The south grade of Palomar in northern San Diego county is a famous stretch of road for enthusiasts of all kinds: motorcycles, cars, even bicycles. It has an impressive series of switchbacks that gain about 3,000 ft of elevation over about 8 miles. Many of the turns are greater than 180*, with widely varying turning radii. There is absolutely no need to exceed the speed limit on this road to push the limits of a serious car. We set out this past Saturday in the late morning, just as the roads were drying out, and I knew there would be almost no traffic to worry about. It was a great learning experience. Some of the things I learned…
While the stock settings are very very good, it immediately begs the question of just how great the car could perform with more aggressive settings. The car is very composed and precise. As mentioned often, there is a softer brake pedal response, longer travel, but they are absolutely effective turn after turn. This characteristic also allows modulation of the brakes much easier without the worry of upsetting things with quick stabs and the need to adjust to various road conditions. The P* immediately penalizes neutral throttle. It is certainly not an unusual out of balance understeer, it's perfectly acceptable without much trouble, but it impresses upon you quickly that to maintain balance you need at a minimum maintenance level throttle to bring the front and rear into balance. It's a good kind of feedback and quickly lets you know what feels wrong and what is right, it highlights mistakes, but does not cause undue handling loss. It provided this excellent balance no matter the tightness of the turn, always predictably in sync with a very sharp front end.
Something I had not been able to experience until this road was the ability of the car to transition from left to right. It is exhilarating how well the car shifts weight back and forth so quickly and effortlessly. So sure footed, the suspension makes easy work of the substantial weight of the car. It settles in so smoothly that you always know exactly when and where the transition to each side is. The push in the side from the bolsters is actually an excellent gauge for this. After a few repetitions you get very used to how that bolster push in the side lines up with the exact moment you hook from left to right. It is quite a bit of fun.
And the suspension settings. An absolute blast and so good. So good you wonder, how good could it really start to carve with 3,4, even 5, more clicks? There is so much potential there that I am sure you will see diminishing returns on the street. The limits will exceed what can be safely done with limited sight distance. Me, I have to know. So I will take the car in to be adjusted and repeat the trip, only to dial them back. All in the name of, uh, science.
I can't impress enough just how pleased I am with the way the car handled this trip. Volvo and Polestar delivered way above and beyond my reasonably high expectations for this car. It really is that good, and then they even give you the option to make it better. Insane.
While the stock settings are very very good, it immediately begs the question of just how great the car could perform with more aggressive settings. The car is very composed and precise. As mentioned often, there is a softer brake pedal response, longer travel, but they are absolutely effective turn after turn. This characteristic also allows modulation of the brakes much easier without the worry of upsetting things with quick stabs and the need to adjust to various road conditions. The P* immediately penalizes neutral throttle. It is certainly not an unusual out of balance understeer, it's perfectly acceptable without much trouble, but it impresses upon you quickly that to maintain balance you need at a minimum maintenance level throttle to bring the front and rear into balance. It's a good kind of feedback and quickly lets you know what feels wrong and what is right, it highlights mistakes, but does not cause undue handling loss. It provided this excellent balance no matter the tightness of the turn, always predictably in sync with a very sharp front end.
Something I had not been able to experience until this road was the ability of the car to transition from left to right. It is exhilarating how well the car shifts weight back and forth so quickly and effortlessly. So sure footed, the suspension makes easy work of the substantial weight of the car. It settles in so smoothly that you always know exactly when and where the transition to each side is. The push in the side from the bolsters is actually an excellent gauge for this. After a few repetitions you get very used to how that bolster push in the side lines up with the exact moment you hook from left to right. It is quite a bit of fun.
And the suspension settings. An absolute blast and so good. So good you wonder, how good could it really start to carve with 3,4, even 5, more clicks? There is so much potential there that I am sure you will see diminishing returns on the street. The limits will exceed what can be safely done with limited sight distance. Me, I have to know. So I will take the car in to be adjusted and repeat the trip, only to dial them back. All in the name of, uh, science.
I can't impress enough just how pleased I am with the way the car handled this trip. Volvo and Polestar delivered way above and beyond my reasonably high expectations for this car. It really is that good, and then they even give you the option to make it better. Insane.