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Polestar Volvo V60 – S60: Blue Is The New Black
VOLVO POLESTAR V60 / S60
BLUE IS THE NEW BLACK
Words: Marco Rallo
As we take too much for granted that we should deploy for white or black, Volvo has decided to do something more than cars rated at maximum safety for occupants and pedestrians. Polestar is in fact the internal division of the Swedish brand which works a bit ‘like AMG for Mercedes and M for BMW and so it’s in charge of pouring large doses of pepper in some Volvo recipes, in order to win a slice of the market up to now away from their target.
But you would commit an error of assessment wanting to interpret the new V60 and S60 as rivals of the German super sedans and I refer not only to the gap in terms of output power, but to the fact that Polestar offers a more human “proposal”, less extreme but equally funny. There will be no mind-boggling numbers, partly because the company decided not to go beyond certain limits, such as 4-cylinder and 2.0cc engines capacity, regardless of the model in question. And so, by updating the version that preceded, the new Polestars have smaller but more powerful engines thanks to the use of a twin-charger grenade under the hood, touching 367hp and 470Nm, available between 3,100 and 5,100 rpm. Keep in mind that the turbo is working at about 2.0 bar pressure, which for a road car is not a negligible figure. Continuing the analysis of this Swedish pepper is impossible not to notice the look, especially with the classic “rebel blue” color accentuating the sporty character of the Polestar and that enables you to see where the typical Volvo styling cues go to meet that spark eager to be unleashed on some curvy road.
We’re not talking about speed records or gut twists at every braking, but rather a driving pleasure exploitable pretty much all the time you’ll be at the wheel and which can happen in everyday life because when you want (or need) to press more firmly on the throttle. The Polestar V60 and S60 are equipped with adjustable Ohlins dampers, a partly modified steering box, stiffened springs, 20-inch alloy wheels and a braking system consisting of large 37 cm discs at front and 30 cm at the back. As standard you also get BorgWarner all-wheel-drive and the 8-speed automatic transmission also controlled via the steering wheel paddles, well-made and superior to those of its competitors, even more expensive. If you’re a nerd looking for numbers and comparisons you’ll love to hear that it takes 4.7 seconds to take from 0 to 100 and which is still easily able to reach 250 per hour. That said, watching it for a long time and being able to see that knows how to present well and prove quite capable of doing what it promises, the question that arises is the one that you ask yourself regarding its future sales numbers, in order to baptize positively this attempt to undermine the German hegemony in the performance sedans market.
You will have to definitely have a soft spot for the brand and perhaps the desire to stand out from the crowd – that mass which for years relies on the accuracy and security of, let me say that, the various V8 (naturally aspirated before, turbocharged right now) can offer its customers. Personally I find it a breath of fresh air and I would consider a real shame if Polestar were falling by the wayside even before collecting what it deserves.
VOLVO POLESTAR V60 / S60 (2017-)
Layout – front-engined, all-wheel-drive
Engine – 4 cylinder 2.0cc – twin-charged
Transmission – 8-speed automatic gearbox
Power – 367 hp @ 470Nm
Weight – 1.750 kg ca.
Acceleration – 4,7 sec.
Top Speed – 250 kph (limit.)
Price – from about € 58.000
