XC90 Off Road?

[budrichard]

Have any of the Forum XC90 owners ever taken thier XC90's off road into fields that are muddy, rough terrian, or snowmobile trails with snow on them? These are places I routinely take my XC70. I do NOT want imput from any but actual XC90 owners with actual experiences. All else is useless and hearsay.
I have two XC's and while they go about 90% of where I want to go off road, I need better capability that i am not sure that the XC90 has. Other than looking like an SUV but having the same running platform as the XC70 and drivetrain, what would lead one to expect better off road performance than an XC70? Thanks for all replies.
BTW I did search the XC90 Forum and found nothing definitive.-Dick

[dmd]

Got in some mud off road here in TX and the traction control got me stuck. Make sure to turn it off before getting anyplace that whell spin is expected. XC90 is heavy, more so than the 70, weight is not uslally a good thing in mud.

I would think a real 4x4 would be better from what I have seen with auto-AWD and 4x4.

[Big]

Off-road? Absolutely. Better off-road ability is one reason I got the XC90 instead of the XC70 to replace a V70XC. Compared to the XC70, the XC90's wider track, bigger tires, shorter overhangs and sturdier suspension help. In my case I would guess it adds about 10% actual capability and 20% easier driving off-pavement, other things being equal. The XC70 scrapes more and has a hard time with truck tracks, although it has the advantage in getting under trees.

BTW, I wonder who has the 2005 IPD XC70 All-Terrain concept car? A real head-turner.

[ifnt420]

Check out some photos on these 2 pages from our local XC-club.




http://clie.ws/bbs/index.php?showtopic=79895

http://clie.ws/bbs/index.php?showtopic=82031

(Sorry, no translation yet )

[v70+xc70]

Shame nobody makes even an all terrain tire for these vehicles. The wide lugs of a nokian tire snow tire would help though

[No(r)way]

I use my XC90 on rough Norwegian snowy and muddy roads in the mountains here, now in winter i use Nokian hakka5 SUV studded tires and it works well but i wish it had low gear and locked 4x4 wheel drive. Only once i have had problems off road and had to call my father with his Toyata Landcruiser to pull me out of the snow.(the snow packed up in the front and under the engine and the car got stuck) But one positive side with the XC90 vs a XC70 i think would be the ground clearance and overhang as Big points out.

[budrichard]

I use my XC90 on rough Norwegian snowy and muddy roads in the mountains here, now in winter i use Nokian hakka5 SUV studded tires and it works well but i wish it had low gear and locked 4x4 wheel drive. Only once i have had problems off road and had to call my father with his Toyata Landcruiser to pull me out of the snow.(the snow packed up in the front and under the engine and the car got stuck) But one positive side with the XC90 vs a XC70 i think would be the ground clearance and overhang as Big points out.

I also was stuck as you described on a snowmobile trail and had to dig my XC70 out. I certainly agree about the lack of of Low Gear and locked differentials.
Personnaly I don't believe that there is that much difference in capability between the XC70 and XC90 to justify purchasing an XC90 over an XC70. At this time, my next vehicle will have low range and locked differentials. Of course the XC70's will still be the on road transportation for us. -Dick