I had the opportunity to drive a S60 Polestar yesterday for about 90 minutes. I thought I share my thoughts.
The engine and the performance is good. From standstil using the launchcontroll it is very fast, the g-force really messes up your head for a short while. Up in speed, it is ok, must admit it feels kind of like a normal T6 Polestar, it's only 20bhp difference so not that odd is it. Don't take me wrong, it is a fast car, but not super fast, I really wanted more power at a few occations.
The Chassie is very firm, and the steering is good. Somewhat understear, like a volvo does, but it is very direct and precise. It's somewhat harsh, but not like any random lowered car, it's not an unpleasant ride even on bad roads. BUT, I'm sure I will not appreciate it on a bad ice roads with 19" (minimum) or 20" wheels.
The brakes are good, but I do not understand why the rear brakes have not been upgraded, I did feel some wobbling from the back when braking really hard, I suppose more brakepower in the back would have sorted that out. They are not bad in any way, but I think they could have been better.
The gearbox is my favourite, it's wonderfull to drive in manual mode, shifting using the paddles next to the stearingwheel. I could definetly use that for every day driving as well. D-mode is somewhat slow, and it doesn't use lockup as much as I would have hoped (my XC60 uses lockup more from what it felt like). S-mode is as alway hopeless, always in the wrong gear for pleasant relaxed sporty driving (can I use that combination of words in the same sentense? ). Manual shifting is the thing with this car, I did thoght it was sad the car did not come with a manual gearbox, but the possibility to shift manually next to the steering wheel makes all the difference for me, I reeeeealy do think it works great with this engine/gearbox. Not harsh shifs, but very quick and direct, it actually feels like a manual gearbox, I love it!
The sound... You hear the exhaust noice, all the time. The sound actually annoys me, don't take me wrong, it sounds awesome, it is such a wonderfull sound. But this is what I do not get, Volvos puts all the comfort things you can imagine into this car, and then it sounds like a racecar, it does not add up to me. My wife would go nuts if whe had to drive it the way it sounds. What kind of car is this, it has a sunroof, petrol heater, premium sound and all that, and then it sounds like a racecar. It's not a quick comfort car, and it's not a proper racecar thing. It's a mixture, does that mean it's a good combo? I'm not sure. I love Heinz ketchup, and I love pizza, can die for a good Donner kebab, I love beer and I love whiskey, Cherry coke isn't that bad either, but do I put it all in the blender together?
All in all, it is a very nice car. Is it worth the extra spend comparing to a normal S60 T6 AWD with everything in it, not sure. I would probably prefer a normal T6, with 4c chassie and everything else. Am I getting old? I'm very glad Volvo and Polestar tries though, and it is a very good start. I'm sure they will bring more models to the market in the future, and I love it!
The engine and the performance is good. From standstil using the launchcontroll it is very fast, the g-force really messes up your head for a short while. Up in speed, it is ok, must admit it feels kind of like a normal T6 Polestar, it's only 20bhp difference so not that odd is it. Don't take me wrong, it is a fast car, but not super fast, I really wanted more power at a few occations.
The Chassie is very firm, and the steering is good. Somewhat understear, like a volvo does, but it is very direct and precise. It's somewhat harsh, but not like any random lowered car, it's not an unpleasant ride even on bad roads. BUT, I'm sure I will not appreciate it on a bad ice roads with 19" (minimum) or 20" wheels.
The brakes are good, but I do not understand why the rear brakes have not been upgraded, I did feel some wobbling from the back when braking really hard, I suppose more brakepower in the back would have sorted that out. They are not bad in any way, but I think they could have been better.
The gearbox is my favourite, it's wonderfull to drive in manual mode, shifting using the paddles next to the stearingwheel. I could definetly use that for every day driving as well. D-mode is somewhat slow, and it doesn't use lockup as much as I would have hoped (my XC60 uses lockup more from what it felt like). S-mode is as alway hopeless, always in the wrong gear for pleasant relaxed sporty driving (can I use that combination of words in the same sentense? ). Manual shifting is the thing with this car, I did thoght it was sad the car did not come with a manual gearbox, but the possibility to shift manually next to the steering wheel makes all the difference for me, I reeeeealy do think it works great with this engine/gearbox. Not harsh shifs, but very quick and direct, it actually feels like a manual gearbox, I love it!
The sound... You hear the exhaust noice, all the time. The sound actually annoys me, don't take me wrong, it sounds awesome, it is such a wonderfull sound. But this is what I do not get, Volvos puts all the comfort things you can imagine into this car, and then it sounds like a racecar, it does not add up to me. My wife would go nuts if whe had to drive it the way it sounds. What kind of car is this, it has a sunroof, petrol heater, premium sound and all that, and then it sounds like a racecar. It's not a quick comfort car, and it's not a proper racecar thing. It's a mixture, does that mean it's a good combo? I'm not sure. I love Heinz ketchup, and I love pizza, can die for a good Donner kebab, I love beer and I love whiskey, Cherry coke isn't that bad either, but do I put it all in the blender together?
All in all, it is a very nice car. Is it worth the extra spend comparing to a normal S60 T6 AWD with everything in it, not sure. I would probably prefer a normal T6, with 4c chassie and everything else. Am I getting old? I'm very glad Volvo and Polestar tries though, and it is a very good start. I'm sure they will bring more models to the market in the future, and I love it!