Well, on Wednesday and Thursday we had our first (and likely last) big snowfall of the year here near Louisville, Kentucky (US of A). Not much by northern standards (8-10 inches), but the accompanying freezing rain and holiday traffic was enough to snarl traffic and send a tremendous number of SUVs to the ditch line. I drove home from work Wednesday in my '92 244 at about 8:00. It was my first chance to drive the car in harsh winter conditions with decent tires. The drive was a combination of freeway and rural roads, with about 4 inches of snow on the freeway, and sleet/snow coming down. Unlike the freeways (I-65 and I-71), the rural roads near our home had been plowed.

I was pleased with the handling of the 244. It seemed to be very well balanced and extremely stable. The anti-lock brakes were great, and the strong heater kept windshield/window visibility good. I am running all-season radials (P185-70-14, or something like that) and the narrow tires really helped cut through the accumulated snow. I saw several modern cars stuck on tiny inclines. Their fat low profile tires simply sat on top of the snow and spun. With the all-season tires the 244 was great; with snow tires, it would have been unstoppable.

The only problem during the drive came from the headlights. Start with 86-93 models' characteristically anemic lighting, add a coating of dirty ice, and it becomes extremely difficult to "read" the road and choose a good path among the ruts. This is one time when headlight wipers would have been nice.

Those of you who are concerned about driving a rwd Volvo in winter can put your fears to rest. Run decent tires, keep the headlights clean, and use a reasonable amount of prudence, and you and your family will be just fine.
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'88 244GL, '89 244GL, '90 244DL, '91 244, '92 244