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I have owned many volvos since the early 1970s. All being rear wheel drive (140s 240s 700 & now a 1995 940) the present 940 is a beauty with just over 110k. I recently moved my family to midstate NY from Eastern NY and now have more snow than our previous location. My wife and i have been debating the issue of "should we stay with the 940 or should we go to front W D?" Say An S70 (00 65k) or the likes (No AWDS though) The little lady has bought a AWD subaru just to beat around these snow covered hills (kick around car) but rates nowhere near the solidness, comfort and saftey of our volvos.Any suggestions? Should I stay(940 rear whl B23) or should i go (s70 frnt whl transv 5)?
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hmm well it depends what you like....
i WOULD ditch the subaru having seen what happens to them in crashes (rear quarter impact that didnt even take the bumper out on the other car twisted the shell on one i saw recently!)
when it comes to stopping in snow then rwd probably has the edge as you can slow on the engine and the breakign will tend to keep your straight...
when it comes to going FWD probably has the edge as the weight is over the driven wheels...
when it comes to turning personnally i think thats down to hands on the wheel and anyone who turns with power on in snow...well its goign to end in tears...
i have driven 945 in the snow and 850's and found both ok - if snow was my primary concern i would go 4*4 you cant beat it!
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Once you take your foot off the gas, the car doesn't know if it is RWD, FWD, or AWD, it just knows if it has good tires or not.
All the finest cars in the world are RWD. Mercedes, BMW, Ferrari, and many others do not make FWD cars. F1 and other race cars are RWD.
If you like the RWD, get some good snows (with studs if possible) and enjoy.
--
'96 855R,'64 PV544, '67 P1800, '95 855, '95 854, the first three are mine, heh, heh, 405,000 miles put on 8 bricks
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If you LIKE the 940...KEEP the 940!
Volvo stopped making stuff like that in 1995.
Buy the best snow tires you can.
I like my FWD and I'm shooting for 200k but I doubt I'll buy another Volvo.
(Or maybe I WILL! I don't NEED another Volvo right now.)
-BTC
'98 V70T5 5-speed, 166,000 miles, IPD front stabilizer bar, factory rear bar and HD suspension, Bilstein HDs, Volvo tower brace & skidplate, e-code headlights, V-1, Mobil-1
"The major difference between a thing that might go wrong and a thing that cannot possibly go wrong is that when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong goes wrong it usually turns out to be impossible to get at or repair." -- Douglas Adams (1952-2001)
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Personally I'd stay with the 940. I went full circle 740 wagon to V70 Wagon and back to 940 wagon. I do big mileage 50000 a year or so and found the V70 too tiring and too expensive to run. The 940 has Vredestein snows on it in winter, one of the few that are properly speed rated, and it's fine, especially as others have said with a bit of weight in the back.
Regards
Pete
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I had written this passage, following, as response to another message that you posted elsewhwere -- so in case you've forgotten to check that other site for answers:
Forget the hype about FWD -- it's largely the manufacturers trying to convince buyers to accept these cars which are much cheaper to build (more profit).
I've owned FWD (unhappily), an extremely docile '76 Honda Accord and a very "hot" '85 Shelby GLH Turbo. Neither worked better than my Volvos -- or, the Volvos were as good as these FWDers in snow (fact is, I used them only for fuel economy and fun, and not either for long, at that). The main trouble with FWD is that, in trying to negotiate a turn, application of power (e.g., trying to go uphill, g-d forbid) and turning (e.g., an uphill curve) just asks too much of a tire. Wheelspin and understeer to a point where your car just goes straight and (e.g., on an uphill right-turn) right across oncoming traffic! There are engineering principles to explain this (e.g., traction circle graphs), but simply, a tire cannot resist high lateral forces and tractive forces at the same time. In contrast, RWD shares these forces -- front tires steer, while rear tires propel, a much better situation.
But then, I've driven all over New England in winter (our family pursues winter sports a lot) for over 30 years, sometimes in very heavy snow and ice, and I've become convinced of one thing -- the main factor is having really good snow tires. It puts me on a par with anything else on the road (even 4WD cars if they have just ordinary tires).
My personal favorites have been Nokian (formerly Nokia) tires -- I change all 4 tires on each of my cars to studded snows every winter. Currently, their best is the Nokian Hakka-2 (studded).
You really should try these (all four tires per car) one winter before you go to the expense of buying another car -- especially if you love your 940 and don't want to give it up.
Good luck, and season's greetings.
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Your 940 will do fine in the snow with good snow tires on 4 wheels and some weight in the trunk(mine did). I used bags of sand or salt; about 150 lbs or a bit more is a great help. Love the Michelin Alpins which wear like iron too. Bought them on the rims from TireRack.com
Larry
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posted by
someone claiming to be Denny
on
Mon Dec 26 23:46 CST 2005 [ RELATED]
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I agree. Don't believe the hype that FWD/AWD is such a great thing. I too still drive my trusty 20 yr old 745T and put 4 Blizzaks (mounted on wheels from Tirerack) on every winter. The car's not good in snow w/o the snow tires but with them, I go anywhere that the SUVs go in a snow storm with confidence. The car also stops better in snow than newer cars with ABS (another device I can live without). If I know that I'll be in a blizzard, I'll put 3 80 lb sand tubes in the cargo area as the added weight helps.
Your '95 940 will outlast the newer FWD/AWD Volvos and won't take you to the bank with repair bills. I'm hoping to keep my similar car yet another 10 yrs and by then it will have about 400K + miles on it (270K now).
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posted by
someone claiming to be MittenHed
on
Tue Dec 27 03:34 CST 2005 [ RELATED]
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I've got three FWDs in the driveway. Sure, most of them are capable in snow, but so were the RWDs that they replaced. Handling-wise I'd rather have my 245 or one of the 544s to use in the snow. The V70 does ok, but FWD is not as predictable when it loses traction. I say that as long as the 940 is dependable, keep it. A little extra weight will improve traction, but will also exagerate the tendency of the back end to kick out in a skid, not to mention that should you happen to hit something or roll, it will make a most formidable projectile. For that reason alone I'd advise against it. In fact, any time I carry anything, it gets tied down pretty well.
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posted by
someone claiming to be Denny
on
Tue Dec 27 08:54 CST 2005 [ RELATED]
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"but will also exagerate the tendency of the back end to kick out in a skid, not to mention that should you happen to hit something or roll, it will make a most formidable projectile"
If you're "older" like me and have driven many RWDs over the years, one knows how to predict what the car can/can't do in snow or wet roads. I've been driving RWD cars for almost 35 yrs now so for me, I can deal with it. FWD CAN be strange in snow, can "plow" on turns and isn't always fun either. I can live w/o torque steer too. Try driving an S80 T6 for torque steer "fun" ;) (rediculous).
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I think an S70 FWD is a good choice but in the same car you have an AWD choice...if you get a lot of snow, this would be what I go with...don't like the XC? It would be even better...more clearance for the snow drifts and road ruts. If you do go the S70 route, get the beefy skid plate for it...will save your engine.
--
1998 S70 T5 Emarald Green Metallic, 2004 V70 2.5T Ruby Red, Previous Owner of Black '94 850 Turbo Wagon. My cars have been running so well lately they've got me worried.
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I owned front wheel drives since around 1985? My opinion is they are the best for control in any weather condition. I will also say both AWD's I currently own are both Volvo's and enjoy both the solid feel and reliability very much. Good luck in your decision process.
Mase,
98 V70 AWD 140,000 miles '00 V70XC AWD 110,000 miles
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