Volvo S60 Polestar 2014 Review

Appropriately, at the heart of motoring.com.au’s week with the Volvo S60 Polestar was a return commute from Melbourne to the Winton race circuit in central Victoria for the third round of the 2014 V8 Supercars Championship.

Appropriate because this car is the most sporting Volvo of the modern era, apart from the new V8 Supercar that now bears the same S60 name. And the relationship between the two cars goes further than that because Swedish revheads Polestar are intrinsic to both projects.

Polestar is a bit like Holden Special Vehicles.

Whereas HSV develops high-performance versions of the Commodore and its close relation, the Holden Racing Team, races a facsimile; Polestar does much the same for the S60 (with more Volvo models coming down the track – but that’s another story).

In the Aussie V8 Supercar Polestar is responsible for its jet of an engine, which is a 5.0-litre version of the 4.4-litre B8444S narrow angle V8 that is no longer sold in any Volvo road car.

But when it comes to this road car, the Polestarers (Polestarians, Polestarii?)  have touched just about everything that relates to performance, including the 3.0-litre inline six-cylinder engine, the six-speed automatic transmission, the Haldex all-wheel drive, the independent suspension and the braking system.

Much of this stuff, including the large capacity twin-scroll Borg Warner turbo, the intercooler, the sharper response of the auto, the more rearward bias of the AWD system and the manually adjustable Ohlins dampers were part of the original prototype Model Year 2013 S60 Polestar, of which just 50 were made and only for Australia.

What we’re driving here is the MY14 version, which like its predecessor is based on the S60 T6-R, but most importantly replaces a mish-mash braking system with Brembo six-piston callipers and 371mm discs up-front.

It also picks up a heap of new gear that comes with the mainstream S60 2014 update including flappy gearchange paddles, new seats (albeit with Polestar embossing and blue stitching), Sensus Connect premium sound system, LED driving lights, an adaptive digital display and active Xenon high beam system.

There’s also some minor exterior restyling, most of it straight from the S60, but the front splitter is Polestar’s own design.

The standard equipment list also includes satellite-navigation, reversing camera with sensors, a whole plethora of driver alerts, adaptive cruise and brake control, as well as six airbags and a five star ANCAP rating. Only a $2650 sunroof is optional. Apart from the hero colour, Rebel Blue, the car is also available in black, white and red.

The fundamental stuff; the 257kW/500Nm engine outputs, the 4.9 secs 0-100km/h acceleration time (achieved with the aid of launch control) and the suspension tune are unchanged. The MY14 also remains an Australia-only model.

Expect more technical change and retuning – albeit still evolutionary – when the MY15 S60 launches at the end of 2014 along with a V60 Polestar wagon. The MY15 also signals the expansion of the model into other markets in Europe and North America for the first time.

One thing that has changed for the MY14, albeit belatedly, is the price. Launched at the same $109,950 price as the MY13, it was chopped recently by a substantial $10,000. Primarily, that was in response to Audi’s repositioning of the S4, the Polestar’s most logical competitor, to $105,000 from $119,900.

Volvo’s move does address the most consistent criticism of the S60 Polestar since it was launched – that it was over-priced.

Maybe at $99,950 it still is. After all, add the on-road costs and your Polestar is still going to be well over $100,000 by the time it gets on the road. But you can’t say Volvo Car Australia isn’t receptive to a bit of punter and press feedback.

It’s saying something about this Volvo that pricing is the first and most serious criticism that comes to mind. Oh sure the exterior and interior could be more differentiated from the donor car, but the work done on the moving parts ensures this is a Volvo that you can’t moan about when it comes to the driving.

Put it this way, we went to Winton the back way. The winding way. Not only because we had to, but because we wanted to.

The inline six engine – which sits transverse just to complicate things that bit more - offers broad, smooth and substantial response. It may lack in aural explosiveness, but it’s otherwise a peach. The flappy paddles add a layer of control, although there is enough torque to tackle most corners in a choice of mid-range gears.

Whipping through a series of closing radius bends, the S60 Polestar’s steering inspires confidence via its accuracy and immediacy. There isn’t oodles of feel, but kickback has been squelched along with torque steer.

The Ohlins dampers provide a stiff ride at all speeds and lack compliance at low speed, but even at the stiffest of thee 20 compression and rebound settings it makes an attempt at cushioning some of the blows. Mid-range settings work better on the road.

By the way you don’t change the settings by pressing a button, you actually have to reach in behind the wheel and count the clicks on the dial manually. It’s much more mechanically connected than what we have become used to and it’s cool to be able to influence so directly the set-up of the car.

The Ohlins deliver body control like no other modern Volvo – at silly cornering speed the car stays flat and calm. Maybe not as interactive and alive as some but sure and confident.

Eventually the front 19-inch Bridgestone Potenzas will wash into understeer, but you have to be pushing along. Meanwhile, the rear feels unstickable. Some people would like a bit more adjustability back there, and hopefully the Polestar guys have got that in mind for the MY15.

But as we tackled the infamous Black Spur in streaming wet conditions, that grip was appreciated, as was the uprated braking power supplied by the Brembo package. This is an all-weather car that can motor along in the slimiest of conditions. Considering the amount of the year Sweden spends under snow, such a skew really comes as no surprise.

What impresses most about the Polestar is the way these various elements meld. Driving this car aggressively is fun, in a way no other Volvo gets close to. Yet, it is also a more relaxed drive when it needs to be – and let’s face it, that’s going to be most of the time.

That came into focus heading for home on the Sunday night after the racing had finished. No back-roads this time, just straight down the Hume Freeway. Time to lock the cruise control on to a sub-bookable speed, settle back and relax.

And here’s where the Polestar guys have been smart enough not to fiddle too much. Volvo strengths are interior comfort, design and functionality. Yes, the ride is a bit terser and more thrum comes off the big tyres, but otherwise this is a comfortable and spacious big sedan, with room for four adults and their luggage.

Yep, the look could have a couple more Polestar touches inside, but Volvo traditionally has strength in its interior design and sensibly that’s not been messed with.

However, the problem with Volvos have usually started once the wheels get rolling. And just as sensibly, the Polestar crew have messed with that a lot!

Volvo S60 Polestar price and spec:
Price: $99,950 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 3.0-litre inline six-cylinder turbo-petrol