We're considering this car which is locally for sale. It has a few cosmetic problems but our main concern is rear wheel drive. Everyone always says don't get rwd, especially if you want traction in snow. Is Volvo and exception to this? If so, how and why? Thanks for any answers ASAP, as we need to make or break this sale within 2 days.

The truth is that 700/900 series vehicles are hogs in the snow and rain as normally equipped. Because of the rear drive (which I prefer because of handling preferences) and the center of gravity in the vehicle, these bricks have a SEVERE tendency to fishtail. You can break free the end of a brick in snow, rain, and even on dry pavement without too much effort.

However, although it fishtails it can be tamed by someone who knows what they are doing... solid counter-steering, quick reflexes, and general accident avoidance knowledge work wonders. Additionally, adding solid tires to the equation and perhaps a little weight in the boot can help to make the brick a better performer by giving it bite and evening out the load.

Because of this a brick is not a car for a neophyte driver if you anticipate common adverse conditions. Sure, you're about 10x likelier to walk away from the crash in one of the vehicles than another, but I'd rather avoid the crash in the first place.

As for specific recs, ifyou DO go with one I would sggest you pick up a set of Dunlop Sport A2s for spring, summer, fall, and a set of Nokian Hakkepelita Qs for the winter. I've got both, have driven over narrow mountain passes in blinding snowstorms and hurricanes, and am very happy.

Hope this helps.

-rt

This is my first winter with my '91 740 Wagon. Truthfully, I think it sucks pretty bad, and that's even considering the fact that it's RWD. My RWD '82 Peugeot 505 was much better in the white stuff. However, some of this may have to do with the tires. I have generic H-rated all-season tires on my brick. Maybe they're not too great. I'm too cheap to spring for a set of Blizzak's though so I deal with what I've got :).
--
'91 Volvo 740 wagon. A big comfy box.... and a '90 Mazda 626 GT turbo. Heavily modded, really fast.

Volvos do reasonably ok in snow, but certainly do not compare to a 4x4, of course. But as someone said, if you mess up, the Volvo will protect you. A couple years ago, coming home from work in a fresh snow, I managed to scoot on snow covered ice into a brick mail box. I hit the box so hard that it broke and crumbled apart. I am talking about a large residentail brick mailbox! I backed off it and proceded up the owner's driveway to confess my sin. Thankfully, she had a good sense of humor! Anyway, I drove on home with a crumpled front end and a now leaking radiator. The next week, I went to the local bone yard and purchased a fender (got a matching color!), a radiator, and a corner light. I replaced the radiator and drove around with the damaged front end until I got around to the rest of the repairs. Long story short, the Volvo certainly lost traction and hit the bricks hard. (Hey, I'm from Tennessee -- I can't drive in snow!). But, except for realitively minor damage, no harm was done to the car. The mailbox had to be completely rebuilt.

Regardless of drive wheels, the key to good winter performance is using proper tires and driving in a reasonable and prudent manner. I have equal experience driving both FWD and RWD vehicles in Canadian weather (SW Ont). Based on my experience, neither is better than the other. On my 90 745ti, I have driven in the snow (once) with the stock size 205/55-16 Michelin Pilot summer tires and the car drove like it was on oil and water. For the winter, I use 195/65-15 Michelin Arctic Alpins on steel wheels and the car is virtually unstoppable. In comparison to my other car - 1997 VW Jetta with snow tires, they are about equal in terms of traction in the snow and ice. One main benefit to FWD in the snow is that you can have fun with the emergency brake - especially useful to get around corners more quickly.

How much snow are you expecting. I was born and raised in the stuff in N.E. Here in Virginia, the natives consider it "white tar" and are flabbergasted when they end up in a ditch. Just slow down, take it easy, and make sure your brick has good sneakers.

If you really want to get a feel for evasive snow driving, buy the car, bring it to a snow covered empty parking lot, and have a ball.

FWIW, what other brand of car would you want to be in when a native Virginian slams into your driver side door with a WTF is happening befuddled look on their face.

