 22.5 mpg highway.  This is with premium fuel and driving driven conservatively.  I still blame the AWD for a 2 mpg loss and would encourage new car buyers to press their dealer for rear wheel drive cars.  With modern traction control, there is very little real world benefit to AWD.  And given the obvious need to conserve fuel, AWD just cant be justified, in my humble opinion. The nature of this car makes it tiring to drive.