Driving in sub-zero Sweden

I'm preparing to take my first ever drive on a frozen lake in the shadowy blue gloom of an Arctic winter afternoon.

It's ten degrees warmer than it should be for this time of year, therefore I am concerned - not unreasonably in my opinion - about the thickness of the ice.

"So where's the lake, then?" I inquire of my genial Swedish hosts.

"You're standing on it."

A momentary sense of panic causes me to start stamping my feet. The ice seems pretty solid. It is, in fact, about two feet thick. That's enough, I am assured, to cope with the landing of a Boeing 747. So there should be no problems with a few Volvos, then.

We are around 150 miles north of the Arctic Circle in Riksgransen on the edge of the Vadvetjakka National Park. The border with Norway is a few hundred yards up the valley and the historically important Norwegian port of Narvik is a short drive away.

I had imagined the countryside to be fairly flat and barren this far north but it's more mountainous and scenic than expected, with snowy peaks of up to 6,000ft looming in the distance.

Volvo was keen to show off its winter testing programme and demonstrate the end results in the form of the off-road capabilities of its new XC70 - the 4x4 version of the V70 estate.

The car has developed something of a cult reputation as it blends the load-lugging ability of a typical Volvo estate with the dynamic abilities of an off-roader.

I'd previously driven the car through a muddy wood in Ireland and been impressed with its abilities - but this would be a different matter altogether.

And just driving the XC70 to the ice slalom test location made me appreciate how good they are when the going gets tough.

The main road in this part of Sweden, the E10, is covered with snow for much of the winter. The Swedes scrape off most of the snow with a snow plough then grit the remaining layer of compacted snow and ice. They don't use salt as it is 'ineffective at temperatures below -7c'.

The remaining surface sounds and looks treacherous but a 4x4 vehicle fitted with metal-studded tyres copes easily enough. You just have to take it easy on the bends and roundabouts.

The purpose of the slalom exercise on the lake is to demonstrate the qualities of Volvo's 'intelligent' all-wheel drive system with 'instant traction' which channels power as and where it is needed via an electronically-controlled Haldex hydraulic clutch.

What this means is, instead of skidding helplessly across the frozen surface, you retain a surprising degree of control.

And if you think drifting looks fun you ought to try it on ice. After a few minutes I was getting the tail of the car to hang out so far I was actually travelling rear end first, though all it ever took to get it back under control was some opposite lock and some extra revs.

So the 4x4 system definitely helps keep you on the straight and narrow. But what about the effects of the cold temperatures on the vehicle?

"Our cars have to be able to withstand ambient temperatures between -40 and +60 degrees centigrade," says Volvo's head of complete vehicles testing, Jan Inge Eliasson.

"Extreme winter climate is probably the toughest test which a car can be subjected to. The stresses on the engine, steering, climate unit and other systems are immense. As far as I know, we are alone in carrying out tests down to -40 degrees."

Between December and April, Volvo sends out teams of drivers and engineers to its two test locations in the Arctic Circle to monitor how their cars behave during the harshness of winter.

The aim is to use the car normally - but cover huge distances of 500km every day. Every part of the car is checked for defects and its ability to stand up to the freezing weather.

And if the natural conditions aren't tough enough, refrigerator containers are brought in to do the job. The car can be parked inside overnight at 30 degrees below zero. The next morning, the doors are forced open and the engine is cold-started from scratch and it has to be ready for the day's tests.

"The big challenge lies in getting all the systems to function faultlessly together," says Eliasson. "The cold slows down the locking systems and various displays, the snow penetrates and blocks filters, ice covers the windows and lamps.

"All this and much more has to be dealt with to meet the tough demands that are imposed, not least as regards safety.

"All testing takes place as close to the customers' everyday reality as possible. And even if most Volvo customers never come into contact with this type of extreme climate, the car has to be ready on what may well be the one day a year when the snow suddenly blankets everything."

During our short period in the Arctic we noticed that the tiny cameras for Volvo's pioneering Blind Spot Information System, which flashes a warning light next to the mirror if a car is overtaking you, tended to get clogged up with snow. They continued to work, however, and no doubt the firm's engineers are already working on a solution.

After the ice rallying exercise the group of XC70s had to negotiate a snowy 'uphill bobsleigh course' which they accomplished with surprising ease.

In fact there was little about the Arctic that troubled the car - which is perhaps as it should be. After all Volvo is a Swedish brand - and it would be unusual if its cars could not cope with the harshness of a typical Scandinavian winter.

By Peter Carroll