I've never had a problem in snow with my RWD Volvos (240's). I live in the hills of western CT and drive 40 miles to work daily. With good snow tires (I like the Gislaveds) all around and sensible driving, I think RWD is just fine. I prefer my car to my wife's '97 850 (snow tires all around and traction control) in snow.

Remember these are Swedish cars. Sweden is a country that gets snow. My old 83 245 went through 2 Ottawa, Canada winters with all season radials. I never got stuck and always felt in control and no car warms up more quickly once you start driving. If I were to do it again I would have opted for snows of course. My brother had a 142 and never got stuck in several Ottawa winters. I have an 87 745 with snows and feel very confident with it. Of course a frontwheel drive vehicle with snow tires will pull you through deeper snow than the same car with RWD. The 740 wagon has excellent balance and weight distribution and warms up quickly.


Ron Lynes
87 745 230 k km
near Brantford ON, Can

the 740 works fine in snow....but with
summertires and wet snow...don't tell me...!
It's a strong recommendation....use brand
new studded winter tires Nokia, Gislaved or
Good Year 4-500...furthermoore add some
extra 100 lbs in the trunk if the circumstances
are really challengeing...or if you'r not a
experienced winter driver.

"Everyone always says"

and remember, "most people are freakin' stupid".

It ALL depends on the tires, and the balance of the car. RWD Volvos are well balanced and handle very well in the snow, with the appropriate tires.

With good tires, ABS brakes, locking differential, I'm pretty happy in the REALLY bad ice and snow. And believe it or not, I shame a lot of SUVs especially out on the highway. And it isn't even a challenge for me--I'm just cruising at a very comfortable speed, while they're tryin to keep their battleships lined up in the slush and snow tracks.

My last RWD Volvo wagon, a 240 (w/ABS brakes) was a fantastic car to have in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, in the winter. I never got stuck anywhere, once. I drove up all the ski hills, all across the U.P., and traveled some of the forest roads even. No scary moments that I can remember.

My mom was horrified when she drove her 240 wagon without the Gislaved Nord Frost II tires that she used to have. That car was virtually unstoppable. She also had a Mercury Cougar that felt like someone greased the tires when it snowed. It was not very good in the snow. That was a RWD car too... but a different animal.

But if you dump a set of performance tires on it and expect it to be worthy of 2" of snowfall... it won't be.

Most of the people who talk about RWD remember some of the light, ill balanced, high powered Detroit RWD cars. Those would be pretty bad in snow.
--
Chris Herbst, in Wisconsin.

This is of course a long time arguement. Here is a recent event.
Yesterday I wrote about my near miss on xmas with the Nokian snow tires on my 740 wagon.
My aunt owns a S40, a Volvo front wheel drive sedan, has all season tires, no traction control. Both my 740 and the S40 were in the driveway in 12" of snow. We had to move the cars to let the plow in....guess which car we just put into reverse and drove out ,and which one needed 2 people to push it out.
Did you guess that the S40 just sat there and spun it's front tire?
--
744-16v,745-16v,242Turbo.245DLT

I have both a RWD '89 740 Wagon and a FWD '95 850 Sedan. I feel equally confident in the snow with both cars, as long as I have a good set of four snow tires on the 740. (I only use regular all season tires on the 850.) I will also put a couple of 50 lb bags of sand or salt to add some weight over the rear axle in the 740 as I normally drive this car with no other load in it. I currently have a set of Dunlop Graspic snow and ice tires that are performing well. You can research tire brands at Tirerack.com (I live in Northeast Ohio)

You might ask if it has a limited slip differential. This would be a plus for RWD traction but not a necessity. My 740 does not have limited slip diff.

I don't know that Volvo has a significantly better RWD design than other RWD cars, but the RWD Volvos have a very durable drivetrain. Also, typical repair costs should be lower on the RWD than on the FWD. One of my favorite features on the RWD 740 is the very small turning radius - you can make u-turns that you would never try in another car. You will not find that on any front wheel drive vehicle including Volvos.

I would be more concerned about how this car has been maintained if you plan on buying it.

I forgot my best shot.

All the finest and best performing cars are RWD

BMW, Mercedes, and Ferrari do not make any FWD models. Certainly BMWs and Mercedes are driven in winter climates.

