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S60 FWD vs. AWD S60

posted by  gcrowl on  Mon Feb 15 01:31 CST 2010
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last visit: Sun Dec 23 20:00 CST 2012
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I am on my second S60 and it is a FWD. We are considering a AWD car and I was wondering if the S60 AWD was as reliable as the FWD. If the reliability and milage decrease hits are too large, I may just look into winter tires. We live on the IL/WI border (below Madison, WI). Also, I looked into the XC90 (2004 - 5 cyl) AWD drive but the dealer service area said the seal of the shaft going to the rear fails often and costs $1000 to repair. Also thinking about an XC90 FWD - maybe better for the small 5 cyl anyway). Any comments would be appreciated. Thanks Greg








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    S60 FWD vs. AWD S60

    posted by  KlausC on  Mon Feb 15 05:06 CST 2010
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    Polaris has good advice, but he would have a heart attack trying to follow my wife through the snow and ice around the Twin Cities :) with all season tires and an A4!

    You live in relatively flat country, and good snow tires will do the job for you. The AWD adds complexity to maintenance and will lower your average mpg by about 2. The XC90 is not worth much in my opinion, too heavy and not good in ice. The S60 FWD would be good, just get 4 rims and snow tires so you can make the swap easily.

    Klaus

    --
    Praying for Cynthia Amendt, heaven bound








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      S60 FWD vs. AWD S60

      posted by  Stonebr on  Wed Feb 17 10:00 CST 2010
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      last visit: Mon Apr 22 14:24 CST 2013
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      I agree completely with Klaus's comments. I live in Boston area, travel a lot to Maine and NH in wintertime and am happy with a FWD s60 and a set of Winter tires -- in my case, Nokian Hakkapellita RSI 195/65-15. These are the non-studded Hakkas from a few years ago. They are quiet, handle reasonably well on dry roads, get the same fuel economy as my Michelins, and they rule the world in snow and ice. Consumer Reports did a review of tires, including winter tires, in November 2009 issue.

      I bought an extra set of alloy rims (Musca 15-in) for about $65 each from erievovo.com. The reconditioned alloys were about the same price as steel, so why go slumming just because it's winter? There are, of course, other sources for wheels, but erie worked for me.

      AWD has its appeal, but the negatives are numerous: lousy fuel economy, reliability questions due to complexity, and replacing tires can mean either replacing all 4 even if just one goes flat or shaving the new one down to match the others. Give me a break!








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    S60 FWD vs. AWD S60

    posted by  Polaris on  Mon Feb 15 03:30 CST 2010
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    last visit: Mon Jul 22 09:26 CST 2013
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    I live in Minneapolis and travel the Upper Midwest for living. Snows on all four wheels of my FWD Volvos has always been more than adequate. Since I run my cars out to high milage I would never consider a Volvo AWD. They just won't make it without a costly repair.

    In addition to my FWD Volvos I also have a RWD 740. Winter snows all all fours make this a remarkable winter car. Stick with simplicity for longevity.

    Winter snows on all fours of any same weight car will out corner and brake any AWD with all season tires. Read Car and Driver's comparison of Audi AWD and FWD with all season or winter tires.







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