Ice driving in Sweden - page 2

11-02-2008 10:50

That was until we were given the ultimate challenge to drive the cars round a series of circuits that really did not appear to be too taxing. A few cones to weave in and out of and to be totally honest with you, I really did not feel that concerned. Then I realised we were driving over a frozen lake so the track was sheer ice and then what spilled me over the edge was that we had to drive once with the Dynamic Stability and Traction Control on, then another lap with it off.

If anyone is under the impression that ABS or Dynamic Stability with Traction Control will prevent you from skidding, please think again. This is a fallacy that I can categorically prove to you for I have no shame any more!

I will say just one thing DSTC will not stop you from skidding. If you, like me, left braking too late, then was forced to brake too hard too quickly, the car will skid regardless of DSTC. Proof of the pudding was the beautiful imprint of the front of my lovely S70 implanted in a bank of snow.

So take heed my humble advise, read the road way in advance, start your braking slowly and earlier then you will not end up in a heap of snow like I did with egg – or in this case – sheer mortification – on your face.

The next day we swapped cars into the new XC70 adventure car and the route took us into Norway and around the stunning fjords. With this came lots of twisting bends, single-track lanes with parking places so I had to rebuild all the confidence as we navigated around. But, just like the S80, the XC70 was awesome in its ride and handling and even under controlled emergency stops, the car did not skid.

For we truly tested this car with some off-roading would you believe in the snow! So in a specially laid out off road course we had to steer the car around which actually proved child’s play and the Hill Descent was amazing. By depressing the button, you simply let the car go down the hill with no braking required as the braking is all done for you. It was incredible. Another session of ice driving was laid on via three circuits all of varying degrees of difficulty and here the XC70 was a dream or maybe my driving on ice skills had got remarkably better as I did not lose this car once and I did try.

We had a fantastic day driving finishing off with some light hearted reindeer sleighing, tandem skiing, kick boarding that is really hard work where you run behind the sledge with someone sitting on it and a thrilling ride on snow- mobiles. Just to cap it off, the Northern lights came out to say hello. Magnificent.

The next day we sadly had to drive back to the airport quite early as the weather was beginning to turn. Stopping off on an unscheduled stop to the Ice Hotel to marvel at the ice sculptures, I looked over to the car and thought how lucky we are today to have such utterly dependable cars to drive, how technology in the Volvo camp has moved on and their utter determination to keep on producing safety devices all in the quest to keep us safe. So thank you Volvo for letting me experience the safety features you have on your cars.