(LAC) Forgive me father, for I am about to sin

[Taka Mizutani]

Andrew-
Some responses interspersed within:


On 2/26/07, Andrew Duane <aduane at juniper.net> wrote:
>
> It is a basic Volvo V70 (their large wagon) but without the
> Cross-Country trim (and the big tall tires and SUV suspension that make
> it drive not very well). Instead, it's the "sport" model. It sports the
> venerable 20V I5 turbo engine from Audi of the early 90's, beefed up to
> 2.5L and 300HP.


It does not use the Audi engine, it's a Volvo engine. It's an I-5,
transversely mounted,
with 20v and a KKK turbo, but it's not an Audi engine. I think the
transmission is
an Aisin.

First, how do folks with the Haldex diffs like them? They are still on
> the TT's, right? And some other models had them?


Personally, I do not like Haldex at all- it handles inconsistently on low
traction surfaces.
The Audi A3 and TT are not as bad as the Volvo AWD, but they're still
annoying and
will do a weird oversteer/understeer/oversteer wagging of the tail when
pushed hard to
the point of understeer deep into a corner. I don't know how people autox
these things,
it seems too unpredictable to me, but then again, I'm terrible at autox.


The car comes with 235/45/17 Z-rated rubber (Michelin Pilot A/S or
> Pirelli P-Zero). I'm thinking these are not exactly snow-friendly. Am I
> nuts for thinking about any car with such thin rubber up here in Snow
> Hampshire? Or am I resigning to twice-yearly changeovers between Z rated
> summer flats and serious snows (and carefully avoiding every pothole
> there is)? Stepping down to 16" rims is not an option; there's no brake
> clearance. Oh, and if you had your druthers between those two tires,
> which would you choose? I can get either.


The OEM tires are definitely not usable in NH in the cold. I'd recommend
something like
Nokian Hakkapellita RSi for your weather (you get standing snow and ice in
the winter,
right? No slushy stuff or totally cleared roads?). I'm running 225/45R17
Nokian WR with
decent results, but I don't think they're aggressive enough for NH. Also,
for real snow,
I'd strongly suggest running in the "DSTC function reduced" mode, otherwise
you're
going to have a really hard time turning in snow (the DSTC freaks out and
cuts all power
and brakes so that you have to take turns at 10mph).


This car was truly amazing. It stuck to the road and handled better than
> any Audi I've ever been in, and managed to do it with a grace and
> refinement that I have yet to see out of any Audi product. And it
> manages to do it for $5K less than even a base A6Q Avant, much less an
> All-Road. Oh, and the seats are truly a blessing for those of us with
> middle aged butts that crave a little comfort.


I definitely agree that the seats are really, really nice, but I disagree
with your handling assessment.

The Volvo is really piggy- drives like a very heavy car, prone to heavy
understeer. Even with relatively
sticky Pirelli PZero Rosso tires, it really understeers if you try to push
it in the corners. The steering
feel and response isn't sharp enough to really push it hard with confidence-
you can't really tell what
the car is doing when you start going more than 7 or 8 tenths. While the 4C
system can adjust ride
settings, I find it somewhat useless. Comfort is too wallowy unless you're
on bad roads, where it manages
to keep it fairly comfortable. Sport makes it crash over bumps but does not
really improve handling,
definitely cannot do anything for the body roll. Advanced is really useless-
ultra jiggly stiff ride with no
real handling benefit that I can discern.

Taka