Greetings! About to buy a new wagon: trying to choose between '04 V70R and Audi allroad... need an AWD/manual wagon to replace our Saab 9-5 Aero. Saab = scary fast and fun, not entirely reliable, but just awful in snow and wet (surprisingly, even with snow tires). If I get the R, I will put all-season Z-rated (fast) tires on to replace the factory rubber, which is NG in winter (live in NE USA).</P>


Background: car #2 is an Audi A4 Quattro sedan. Great little car, great in all weather. Pre-Saab, I drove a 90 740 base wagon for 11 trouble-free years. No performance, but no problems at all. Oh, and my very first car was a '67 144 sedan (bought in 1971)... the first of the square sedans.</P>


Now, I'm reallytorn between the tight, really-well executed Audi package, and the serious performing but still a VolvoR wagon. The R will probably run $3-4k less than Audi!!!</P>


Questions to group: how reliable have Volvos been since my '90? Does the R sit too low for winter running? (My Saab's low-low profile is a pain on sloped driveways, etc.</P><edited><editID>neds550</editID><editDate>37964.8845486111</editDate></edited>

I just purchased a Volvo S60R over the summer and am also from the NE. So far so good; it's a great little car... all except for one significant complaint: The turning radius. I actually joined this forum to look for some answers to this issue. I also own a Toyota Tacoma Xtracab 4x4 and that has a noticably better turning radius then the Volvo... and in turn... the A4 has a better turning radius than the Tacoma. (Anyone else notice this??). I recommend you check the stats pages for Audi vs. Volvo. I believe the turning radius on the wagon may even be worse the sedan. Maybe this isn't significant for some people, but living near Boston, it has occasionally been a pain (three point turn to get into a parking space that I would have no problem getting into with the truck).</P>


Other than that, this car has been an amazing amount of fun. As for winter driving, I through on a set of Pirelli Snowsport 240tires and haven't spun awheel yet. I was truly amazed. It does sit low, but that hasn't hindered it in the least. After the storm we got a couple of weeks ago (over 2 feet of snow), I had no problem.</P>


Hope this helps out a bit...</P>

PS... Sorry about the grammer mistakes... Should have previewed it.