I drive a 98 Volvo S90, fully loaded, with 195,000 miles on it. I'm 16 years old, and Ive had my liscense since June of 2004. I practiced in my mom's Jeep, and my dad's Suburban, so I am used to driving something bigger than everything else on the road. I consider myself a good driver, no accidents, one speeding ticket (haha). I passed the driving test the first time, and I received many compliments during my in-car classes (taken in a little Ford Focus). I recieved all 4/4's on the 20 or so point grading sheet during the in cars as well.

First, the downsides of the S90 for (most) beginning drivers. Rear wheel drive is the biggest downside. Obviously, the RWD provides for a better handling performance around turns, and it also gives for better weight distrubition within the car. The problem is though, it is easier to lose control of the rear end of the car if the driver doesn't know what he/she is doing... ie- stepping on it on the way out of the apex of a turn (especially when its wet). Also, regaining control of the car is harder, due to the aspects of RWD. I am thouroughly experienced in all of this though... keeping my cars back end in control during a spinout or a powerslide comes naturally to me... ive manuvered out of many tricky situations. Also, during the winter... haha, RWD+sport tires on my car= lots of fun... for someone who knows what they are doing. I had plenty of trouble going about 20 uphill through curvy roads with an inch of snow on the ground... the rear wheels were spinning at about 50 the entire way, but i kept the car under control for the entire duration... which doubt many young people can do. So, RWD=bad for inexperienced or untalented drivers. Next, the S90 has no traction control. Newer model Volvos have TCS, with a swtich to turn it off. So, if your daugter lost control of the car through a turn, and she kept her foot on the gas, it would continue to spin the tires.

Now the upsides of the S90, there are quite a few. Size... its a big car, not the biggest car on the road, but its a big car. I don't see how a big car will be any harder to handle than a small one, you just have to get used to driving it. Volvo safety... the S90 has two front airbags, driver and passenger, and side impact airbags.. which is a big plus for beginning drivers. It is common for kids to pull too far out into an intersection, or misjudge a light and get hit from the side... ive heard of it happening. Kids make mistakes, I make mistakes, and you make mistakes... just depends on the driver to how many mistakes we make. Airbags are good. Plus, volovs are basically the safest cars you can buy... no question. Volvo quality. My s90 has 194,000 miles on it, and its running beautifully. The only problems have been a broken sunroof (it was hit from above), power steering (the lines were loose, got filled with air, they bled the lines for 10 dollars to fix it), radiator (a good 400 dollar repair, broke at 180k miles, cause unknown), and the windshield spayers (clogged connector, 4 dollars). My car has been througly driven, I drive it pretty hard... ive put 20k+ miles on it, and its still running pretty well. Brakes... very responsive, stops very quickly. Also ABS, a must have. Not fast. 3700 pounds connected to a 4speed with 181 hp (engine, through tires would probably be about 160 hp)= slow car. It has torque, thats for sure, you can feel it up a hill.. but the 0-60 of the car is around 9 seconds... so your daughters not going to be hot rodding it very easily. The car does, however, accelerate quite quickly thorugh 1st gear, which makes it easy to spin the tires. Suspension... the McPhearson strut in the front is the same kind of suspension most sport cars use... it delivers superb handeling incase you misjudge a curve. Ive hit curves insanely fast (i run dunlop sp sport fm901 225/50 r16s), and the car sticks. obviously i dont recommmend doing that to a car, but incase shes not paying attention to the road, and a turn comes up, itll handle it. Also, put some fat all seasons or sport tires on it... i think 225 is as fat of a tire as you can get. I recommend dunlop or michelin sport tires, they give superb wet and dry traction... but dont keep them on if you have a snowy winter... its a big big big mistake. 3 transmission modes. if you keep the car in Economy mode, it is has a very lame, unresponsive feel.. which may be good so your daughter can keep it under control. switch to sport, the car comes alive ("alive" its still slow)... then theres a nifty winter mode that locks the tranny in 3rd.

There is so much more, sorry for the longness. Send me an email at superdoopersauce@gmail.com if you have any questions... ill be glad to answer them. Volvos kick ass, i always like to promote.