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#64 has arrived in SoCal

11K views 45 replies 19 participants last post by  GrecianVolvo 
#1 ·
Much sooner than I had anticipated from other threads, but in line with what Yannis predicted. Need to schedule a trip to the dealer I suppose. :)
 
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#8 ·
Just a FYI for the other Polestar buyers, Volvo will not provide leasing options. I was not aware of this until today and I did ask about it months ago and was assured a lease was no problem.

It doesn't change my purchase decision, but it is something to keep in mind.
 
#9 ·
true. I only know that because I've obsessively read every post of every thread of this forum section, and I recall reading it from someone linked to Volvo once. So I imagine there are others who didn't know.
 
#10 ·
Picking up in the morning. Meanwhile, here is a rare shot of two v70Rs that both reside in Carroll, Iowa, population 10,000. Mine is the electric silver. :)

 
#27 ·
Hi Ken, GREAT looking Rebel you got there! :)

Just out of curiosity, do you reside in Carroll, Iowa and do you have plans to bring the V60P back there? I only ask as I am from Des Moines and there are a few (read: almost nonexistent) Volvo guys out here. We (Des Moines, Ames, Cedar Rapids) were thinking of having a mini-meet before the snow hits. :D

Again, congrats! :beer:
 
#11 ·
I must spend too much time on Facebook lately. I keep looking for a 'like' link on pictures like this on this forum. :)
 
#12 · (Edited)
No real time to drive yet, but this thing is nuts. For my tastes, and I haven't pushed at all really, the suspension could NOT be better. Taut, and oh so toothsome.

 
#13 ·
Congrats - I can't wait to drive these !!
 
#20 ·
Ken,

Big congrats! Looks nice under the sun!

Enjoy and keep it...under 100!
Yannis-

I cannot thank you enough for following through on your word. The car is a gift and I could not be more pleased. Rest assured, it is in proper hands.
 
#18 ·
The Polestars look much better in person than in pictures. Pictures do not do them justice. Especially for me anyway, the wheels looks ok in pictures,in person they look awesome IMO. If this car had a MT, I would be in heaven. What Polestar has done to the GT is certainly commendable, compared to other Volvo's w/ GT and others. I actually like it more than I thought I would. Faint praise, not really because this was my only concern going into this, and I like it way more than a lot of other AT's I have driven, and I have only bought a car w/ a MT for a long time.
 
#19 · (Edited)
No real time for good pics and actually I don't have my dSLR here but I will do what I can with Camera+ at some point. So just a few initial impressions.

First, maybe all you guys knew this thing was going to be loaded with tech but I haven't bought a car since my 07 V70R so I had no idea. This thing has adaptive cruise, blis(which honestly I don't like, find it a little distracting), front radar, rear camera, front collision avoidance with auto braking, and a whole litany of other stuff I haven't even addressed.

The seats are the best I have ever sat in. I've had from R seats all the way to Recaros in the S2000, with a smattering of Saab Aero and BMW M seats in between. Hands down no question, these are the most comfortable with the best blend of firmness, form fitting, and a bit of soft touch, with that nubuck grab. Just absolutely outstanding and I don't know how you could do it better. And the steering wheel for that matter, really? Leather outer with nubuck inner. BRILLIANT. We had a 330ZHP with the nubuck wheel, it was usable but annoying. This combination is nothing short of perfection aesthetically and practically. My only complaint is the center of the wheel should be classed up leather just like the R, but that's a petty quibble considering the pampered circumference.

The suspension is perfect. It is so compliant, and at the same time so firm. You go straight, it is comfortable. You turn the wheel, it starts to bite with some authority. I love my R to death, but hallelujah for losing all that wonky electronic crashiness. It is so good, I might even dial in a couple more clicks. Keep in mind this is Socal with smooth roads. Who needs sways and springs? This thing is flat as a pancake all day long. There is much more to explore in this regard, but I haven't had the time or roads, or break in, to get it done. To be continued.

The noises. My god the noises it makes. The exhaust is nothing short of a masterpiece. Not in sport, everything is fairly civilized and quiet, just a hint of grunt now and then if you get frisky. But throw this thing in sport and I kid you not this baby sounds like an exotic. Throaty, raspy, sophisticated, but never, ever droning. It is the best of both worlds. The induction sounds, the waste gate opening, the turbo symphony is there to behold in all its glory.

This girl is a looker. The blue is better in person than you imagine. If you get under the rear wheel, you can see the Öhlins reservoir hanging down with the pretty gold and blue Öhlins typeface I grew to love on my kawasaki race bike. The tail lights with their rope-light-like effect. The two piece rotors. People who tried to race me in the last 10 years - 0. People who tried to race me this afternoon - 3. I watched some teenager hang himself out the passenger window to get a better look at my moving front wheels because he wasn't sure what he was seeing. Some fella on a Ducati did the same number, staring at the calipers. I like stealth, but I will say it is fun to stand out a bit when it's a Volvo. I don't feel too ostentatious.

