My Sister Needs a Car

[Crashfan3]

My sister just started college and is in need of a car. I've been doing some shopping this past week, with the intent of buying a car for her but today the tables turned a bit.

I found a 1990 Volvo 240 DL Wagon (A/T) for $1200 and I'm thinking about getting that and giving my sister my car, a 1994 Ford Escort LX Wagon (also A/T). This is the first Volvo I've sat in in a long time that doesn't smell like marijuana or dead animals, so that's definitely a plus. Unfortunately the man at that I talked to did not have the keys for it, his boss did, and his boss was out of town, so I was not able to start it. I'm going to go back in a couple of days and give it a test drive.

The Volvo is much roomier, and has a bigger engine (2.3 4cyl vs my Escort's 1.9 4cyl), whereas my sister would benefit from my Escort because it's smaller and more economical, which is great in a college town. However, I as well need the good fuel economy because I commute for work 20 miles a day, four days a week.

My Escort, which I paid $1400 for about a year and a half ago gets 30mpg on average (the Volvo gets around 21). It's got some minor electrical problems and the transmission is a bit tired but it's a very reliable car. It doesn't have much personality, though.

So I'm asking the gearheads of this forum, all things considered, which car would you rather drive? If you think I should keep my Escort, would the Volvo be a good car for an 18-year-old college freshman who doesn't know anything at all about cars?

Thanks!
(I can possibly post photos of both cars soon...)

edit: both cars have similar mileage. My Escort is at 202387, the Volvo has 200566