2005 Volvo V50 and XC90

Volvo on Ice: Shaken, Not Stirred.

Test drove: 1/24/2005 to 1/29/2005

Before flying to Finland to partake in Volvo's Winter Challenge, I diligently watched James Bond's "Die Another Day." I thought I might be able to pick up a few ice-driving tips before trying my hand at it. Not that I ever plan on intentionally spinning out on the ice with my children in the car, but I could use some performance ice-driving techniques to apply to my life as a mom/chauffeur in Colorado.

OK, the real truth is that 13 hours in the plane each way without kids was quite appealing to me. A good book, some mindless magazines and a long nap would do any mom a world of good. Throw in some cars and I'm a happy woman.

Why Finland, you ask? Ivalo, Finland (300 kilometers above the Arctic Circle, near the Russian border) is the home of the Test World Mellatracks, an icy winter playground for the car world. Many manufacturers use these ice tracks to test their vehicles' winter driving performance. Volvo is no exception.

Our agenda consisted of driving the 2005 Volvo XC90 V-8, the cleanest gas V-8 on the U.S. market, and the 2005 Volvo V50 sports wagon (both with all-wheel drive) using four different test tracks: An offroad course, a handling course, an ice/snow circle and a slalom/accelerating and braking course.

I admit I was a bit skeptical. After all, where I come from, the whole point is to avoid driving on ice, and when I hit ice, I try with all my might to drive as safely and cautiously as possible. Seeing the first few drivers slide around corners and right into snow banks, where they were quickly towed out, made me nervous.

First up: the handling track in the V50 sports wagon. Luckily, I paired up with a seasoned driver, an editor with MSN Autos, who was able to demonstrate the proper technique of braking just before the corner, then accelerating through it to avoid sliding off the course.

Next was the ice circle in the V50 and XC90. The most impressive thing to me was that no matter how out of control I thought I was, Volvo's Dynamic Stability and Traction Control kept me going essentially straight.

The slalom course was quite a learning experience. Again, whenever I felt like I was going to spin out, DSTC kicked in with a grinding noise to keep the nose of the car forward and get me back on track.

The offroad course was all but too easy for the XC90. Steep grading and deep snow didn't faze it, although it did faze me. I made the mistake of stepping outside the car to take a picture of the sunset (or was it sunrise? The sun this time of year just barely peaks above the horizon before dipping back down again). My leg sunk into several feet of snow only to get stuck there. I managed to pull my foot out — shoeless. At this point in time, my driving partner offered to help by picking up the camera and shooting photos of me struggling to dig my shoe out of the snow.

After the technical stuff came time for fun: A few laps around the ice with a professional rally driver made me realize that, although I learned a lot during the day, I'm still just an amateur.

At the end of the day we participated in a timed race on the ice in go-carts where the handling wasn't quite as well-tuned as in the Volvo. In fact it was all but primitive. In spite of ending up in a snowbank (several times), I didn't come in last.

The most amazing thing to me about this experience is that I actually found the driving fun. In my everyday life, driving is a chore. I drive my kids to school, I drive to the store, I drive to the gym and I drive back to school again, just to start it all over the next day. This ice driving adventure made me feel like I was 16 again, excited just to get the keys in hand. My inner speed demon was lured out. The best part is that it was done in a controlled and safe environment.

I wish that all women and mothers could have the chance to try their hand at performance ice driving. The next time I drive my children to school on icy roads I will feel much more confident, having experienced the most extreme winter driving conditions around.

*For additional information on the 2005 Volvo product line and its safety features, visit Cars.com. For questions or comments about this article, write to MotherProof@msn.com.