Oh, and the hands free phone sound quality, both in and out, is gorgeous. Puts our BMW to the shame it deserves. It is a joy to use.

Sure I forgot some stuff, but more to come. Oh, and big thanks to Volvo Irvine for NOT drilling the front license plate!
 
#26 ·
First, maybe all you guys knew this thing was going to be loaded with tech but I haven't bought a car since my 07 V70R so I had no idea. This thing has adaptive cruise, blis(which honestly I don't like, find it a little distracting), front radar, rear camera, front collision avoidance with auto braking, and a whole litany of other stuff I haven't even addressed.
Did you get Connected Car and Volvo On Call up and running, before you left the dealership?

The suspension is perfect. It is so compliant, and at the same time so firm. You go straight, it is comfortable. You turn the wheel, it starts to bite with some authority. I love my R to death, but hallelujah for losing all that wonky electronic crashiness. It is so good, I might even dial in a couple more clicks. Keep in mind this is Socal with smooth roads. Who needs sways and springs? This thing is flat as a pancake all day long. There is much more to explore in this regard, but I haven't had the time or roads, or break in, to get it done. To be continued.
Undoubtedly, the star feature of this car (w/ the exhaust coming a pretty close second! :D )

Did you have it tightened "a couple of clicks" (as you were contemplating) before you picked it up?

People who tried to race me in the last 10 years - 0. People who tried to race me this afternoon - 3. I watched some teenager hang himself out the passenger window to get a better look at my moving front wheels because he wasn't sure what he was seeing. Some fella on a Ducati did the same number, staring at the calipers.
I also noticed that. In a span of 1.5 days, I had 5 incidents. 3 of them took place while my colleagues and I were driving our press car (same color as yours) down on the PCH, near Malibu...a Porsche Panamera, a Porsche 911 Turbo and an M3 did the same...

Enjoy it and see you somewhere in the Orange County roads!

By the way, have you thought about making an appearance at the Cars and Coffee, in Irvine? Early Saturday mornings...
 
#24 ·
Your initial impressions are almost exactly the same as mine. Wonderful car! I truly love this car.
 
#30 ·
After several hours at a SoCal track and pushing the Polestar cars are fantastic. The brakes exhibited a little fade but still performed well given the 100 degree ambient temps and Thed & journalists beating on them. 😄


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
 
#31 ·
After several hours at a SoCal track and pushing the Polestar cars are fantastic. The brakes exhibited a little fade but still performed well given the 100 degree ambient temps and Thed & journalists beating on them. ��

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
Thanks for the initial impressions, I am anxious to drive the Polestar as well... Mine doesn't arrive until late November. Ugh.
 
#37 ·
Ok, finally got a lot of seat time today. For the first time in what might be ever, I drove my car aimlessly. I met up with a buddy of mine who to put it mildly is auto obsessed. He currently drives a 2013 911S and a 2013 M5, with a huge resumé of previous sportscars. I find it informing to both drive and be a passenger so this afforded that opportunity. Before I bore you with details, in a nutshell, this car is a properly sorted bullseye. For its intended purpose this baby checks every box and then some. So how does it do that?

Might as well start with the weakest link, which happens to prove how far the engineers went with this car, the tranny. Slush box torque converter, yes. Brilliantly programmed, yes. My friend was much more instructive in this regard coming from dual clutch cars. For example, he pointed out quickly that this system will take two quick downshifts and skip the middle gear. I would never have thought to do that. The car performs this exercise well. If you are thinking of doing three, it won't do that, it will hit one gear between. The shifts are appropriately abrupt under throttle, and certainly not too lazy on light throttle. I had read something about it sniffing for gears, no way. This thing holds gears all day long. We have a 135M and this car puts that system to complete shame. Now I have rode in the 911 and felt the punch in the small of the back that is the .00001 second dual clutch shift. It ain't that. But it is appropriately crisp, and twists the chassis just the right amount to give it authority.

Might as well move on to the strongest link. The suspension. My god the suspension. Skyhook schmeyehook, a manual solid state shock can blow the electronic stuff out of the water and set a new standard for street suspension. It is incredible. It has feel, incredible small bump and imperfection compliance, along with feedback. It is so incredibly composed, and at this point I am including chassis parts too, that the package overall has become greater than the sum of its parts. I took off camber, rutty, bumpy, notorious sweepers that have upset every car I have dared point in their direction. This car laughed. It is unflappable and nonchalant. What is so great about that? This car doesn't just give confidence. It inspires it. I don't know how to explain it, but the car feels natural. The tires do not hurt this equation, their level of grip is a mystery and where it ends nobody knows.

