2018 Volvo V60 Polestar Review

2018 Volvo V60 Polestar Review There could not exist a greater chasm involving the initial impression provided by the title Polestar plus the Volvo V60 variant that wears it. This unassuming Volvo hatchback is such an introvert, it might experience social anxiousness.

2018 Volvo V60 Polestar Review


Indeed, just taking a look at the 2017 V60 Polestar will not be sufficient to let most observers grasp precisely what it is. To clear items up, this is a $62,595 wagon sized toward the little end on the mid-size class, which has been given a efficiency makeover by Volvo’s in-house tuning arm, Polestar. Even the car-literate person could miss the specific 20-inch wheels, rubber-band-thin performance tires, and tiny blue Polestar badge inside the grille. Understated is what the V60 Polestar does best-our check car’s Rebel Blue paint aside-and it’s also why we like this wagon a lot.

The Polestar is exceedingly rare, with Volvo setting up just 750 sedans and wagons annually given that its introduction for 2015. Initially, the wagon and its S60 Polestar sedan sibling bristled with 345 horsepower generated by a turbocharged three.0-liter inline-six driving all four wheels. For 2017, Volvo has chucked that engine, together with its aging six-speed automated transaxle, in favor of the 362-hp turbo- and supercharged 2.0-liter inline-four and an eight-speed automatic. If that doesn’t seem like ample energy for your V60’s cost, very well, that’s why Volvo isn’t bringing numerous of these Polestars towards the land from the Hellcat and also the Massive Mac.


When the modifications for 2017 involve restyled wheels, new brake rotors, a retuned all-wheel-drive method, and revised steering, the new engine could be the headliner. Although we in no way examined a V60 Polestar with all the old engine, we did check its S60 sedan counterpart; in contrast with that vehicle, the new V60 is 0.one 2nd faster, both to 60 mph (for a speedy 4.4-second run) and to the quarter-mile marker, which it hits in 13 seconds flat. These effectiveness enhancements are in spite of the V60’s 80-pound excess weight penalty relative for the 2015 S60.

Interior : 2018 Volvo V60 Polestar Review



The new engine seems also during the XC90 SUV and the 90-series sedan and wagon, even though Polestar extracts an additional 46 horsepower and 52 lb-ft of torque for this application. At low rpm, the supercharger assists spur the four-banger, the effect remaining immediate torque in addition to a hint of blower whine inside the cabin. Retain while in the throttle, and through the midrange and at larger rpm the turbocharger requires above, a faint whistle accompanying its perform. The combined forced-induction tactics give the four-cylinder sharper response than the previous inline-six, and its midrange punch is robust.

A lot of the newfound pep can be credited to the eight-speed automatic, which typically comports itself improved compared to the slushy six-speed. Nudging the shift lever to the S gate activates the Polestar’s Sport mode, calling up a spicier powertrain plan, deepening the exhaust note at idle (by raising the idle speed to about one thousand rpm), and including some starch on the steering. Right here, the eight-speed cracks off premonitory downshifts when braking right into a corner, and it far more aggressively holds decrease gears. Slapping at the small shift paddles or the shift lever now summons relatively brief up- and downshifts with rev-matching, whilst the six-speed would just type of mix from gear to gear with no backup from your throttle when shifted manually.

Features : 2018 Volvo V60 Polestar Review



As just before, the Polestar rides on Öhlins dampers with fancy valving that enables for various high-speed (like a pothole impact) and low-speed (spirited driving) damping. The result is rapid cycling above sharp impacts with out ruining the trip high-quality, as well as company composure in corners. The overall chassis setup continues to be sporty, while our test car or truck appeared to round off the nastier cracks and potholes together with any car on 20s we are able to remember.

The Polestar goes as a result of corners with an overpowering sense of grip. A snowy skidpad prevented us from recording lateral acceleration, however the 2015 S60 held on to get a sports-car-like 0.91 g. Volvo retuned the clutch-pack all-wheel-drive coupler to apportion a lot more torque for the rear axle and also to do so sooner. As in advance of, stomping around the gasoline at midcorner sets all four tires clawing in the pavement, yanking the Polestar by means of, only now the effect is greater. There is not ample rear bias to generate power-on oversteer, and overall, the chassis suffers from a mild case of understeer. Very well, so long as you are about the throttle; otherwise, the Polestar profoundly understeers in tighter bends.

Does the brand new turbo- and supercharged engine transform the V60 Polestar? Hardly, and we'll miss the old inline-six’s BMW-like voice, which has become replaced by an angry vacuum-cleaner sound. Nonetheless, we appreciate the little adjustments Volvo manufactured for the rest of the bundle, in the quicker-acting all-wheel drive for the steering revisions that send extra road really feel to your driver’s hands. And as ahead of, the top method to fully grasp the Polestar is to drive the Polestar.