Volvo to offer Polestar power upgrades for XC90

Volvo has announced it will offer official Polestar performance upgrades on its recently launched XC90 SUV.

Called the Polestar Performance Optimisation packs, the power boosts will be offered on the current D4 and D5 diesel plus the T5 and T6 petrol Drive-E engines.

On the range-topping petrol the ECU re-flash raises power and torque from 168kW/400Nm to 182kW/440Nm. This reduces the 0-100km/h time from 6.5 seconds to 6.4 seconds.

The fastest diesel, meanwhile, raises power from 165kW/470Nm to 171kW/500Nm, reducing the 0-100km/h time by a tenth to 7.7 seconds.

Volvo says the Polestar power upgrades have been created to increase engine response at medium revs. The ECU re-map also speeds up the automatic transmission's gear shifts, while preventing upshifts during cornering.

Fuel economy and emissions are said to be unaffected from the power increase. Service intervals are also unchanged.

It’s not just the XC90 that will have the option of Polestar upgrades. All Volvo vehicles, with the exception of the soon-to-be-replaced S80 and V70 and XC70, will be offered with the power upgrades.

In Europe pricing for the upgrade, which takes 30 minutes to retro-fit at the dealer, costs around $1500. Volvo Australia is expected to reveal pricing soon for Polestar upgrades here.

It’s not just power upgrades that the Swedish car-maker’s high-performance division is developing. According to a new report, the brand is considering a high-performance Polestar-badged version of the XC90 that will have at least 257kW, says Autocar, following an interview with Niels Moller, Polestar’s CEO.

In the future Volvo, according to Moller, Polestar-tuned Volvos will come with high-performance hybrid engines, instead of six-cylinder or V8s.

Moller: "There will be performance hybrids, which use electrification to enhance performance, rather than worrying about range”.

“Everything is possible,” he told Autocar. “SUVs are hip. People really like them as urban cruisers, so why not have an XC car that can go on the track as well?”