Steering. Yes, it is good. Really good. For me it is very close to our former 330zhp. Not quite go kart, but on the way. My friend appreciated that it was precise. There is no slop in this steering column. I personally like the steering weight set to heavy and I find that a good balance with getting feedback from the tires. The other thing I noticed, the stronger you turn the sharper it gets. I like this, a lot. This is a combination of a bunch of things obviously, but the totally cool thing is that sharpness does not get upset with chunkier, it acts just like you were taking a left turn on a green arrow. It is seriously uncanny.

The engine. My friends immediate comment, "This engine provides you a lot of special noises to remind you that you are driving something unique." The induction noise is a symphony. The rush of air seems to match your rush of adrenaline. For me the torque and throttle response are right on. It never feels artificial. Part of that is the exhaust. You can't fake it because the exhaust won't let you. Your civic might make a racket on neutral throttle with a fart cannon, but this thing doesn't even begin to sing until you provide just a little bit of angry permission. The power is smooth and progressive provided you are using the sport maps (speaking of which, that is all we drove it in, and that is all I will drive it in. Ever.) It has a well balanced torque curve and does not have obvious dead spots or tail off. I also especially like that it is not peak-y like a lot of turbos have, it has a nice build that puts you in a zone where you can grab gears and, actually, forget about the turbo. Something I keep coming back to, I find the power level appropriate. Appropriate seems like an odd comment but what I believe it informs is the overall balance and harmony of the various systems. Quite a setup, love modern technology.

I've spoken of the exhaust. It is perfection. The quiet stuff is really cool, I drive a Volvo so I do not shame my love of incognito. The sport note as I mentioned is like I said. Not artificial, it only speaks of purpose. Extremely well done.

And after that I was already sold but the interior of this car is very well thought out. Obviously I mentioned the seats. My friend immediately said they reminded him of the 911 and that is a VERY high compliment because those bits are a work of art. Without my instigating, he also noted the beauty of the steering wheel with the leather outer and nubuck interior to my great pleasure, it provides such a great tactile feel. Something odd, but very noteworthy, is the upper door trim provides a perfect resting spot for your elbow. He actually mentioned he has never had a car that felt so good resting his arm on because there is a nice concave depression in that trim. And although a lot of cars have it, a telescoping steering wheel is a great thing to bring the drivers position into a real sporting race position for steering. No hard plastics here, even the bits that are not natural have a refined softness to them.

The brakes you think are easy. Well, I have six pots on our BMW and honestly I've never liked them and still don't due to some latency issues that no amount of bleeding can seem to resolve. These are perfect. Super linear with excellent feel both going on and off them. Gobs and gobs of power. They are an afterthought until you start to actually think about them.

So we were at the end of our drive. My friend was very impressed and summed it up quickly, "very enjoyable." That is this car. No nonsense, no fakery, an honest and enjoyable ride that is more than capable. I thought I was getting something special and I have come to find that what I received was something that isn't derivative or even iterative, it is a singular experience that perfectly attains a well thought out goal. Mission accomplished. Did I mention the stereo kicks ass?
 
#38 · (Edited)
Well that was re-assuring! :D

Much thanx for the time you spent sharing your observations and opinions. It was very well said; even very colorful at times. I like that. (I'm a big fan of the color commentary of the real UK Top Gear boys)

edit: btw, did you let your friend w/the Porsche and M5 drive it, or was he only a ride-along?
 
#41 ·
Put her through the paces again today with Ortega Hwy and some Live Oak canyon action. All findings confirmed, along with the bonus of threshold braking. I brought along a friend who raced rally cars in a former life and has an STi garage queen. He was absolutely giddy, actually driving the car into bumps and slop on turns because it entertained him so much. My pucker moment as passenger occurred just prior to a 180° hairpin, I forgot this guy is all about braking zones. In what I thought was imminent disaster that some program on this car would somehow recognize and auto brake for (luckily it doesn't recognize reckless abandon, just imminent collision), he crushed the brakes leaving me floating on my seat and threw the car into the well cambered hairpin without a single tire squeak or wobble while mentioning he figured he could have waited 5 more feet to brake. His comments; "This car is a weapon", "This car has as firm a suspension as my STi but is actually super comfortable", "The suspension, steering, and braking on this car are perfect". This lady is real deal stuff and it's pretty awesome when the two best drivers you know concur. Wait, check that. I have one more test pilot to go and he might be the best.
 
#42 ·
Love reading your stories! :)

I would also love to take you on the canyon roads, between Camarillo and Filmore, but that's a bit too far from where you live; I would definitely put more smiles on your face? :cool:

I am happy to see you enjoying your new baby and realizing that this is, indeed, a world-class handling car.
 
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