XC70 in the Snow -- NoGo?

[tenmiler]

as someone who just moved from a high center 4wd suv to a volvo xc, and lives in a snow-covered county not unlike sweden on many days, the jeeps of the world do not come close when compared to typical driving on winter roads. that goes for not just traction, but safety (read: rollover danger)

sure, a jeep or other suv if you're going to go off road or plowing through undriven snow over a foot. likely? not unless you're seeking some fun.

my '04 xc kicks right in from the start, whereas my suv would have to be engaged in 4wd part time. and even then, starting from an icy intersection, i would always slip, regardless how many wheels i had engaged.

not so with the xc. winter driving requires care in any car. but with all the suv's on their roofs i pass with every storm and some sadly involving injury and death, i don't miss it.

hands down, the best snow purchase i've ever made.

[littlewaywelt]

as someone who just moved from a high center 4wd suv to a volvo xc, and lives in a snow-covered county not unlike sweden on many days, the jeeps of the world do not come close when compared to typical driving on winter roads. that goes for not just traction, but safety (read: rollover danger)

sure, a jeep or other suv if you're going to go off road or plowing through undriven snow over a foot. likely? not unless you're seeking some fun.

I guess some of us just disagree. My xc high centered on 8-10 inches of hardpacked heavy wet snow and refused to back out. In fact the rears didn't even budge, though they were on the ground. That's not an unlikely situation. I think rollover is unlikely for most suvs when prudence and caution are used. In New England that's a pretty common scenario on many storms and back roads.

Forward traction is mostly a matter of tires & throttle. On ice the XC is largely the same as all suvs & cars that have some type of traction control and/or awd for forward motion.

[tenmiler]

I guess some of us just disagree. My xc high centered on 8-10 inches of hardpacked heavy wet snow and refused to back out. In fact the rears didn't even budge, though they were on the ground. That's not an unlikely situation. I think rollover is unlikely for most suvs when prudence and caution are used. In New England that's a pretty common scenario on many storms and back roads.

Forward traction is mostly a matter of tires & throttle. On ice the XC is largely the same as all suvs & cars that have some type of traction control and/or awd for forward motion.

largely the same? i'm afraid you'll have to explain that one to me.

sure, you drive any car like a nut, you will find yourself in a ditch on ice. but the likelihood of a flipover in, say, a jeep grand cherokee vs. a volvo xc doing roughly the same speed on the same patch of ice and losing control?

sorry, basic physics wins out on that one.

like i said, drive like a dork in ANY car, you're in trouble. just less likely in a low-to-the ground car than an suv.

and i'd have to agree.. comparing the two (jeep vs. an xc) isn't really worthwhile. i don't plan on pulling down a house in 4L in a jeep or my volvo. unless i get that big green box...

[Sasquatch]

... comparing the two (jeep vs. an xc) isn't really worthwhile. i don't plan on pulling down a house in 4L in a jeep or my volvo. unless i get that big green box...

See above.

...but the Jeep would not have left me backing down the street to attempt it again...

[littlewaywelt]

largely the same? i'm afraid you'll have to explain that one to me.

sure, forward traction is simple, it's throttle to tires. Put the same tires on a set of cars that weigh roughly the same with the same drive and they'll do very similar in forward traction with the same driver. We're talking what 90% of awd in Volvo does, get you moving from a stop to say 20-25mph at which point you are 95% going to be in FWD, in order to get the fronts to slip in a forward rotation at that speed you have to hammer the throttle suddenly.

sure, you drive any car like a nut, you will find yourself in a ditch on ice. but the likelihood of a flipover in, say, a jeep grand cherokee vs. a volvo xc doing roughly the same speed on the same patch of ice and losing control?

sorry, basic physics wins out on that one.

I agree, but suvs don't flip nearly as often as ppl think and this thread is about the foul weather capability not safety. If they are driven with prudence they'll do fine. I'd certainly rather be in a Volvo if control is lost. I drove Jeeps for 15+ years in horrific conditions and I only lost control three times. All three of which I recovered in less than five seconds if I had to guess. I drove the Jeep through snow that was substantially above the bumper on a two occasions. The XC maxes out far less than that.

like i said, drive like a dork in ANY car, you're in trouble. just less likely in a low-to-the ground car than an suv.

I agree.

and i'd have to agree.. comparing the two (jeep vs. an xc) isn't really worthwhile. i don't plan on pulling down a house in 4L in a jeep or my volvo. unless i get that big green box...

I agree, but my point here is that in the really nasty stuff the Jeep goes far beyond where an XC can go and Jeeps don't fail from a standstill and they are far more recoverable if you get stuck. Don't get me wrong I love the XC or I wouldn't have bought a second one, but I see so much praise that it's hard to believe that anyone pushes this car. People drive it in 5 inches of snow that really anything with AWD and decent tires will do fine in and think the XC is the greatest thing since sliced bread. I don't recall who said it, but the comment that ppl drive them for safety is dead on, imo. The undeniable fact is that the awd vc system does have some pretty severe limitations for awd where you can't lock the wheels or there wouldn't have been people getting stuck in such mild conditions by comparison, myself included. I had my system checked out afterwards and the dealer said it was working fine.


With regard to the house comment, that was made to explain the power/torque behind 4L and that it is entirely different than a W mode on an XC.

[Legend854T5R]

What AWD systems do the pre-haldex XC70s run on and what kind of differences are there? I only know about Haldex LSC in detail, I don't even know WHICH system my 01 will be running!

[Art]

What AWD systems do the pre-haldex XC70s run on and what kind of differences are there? I only know about Haldex LSC in detail, I don't even know WHICH system my 01 will be running!

The Haldex AWD version was introduced to the MY2003 XC70. Prior to that, all XC’s employed a viscous coupling differential. Unlike the mechanical on-demand viscous coupling AWD , the Haldex system is an electronically controlled unit allowing it to react quicker to wheel slippage. The electronic control can also be mated to Volvo's Dynamic Stability and Traction Control System (DSTC).

[XC70-Drammen]

Hey friends!

A few words from Norway and Sweden( I live in Norway and have a winterhouse in Sweden).

I drive approx 30 000 kilometers per year, which means 15 000 km/year on snow and ice: I have only good experience with MY 2001 XC70 in comparison with the two pervious SUVs (LandRover DiscoveryII and Chevrolet Suburban).

It is now problem to go with a fully loaded XC70 on Nordic winterroads, even before the roads are snow cleared.

I have never heard about "leave your car in the driveway", unless meaning do not leave your car in the driveway with warm tires upon a layer of snow or ice, as the snow/ice will start to melt and the car may skid away.

Keep on enjoying the XC70 comfort dureing winter season.

Paul

[bob]

With good winter tires, can't beat em!

[slowflyer]

We just moved into a place with a long asphalt lane that climbs up to the house.

This weekend there we got a few inches of snow that produced a layer of ice.

My 4WD truck slipped going down (slow!) and would not go up in 4 low. Our XC went up and down 3 times with absolutely no trouble. My wife was kind enough to refrain from rubbing it in.

We have found on nearly weekly trips to the mountains that the XC performs well. You can get in trouble on icy descents, but that is true of any car, AWD or not.