Heresy? FWD vs. Q

[John Cassidy/Sallyann Mulcahy <jcasidy@uswest.net>]

William,

I have been a Q fan for many years.  A while ago I needed a new car for
business travel in Montana.  Of course, quattro was first on my list,
and I needed a wagon.  I coundn't find or even afford an S6, , and for
some reason, I didn't know of the '91 220aq, so I looked at an A6.
Beautiful car, but it was heavy and suffered from lack luster
performance.  On a whim I tried out a FWD Volvo 850 turbo Sportwagon
with traction control.  The car was exceptional.  All the performance I
was looking for, except when pushed hard.  The car had 228 ft-lbs. of
torque at 1900 through 5700 rpms. (sound familiar, '91 200q owners?).
    Traction control was joke.  When pushed, fwd was the limiting
factor.  The reason I mention this is that you mention chiping your
car.  If you use the extra boost to get around  occasional semi on the
highway, you will probably be happy with the fwd.  But if you push your
car hard through the twisties, you will wish you had quattro...there is
no substitute!  And then there is the all around balance and traction
for when the weather gets nasty...
Just my 2 cents

John Cassidy
'91 200q
'90 CQ