(There aren't many FWD race cars either.)
--
3 8s & 2 7s 725,000 miles total

Facts:

FWD will pull out in snow better than RWD for the simple fact that the drive wheels are located in the front where your car has the most weight.

If you are in a turn in FWD and you apply throttle and you lose traction, you will understeer (plow forward) as opposed to oversteer (spin out). Understeer for most people is easier to correct, as most of the time you ease off the throttle and regain traction. Oversteer you need to countersteer to correct. That is why most people believe FWD is safer, when in reality, both situations can result in you losing control of your vehicle.

Trying to get up steep hills may cause a problem on RWD, especially from a stand still.

Bottom line:
RWD is fine in snow where it really counts, as long as you drive responsibly. You may have a problem getting out of the occasional parking spot especially if you live in conditions like I do in NYC where there's tons of parallel parking only. Other than that, you should be okay.

It has been suggested that during the winter you load a few bags of sand (or was it gravel or rock salt?) in the trunk for added weight. It also then allows you to open up the bags of sand and dump it on the ground for traction should the need arise.

Snow tires will also help a great amount. If you do get snow tires, the narrower ones (up to a certain point) are better. 185/65R15 as opposed to 195/60R15. This is true because the narrowed tiring allows the tire to 'cut' through the snow down to the pavement, as opposed to the wider one simply riding on top of the snow.

FYI, I have never lost control of my Volvo in the snow. Drive safely, drive reasonably, drive responsibly, and I think you'll be fine.
--
Kenric Tam
1990 Volvo 740 base sedan (B230F)
My Volvo 'Project'

"185/65R15 as opposed to 195/60R15. This is true because the narrowed tiring allows the tire to 'cut' through the snow down to the pavement, as opposed to the wider one simply riding on top of the snow."


The 185's are noticably cheaper, too!!!!
--
1989 740Ti 1986 240DL 1984 244GL

Good compared to what?

We've put 15 car-winters in with 740s and have had no problems. We have a wagon and a sedan, the wagon seems to be better because it has less power and a little more weight in the rear.

However we do use snow tires all around - we even have a set of studded tires on our '90 Turbo.

Remember one thing - the minute you take your foot off the gas, and winter traction advantages of a particular drivetrain dissappear, you then have to count on the car's basic handling and brakes.

Volvos have those qualities.

PLUS - If you do go BOOM, you are in a good box.

Don't underestimate the value of a great heater and heated seats!


--
3 8s & 2 7s 725,000 miles total

Yes, absolutely. The selling factor of FWD is being able to accelerate in snow and pull out, nothing more.

Volvos are light in the rear and can lose traction easily, IF you give it gas while turning in a low traction condition. Otherwise, Volvos are amazingly well balanced cars.

I had mine weighed. 3020 was the total. 1680 front, 1340 rear. This is a 55/45 weight distribution. VERY even. Not including the passenger.
--
Kenric Tam
1990 Volvo 740 base sedan (B230F)
My Volvo 'Project'

strange thing about turning and accelerating is that my 740 sedan will only oversteer on left turns... absolutely confuses me.... I've never had any traction issues in the northern IL winters... even with my 205/60R15 ? all-seasons... I like driving in the winter... it's fun...

Oh, I don't drive my FWD vehicle in the winter....

Cliff Scott
89 740 16v

"I like driving in the winter... it's fun... "

Yes. The joy of a little low-speed power slide around a sweeping turn. You can't do that in the summer unless you take the same turn at 85, and then the stakes are a lot higher. I guess the closest thing to snow is gravel--but snow is clean and it doesn't chip your paint.

Doug Harvey

As you are looking for a fast answer I'll give you one.
It was exactly the rear wheel drive capability in snow that sold me on Volvo's. My first was a '69 144 in the hills of Scotland, and unusual for the UK it was automatic. Despite this supposed handicap it got me places other cars, including those with front wheel drive, refused to go. The only SUV's available then were Land Rovers and Range Rovers.
If you are used to driving with FWD and end up getting the car, be prepared to practice and get used to the difference.

Your answers regarding the rwd in the snow really reassured us. We feel better now about continuing our consideration of this purchase. Volvo people are great! :)