P2 V70 R good in snow?

[matthew1]

You bet. I wrote a short blog post about it yesterday. It's a tenacious, clawing AWD system. In hardpack snowy streets, she can accelerate at a rate that would beat economy type cars accelerating in dry conditions.

Anyway, this topic is for thoughts/responses to that blog post.

Here's an excerpt:

These Continentals’ tread bites into the hardpack snow pretty well, while the tires’ compound seems to be just soft enough to “grip” snow… and the Haldex AWD system seems to be putting the power down at the right wheel at the right time. It’s remarkable. Much better than my wife’s prior car, a 2004 Ford Escape 4WD (a small SUV). Plus the V70 R provides much more feedback about the road surface and available grip.

>>>V70 R Good in Snow<<<

[jblackburn]

I think you will find that most AWD cars will actually do better than old-style 4WD systems in snow, and indeed AWD is the way that many car manufacturers are going with their sedan and small SUVs lineups. That's because of the nature of the system, they can react quickly and send power to the wheel that has the most traction out of all 4. Most 4WD SUV's and trucks don't come equipped with a limited slip differential on the rear axle unless you specify you want it with your wallet ($$$$) at the time of purchase.

Audi, Subaru, and Volvo have probably the best AWD systems out there - the things are just unstoppable in snow, and as most of them have been around for many years (Quattro even since the late 80's), they continually get better and better. As cars get ever more advanced, I think now you will see more systems set up like the Mitsubshi Lancer system - with options for road conditions like 'gravel, tarmac, and snow' to change the handling characteristics.

Likewise, Jeep has redesigned their system - the CommandTrac is an extremely capable system compared to the crude (but simple), system in the older Jeeps that just spins all 4 wheels if you get hung up. Our neighbors once got their Grand Cherokee stuck on our cul-de-sac, and my dad went out with his old beat up Saab and without any fuss at all, pulled them up the rest of the street.

I'm sure you'll find some that claim AWD cars and trucks are for pansies since they don't have a 'low' gear for rock climbing and all that, but the truth is, who goes rock-climbing in an XC90 or Honda Pilot anyway?

[JRL]

Subaru, Audi, YES
Volvo....eh!

[confused_al]

Thats what I have in mind...

G in snow.JPG (38.92 KiB) Viewed 2894 times

[RaymanSean]

I'll bite. I was very impressed on how my XC70 handled in the 4-6" powder/ packed snow* that plagued us on Monday. If I was not sold on Volvo before, I am now. The car which had all season tires on it (we rarely get any form of frozen percip and it is usually melted by lunch) did not slip, spin, tram-line, or slide. It accelerated, turned, and decelerated like a champ.

*Yes I know it is not real snow, but in a place like Columbia, SC where the mere mention of snow shuts down everything for at least a day. The stuff that arrived on Monday had most schools closed for three days (the roads were clear by Tuesday afternoon, but still wet) and there is still snow/ice around today (Friday) including on the shoulders of the road, provided a good test for my car.