Test drove a V40 and some questions

I test drove a 2001 V40 with 70K+ miles for a potential purchase. Road
condition was wet with light to moderate rain. This was my first time
driving a Volvo.

Overall, it did pretty well for me and I am seriously considering it
pending a mechanic inspection.

1. When I made a turn (either way) and stepped on the gas, I felt the
right front wheel spinning and slipping. This happened more on a
slight uphill when I stepped on the gas a tad more. In other words,
getting it to go accelerate from a stop or slow speed would cause the
wheel to spin and slip. I didn't have time to carefully inspect the
tires, but could that be the cause? A casual glimpse and a quick feel
on the tires showed that it had some thread left. Thoughts?

I didn't really used the "W" mode. I thought it was for Wet, but
wasn't sure so I left it off. Only just now did I find out that it was
for wet condition (http://www.volvoclub.org.uk/press/volvo2001/html/overview/s40_v40.html).
Still, without the W-mode, is the above slipping be normal for the
V40?

2. The wiper handle/switch wouldn't stay on the high-speed position. I
had to keep pressing it down for it stay there. The odd thing was, it
was working minutes before, then I switched it back to normal speed
and later it wouldn't stay on the high speed. Is this a known issue
and how hard is it to fix?

3. The smallish & smooth steering wheel bothered me as it was a bit
too slippery. What do people do other than using a cheapo/cheesy wheel
cover? For a safety-conscious car, that bit of missing detail (no
grooves on the back side of the steering wheel) suprised me. I don't
want to get a carpal tunnel from trying to get a good grip on the
wheel too much -- in addition to compensating for the understeer.

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

If its a 2,0T or a T4 it will spin the tires.....

W is for Winter - when starting to drive, gearbox starts on a higher gear to
avoid spin and to maintain grip.

 

My 2000 S40 has a lot of startup torque. The front wheels don't slip
because it has traction control, but I can feel the control working. You
shouldn't apply maximum power on any slippery surface, including a wet road.

W is for winter, and it is very handy. If you have it, S is for sport.
Sport gives faster acceleration because the car stays in 1st gear to a
higher speed.

 

If you really want to light up some tires at the lights in even light rain,
get a turbodiesel.... I have the exact same problem with my TDI Golf 155
lb-ft at a mere 1800rpm will do that... the S/V40's also have some decent
torque down low too.... Combine that with used tires and you get slippage -
change the tires, learn to accelerate smoothly (I don't spin my tires
anymore... even in winter mostly).

Our 960's wheel is gigantic and leather, and has ridges - what did they do
to the V40?? !!... Get a nice leather cover maybe.

Winter mode on our 960 is a 3rd gear start to reduce torque.... we live in
Canada, and never have used it (except when the car was new, testing all the
features) and we don't have traction control (unless limited slip diff
counts).

 

I paid more attention to the steering wheel when I drove my 2000 S-40
yesterday. It isn't tiny. It doesn't have ridges. But the leather cover
is patterned so that you don't need to grip tight to control the steering.
I don't find my hands getting cramped on a long trip, unless there is
something like very bad weather or horrendous traffic, that makes me tense
up.

 

Thanks for all the suggestions. W is for Winter! (no election year pun
intended).

Several things factored in the test driving experience: rainy
condition, driving someone else's car, and not being familiar with the
owner's neighborhood roads.

My other drive is a chipped 1.8T VW, and I knew that I stepped on the
pedal lightly and not hard, but the front wheels spun. That's why it
concerned me, and got me wondering if there are things with V40 that I
should look out for with regards to front wheels spinning. So no known
problems?