Snows here and rear wheels are spinning

[greenfingers]

Bigtree and CHB, I am with you on this. The first thing I thought this morning upon seeing a blanket of snow outside was - must check 4WD to be certain it works. What delight to feel that traction and see the anti skid symbol light up on the dashboard!
Must say, I had my doubts until now, after reading all those horror stories and that AWD poll, but I feel my brand loyalty strengthening after applying full throttle on the white stuff!

[chb]

Though the michelin diamaris are not winning any winter awards, the performance of the xc90 in snow and ice is amazing. it finds grip where there should be none and always corrects any slides or slips I try to coax into her. As Brian Cox would say....AMAZING!

[Ron_XC90]

Redditch was covered in at least 4 inches of snow Yesterday afternoon and have been out till 1.30AM pulling cars & vans up hills. The xc90 really works well in these conditions, but fit the right tyres
I have now for the 3rd Year in snow been using GoodYear Wrangler HP's as well as for offroad adventures and very good all-round tyres

[chb]

What do you use to tow?

[Ron_XC90]

For normal cars the tow eye and an elastic rope (up to 3 ton). For heavier cars/vans I have 15 ton straps which I fix to the towbar with shackles
Oh and for normal road conditions I have recently bought a tow-pole (with spring), ideal to use when people have never been towed before

[chb]

Ah cool...I bought an elastic tow rope from Clas Ohlson in Leeds and keep it in the back of the XC90 in the hope of rescuing some deserving 2WD neighbout. I have not needed it yet, but am reassured that at least its the right sort of thing. Have done plenty towing in the past, but interested to hear of your experience!
Do all cars have a hitch on the front for a tow rope?

[Ron_XC90]

The elastic ropes are great, as they reduce the shocks, but are only suited for 3 or so ton, but more than adequate for normal cars.
The benefit of straps is that they don't twist; there are some horror stories of screw-in tow eyes being unscrewed by the rope when under load.

Every car I've seen so far has got recovery points, getting to them is a different story. Usually the points are hidden behind a plastic cover in the bumper and use the screw-in eye's. No manufacturer is the same and some are left and some are right thread.
My biggest challenge last night was a new style Audi TT with a 7 Month pregnant lady passenger, a week's Tesco shopping in the boot and the tow eye hidden under the boot floor all the way at the back. When we finally got the eye, the panel in the bumper was so stuck that I eventually gave up as I would probably have damaged the car trying to remove it with a screwdriver. We did manage to get the car onto a safer spot and the ladies home with shopping

One last thing is the quality of the recovery equipment & ropes/straps. During my recovery training I have seen examples of equipment failing, so a word of advise is to get the best you can afford and get tested shackles and ropes. They cost more, but will last a lifetime, plus you know you can rely on the quality. Ropes for sale at Aldi's and Tesco's usually won't...

[laundryman]

Here in Hampshire we had a disappointing 2" of the white stuff, most of which then melted before I had a good try out. Hope the rest of you are having some white weather fun!!
Not looking forward to the ice though!
Larry

[renesis]

after spending 7 hours getting home from london on saturday night in my peugeot van i was really pleased to get in the xc90 sunday morning to take littleun out sledging.

i tried pratting around on a empty car park and the car just gripped and went in any direction i pointed the wheel, driving the xc90 in snow was just like driving it off snow. big thumbs up to the car very impressed. especially as we live on top of a big hill

although i do miss the RX8 for pratting around

[JimG]

Originally Posted by renesis

after spending 7 hours getting home from london on saturday night in my peugeot van i was really pleased to get in the xc90 sunday morning to take littleun out sledging.

i tried pratting around on a empty car park and the car just gripped and went in any direction i pointed the wheel, driving the xc90 in snow was just like driving it off snow. big thumbs up to the car very impressed. especially as we live on top of a big hill

although i do miss the RX8 for pratting around

What tyres do you have?