Volvo S60R Polestar 2012 Review

Volvo S60R Polestar

What we liked
>> Eye-watering midrange stomp
>> Off-boost it's a normal S60
>> Looks mean ?

Not so much
>> Needs gearshift paddles
>> Steering weighting is all wrong
>> Pricey


Remember when the world was simple. BMW built performance cars; Mercedes launched limos and Volvo... Well, Volvo was Swedish and the cars were supposed to look like they came in flat packs. They were slow – they were meant to be because speed kills.

How things have changed. Circa 2011 BMW is lauded as the greenest car company in the world; Benz's AMG-fettled coupes are M3 hunters and Volvo's found curves. In terms of styling and ones to drive around!

Even by the measure of the latest smartly styled and sharply performing Volvos, the S60 Polestar is w-a-a-a-y out on a limb. Low slung, fat tyred and Fast (with a capital F) it's a Volvo for sure, Sven... But not as we know it...

On the open road, with around 2000rpm under foot, Volvo's Australia's new pet project accelerates hard enough to catch even a committed performance junkie unawares. With at least 480Nm of turbo torque fattening the power curve, simple overtaking manoeuvres become licence melting. The pace of this car from 100-180km/h is actually disarming. And it's a Volvo!

I say at least 480Nm because Volvo Australia is being coy about the car's actual output. Talk to the backroom boys and they'll admit the combination of the Swedish engine management computer retune and the German-sourced Heico quad-outlet performance exhaust readily yields north of 500Nm.

But I'm getting ahead of myself... What the hell is a Polestar?

Volvo Australia is keen to continue evolving the brand's image Down Under. Average buyer ages are dropping and with the set squares resigned to the Gothenburg tip, and as the factory cements a reputation for building curvaceous and attractive models, a new crowd is coming to Volvo. But says local boss Matt Braid, the new crews want more. More options, more attitude and, some of them, more performance...

Indeed, more than the factory can offer via its dressed-up, but not powered-up S60R model. Enter Polestar, Volvo Sweden's official motorsport partner and hot haus since 1996.

Modern turbocharged engines like the S60's 3.0-litre inline six offer significant scope for electronic tuning. A 'reflash' of the engine management system can change turbo boost characteristics and supply the fuel and spark to make it all work. Polestar offers such programs for a range of Volvo engines selling them via Volvo dealers in markets like Sweden and the USA.

Volvo Australia's gone one step further, however. And it's a first in the Volvo world. Instead of just offering the reflash as a factory option, Volvo Oz proposed a turn-key limited edition model. It tested the waters with a 'concept car' at Melbourne's June running of the Australian International Motor Show. Then with close to 100 expressions of interest in hand, plus several firm deposits, it went back to head office and asked the question. The answer was Ja and with Sweden's blessing the S60R Polestar was born.

Based on the S60R, the Polestar adds the engine re-tune, abovementioned quad-outlet Heico exhaust and 19-inch Heico forged alloy wheels with Pirelli P-Zero rubber. In addition there's subtle limited edition badging inside and out, and a build plate.

It's a world first for Volvo, says the local operation. Not a test case says Braid, but very definitely a toe in the water. He says that Volvo Australia would like to see more powered-up models but stops short of nominating which cars might be on the list. With Lexus committed to doing F Sport versions of its RX models, and X Ms and ML AMGs in the mix could the XC60 be the next Swedish taxi off the rank? Don't bet against it.

For the moment the Polestars arrive Down Under as standard S60R models. All the work is done in Oz but that does not affect the full factory warranty and all the trimmings that go along with it. Volvo says there are significant benefits in this regard. It claims aftermarket engine management system reflashes must be wiped when Volvo dealers update software in cars, as changes are made at the factory – the Polestar tune is embedded in the software for the model ongoing.

Polestar seems to have hit a nerve with a small local group of Volvo buyers. And customers have voted with their dollars -- much of the first run of 25 Polestars are spoken for or have keen prospective owners waiting for them. A second run of 25 is almost signed off now.

Standard power and torque has increased from 224kW and 440Nm to 242kW and 480Nm – the latter we know to be a conservative figure. The 0 to 100km/h time has been trimmed from 6.1 seconds to 5.8 seconds in the process, but that's not the telling part of the performance spectrum. As we noted above, this car is astoundingly fast from extra-urban speeds to around 200km/h. After that things taper off – hardly a concern for Aussie buyers methinks...

The suspension and brakes are unchanged from the S60R though that model itself yields a fair uptick in performance potential from the standard Volvo fare. Suspension is on the hard side of firm, but worked well on our Sydney to Hunter Valley round trip – via the wonderful Putty Road.

Most buyers looking for the Polestar's performance won't mind the sharper-than-average ride, though a two-stage variable damper system might extend the appeal of the car.

The S60R Haldex all-wheel-drive system makes a good fist of putting the prodigious torque to the ground but it still errs on the conservative side. Rather than shuffle more power to the rear -- a la Audi's latest quattro AWD chassis -- Volvo's default setting is still biased towards front-wheel drive and mild understeer.

If you're really pushing on you'll need to be patient and keep the car settled to be quick.

It's in these conditions too that the car's two weaknesses are achingly apparent. The Polestar's electric power-assisted steering settings are quite some way from ideal. At straight ahead and with minor lock corrections, the weight is uncomfortably heavy. Then away from centre things lighten and then weight up again. It's weird and not at all pleasant, and detracts significantly from the fact that the car is quite linear in its actual steering response.

The other problem is more one of omission. There's no paddleshift option for the transmission – the only manual mode offered is via the conventional shifter. In a modern sports sedan paddles are a given. Even the new Camry has them, for goodness sake.

Fix these two issues and despite a steep $82,990 pricetag we'd be happier to recommend the Polestar as a left-field alternative to some (on paper) more powerful, and definitely more expensive, sports sedans. For the time being, however, it's a glimpse at the potential Volvo has up its sleeve.

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