Nokian WR evaluation.

I too am about to put shoes on my XC90 and am thinking of Nokians. I ran a set on my V70 AWD a couple of years ago.
I loved them.

I drive pretty quickly (my v70 had big sway bars and tight bilstien struts).

In the rain they were amazing. In the snow I was unstopable. I found myself heading out at night when the roads were empty just to drive around.

Two drawbacks - 1. In the dry they were ok, but not great. Definitely better than a touring tire, but not as sticky as a performance tire. I should have expected as much.
2. I wore them out pretty quickly. I didn't get 25k out of them. Mind you, I drove somewhat swiftly.

Verdict - I am thinking very seriously about putting a set on my xc90 and xc70 when it's time.

Cheers,
Glen

My wife's '03 XC 90 T6 AWD is working on its 3rd set of tires at 39,000 miles, with the first set worn on the outer 2 inches of all 4 tires completely slick! The car was only serviced in the nearest dealership, and the sevice dept maintained that the car and suspension was in factory specs. I think there is a problem that Volvo is not telling me! Original Michelin Pilot tires were on the car, 2nd set was the same, but the 3rd set is Pirelli Scorpion and they are louder on the car.

I just bought a XC90 2003 and since in Quebec winter tires are mandatory, I want to get steel rims. I looked high and low for 16" rims and the only place I found them was at the dealer for $125.00 each. I paid my Nokian tires $140.00. Can't believe that the rims are almost as expensive as the tires.

The dealer also told me that the bolt pattern of the XC90 is specific to that model Volvo and not interchangable with any other model of Volvo. Is he trying to make a buck or is this true?

Thanks,

Dante1