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940 winter driving[740-760/1986] posted by Stephan G. Taranko on
Saturday, 4 April 1998, at 7:50 p.m.
I want to buy a 1994 940 Wagon for my daughter. Saftey is the primary concern why I am considering a VOLVO. We live in Connecticut, where it is hilly and quite often there is snow on the roads and it is rather slippery. One concern I have with this car is that the 940 RWD. How does this car compare to a FWD like the 850?
I would appreciate any comments that might make my decision somewhat easier.
Stephan
Re: 940 winter driving[740-760/1986] posted by Michael on
Saturday, 4 April 1998, at 11:35 p.m.
My dad lives up in Idaho and has a 960 wagon. He said it handles really well in the snow. The weight distribution in the 900 series is about 50/50 front/rear. If the 940 is anything like my 240, it'll handle well in the snow, but putting snow tires on all 4 wheels makes it glued to the road.
hope this helps
Mike
Re: 940 winter driving[740-760/1986] posted by Jerry Andersch on
Sunday, 5 April 1998, at 11:34 a.m.
Stephan,
If saftey is your principal concern than Volvo is one of the best if not the very best choice for your daughter's car. In regard to driving on ice and snow ... rear wheel drive should not be a major problem ... but moderate to heavy snow for much of the winter will demand agressive snow tires at all four wheels. Even the best All Season tires are not up to the task under those conditions .
It's advisable to have a set of real snow tires mounted on a second set of rims ... then you can switch them in a matter of minutes each fall/spring. The Tire Rack has some very good deals in the fall on snow tire/rim packages. They are on the net at tirerack.com.
My daughter drives our 245 DL rear driver to school at the University of Utah . She's made it safely to class through even the 20" in 24 hr. snow fall we had in the Salt Lake Valley last March.
So with proper winter tires...rear wheel drive Volvos can get around quite well in the snow ... and as many of us long time Volvo owners have discovered ... no matter what the road conditions or time of year ... if bad things happen there is no safer place to be than in a Volvo.
Hope this is of some help to you.
Jerry Andersch
1980 242 DL
1986 245 DL
1988 244 DL
1995 944T
The Tire Rack Home Page
Re: 940 winter driving[740-760/1986] posted by Jonathan E. Schneeweis on
Sunday, 5 April 1998, at 12:17 p.m.
I certainly would not contest the safety of a Volvo, but two things concern me. Four snow tires are a boon to any car, but at least here in the North East we no longer have a "reliable" snow season. This makes is very difficult to project when the snow tires should be mounted. Now granted we also do not get very much snow here in Pennsylvania. But unless you wish run your set of Blizzaks five months out of the year you often get at least one snowy trip on all seasons radials.
That at least being my case, a comparison of my '89 240DL Wagon and my father's '90 Toyota Camry (FWD), has yielded the following experiences. Certainly both cars can be driven in the snow, and both handle better with dedicated snow tires, but the FWD drive Toyota is almost a "delight" to drive in the snow. Point its nose where you want to go, and you have no worries. I have found that this makes it very good for novice drivers like myself. There have simply been fewer surprises with FWD in both the snow and rain, and personally I would much rather have a nice dull trip listening to the radio (-: than something unexpected.
I feel it's necessary to safely test the cohesion envelope of the cars one drives in a variety of weather conditions in order to have an understanding of their reactive characteristics in the event of a "surprise." To this end, I have found that the FWD Toyota does little more than four-wheel-slide, a condition easily remedied by slowing down. Once, in the snow, its rear end started to break loose, and a quick turn in the same direction and a little gas straightened it right out. My brick on the otherhand, which I love dearly, has this very nasty tendancy of wanting to spin around like a top. Hard cornering under dry conditions can break the rear end loose requiring a MUCH larger turn correction - often putting you in the next lane over. I am loathe to have to take a turn quickly in it should the weather be harsh.
Thus FWD and RWD require two completely different styles of emergency recovery procedures. As a Fire-Fighter/Rescue worker I have personally seen my share of people that have done the wrong thing regardless of whether their car was FWD or RWD. It is my opinion that switching novice drivers between car types is not the greatest idea.
Volvo's had it right all along,
Drive Safely,
Jonathan
Re: 940 winter driving[740-760/1986] posted by John Werner on
Monday, 6 April 1998, at 10:24 a.m.
Most of the stuff I would add has been covered, but there are a couple of points I wanted to highlight and add.
First, if you expect to go anywhere in snow, use snow tires. All season tires are not a replacement for snow tires, they are at best a compromise, and at worst a deception. (see http://www.frontiernet.net/~werner/snowtire/ for more comments.)
Second, in the snow, I have found that both my 245, 145, and 740T liked a little extra weight in the rear. 50 Lbs of sand works really well.
As for FWD vs. RWD, that really gets into a great debate. Personally, I would put my daughter (who is about 15 years away from driving) in a RWD Volvo. The reasons? If she does get in trouble she will probably walk away from it. (My uncle has been in almost 10 serious accidents. He never lost control of his car, but the other people did.) Second, it will teach her better car handling. FWD, with it's generally superior traction, lulls a driver into a sense of security. RWD tends to remind you more what is going on.
- John
Re: 940 winter driving[740-760/1986] posted by Steve on
Sunday, 5 April 1998, at 9:08 p.m.
I think that a RWD handles fine with Blizzaks in snow, but Jonathon is absolutely correct- take your daughter out to a big parking lot in the snow and have her practice hard braking and maneuvering, no matter whether you get a FWD or RWD.
Re: 940 winter driving[740-760/1986] posted by Alan Carlo on
Monday, 6 April 1998, at 8:30 p.m.
Stephan,
I also live in Connecticut and have had experiences with both a 240 and a 940 during several major snowstorms of at least 6 inches. The 245 did very well with Gislaved all season tires. When I got my 944 I bought a set of 4 Gislaved snow tires from Boston Volvo for around $700. mounted, balanced and with a set of wheel covers. With these tires on I got through the winter of 1994, which you may recall brought us many heavy snowfalls, without any problems. The 4 snow tires made the car handle extremely well. I recently purchased a 1993 945 wagon and found a set of 4 Gislaved snow tires and wheel covers in the Bargain news for $275. They still have a couple of years left on them. A set of 4 snow tires may cost a bit of money but their use extends the life of your regular tires and saves your alloy wheels from the salts and ravages of winter driving. If you go the way of 4 snow tires, I would check around for a used set. I have even seen used sets advertised at the local dealer.
Alan