Great article with lots of nice pics.
If you want to avoid fouling up an EGR or Cat, there are two things that seem to help more than just using the correct gear. The first is to avoid cold starts, as the engine burns 2 to 3 times as much fuel when cold and it is during that warm up period that most of the Carbon gets deposited. Using a garage helps slightly, but the real good move is to pre heat the engine in winter. A 250W stick on sump heater cost about 70 pounds, plus perhaps another 30 pounds for the cable, plugs and timer. The cost of the electricity is about the same as the fuel you will save and it's nice to be able to get the heater working faster than normal.
The second thing is to make sure you get a few hours of steady motorway driving in at least every month, as that will help burn most of the deposits off. My V40 1.9D's EGR has been cleaned once in 120,000 miles.
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