Every vehicle is to be driven where it is meant to be. You drive a hatchback in a dense city, a sedan for a longer commute, an SUV for a family trip, and a Polestar on the track! Thanks to Volvo India, we were given an opportunity to drive the machine where it belongs, and to meet the Swedish intellects behind the additions and subtractions of the performance variant.
That was the paragraph I wrote before reaching Kari Motor Speedway, Coimbatore. After the wild drive on the track, I came to the conclusion that I was wrong.
From our experience at the highly challenging circuit we’ve inferred that the S60 Polestar is not merely a track-bred version like its competitors. Just like every other Volvo out there, the S60 Polestar claims a niche for itself. We’d like to term it as a “Dual Personality Sedan.”
Being the first Polestar launched in India, this could be a whole new kind of package for the customers, as it can look and drive as quiet as a cat and prowl in a jiffy like a steroid-induced tiger. This is the car I’d prefer to be visiting the in-laws in with the whole family sitting at the back in floating comfort, and swiftly race-off in bubbling adrenaline after dropping them behind. In other words, it can behave as a Volvo S60 when you’re with family, and as an S60 Polestar when you’re all alone on the road that doesn’t end.
Its a magical achievement of comfort and race-dynamics on a mid-size sedan, while appealing to the racer in you by the chalky cyan shade and matching blue stitches, and simultaneously appealing to the domestic senses of the rest of the family. Its like ‘you see what you want to see’ on the Volvo S60 Polestar.
With 200+ changes on the Polestar version of the S60, the price INR 52.5 lakhs (ex-showroom, Delhi) is certainly a big voluntary bargain. The 20-inch Polestar engineered wheels are sure to shout in the crowd if not for the blue badges all around and inside. If you think the customary Polestar colour (Rebel Blue) is too loud for your taste, there are Onyx Black Metallic and Ice White shades too on offer.
Under the skin are most of the changes, right from engine rework to chassis, suspension, steering and all the others that effect the performance and dynamics of the sedan. All this has resulted in the car getting lighter than the previous generation polestar by 20 kg. It now weighs 1,756 kg on stand still, and incrementally upto 33 kg more between 0-250 kmph courtesy of the various aerodynamic wings on the car. This is to keep the car ever engaging to drive, and utilise the extra 60 odd horsepower and peak torque.
In addition to the reinforcement of the chassis, the springs are made stiffer by 80 percent compared to the stock car, and the damper has 32 clicks of adjustment to alter the compression and rebound damping. With all these characteristics the Ohlins shocks complement the punch passed on by the BorgWarner All Wheel Drive system that has torque vectoring function. The 8-speed automatic transmission has manual and sport modes, with a specific sequence to activate launch control. The feeling of 0-100 kmph in 4.7 seconds on the Volvo S60 Polestar was quite disorienting! Once the sport mode is active, the engine is kept revving above 4,000 rpm at all times.
To compensate for all that performance and handling, to not end up in an unfortunate situation, there are a lot of active safety features, which is synonymous with the brand. Thanks to the recent delicensing of certain radar frequencies by the Indian Government, Volvo India didn’t need to unplug the radar based safety features on the S60 Polestar. This has enabled six vital safety systems on the power sedan that are Adaptive Cruise Control, Lane Departure Warning, Collision Warning with full auto-braking, Blind-spot detection with Cross Traffic Alert, City Safety, and Park Pilot Assist.
There are also a lot of passive safety features on the car that includes seat-belt pretensioners, Side Impact Protection and Whiplash Protection within the already strong safety cage, which has led the car to pass the Euro NCAP crash test with full, five stars. But by the time any of them are required, you can slam the 371 mm disc brakes with the 6-piston Brembo calipers, and you would be stationary before you know it.
But, when friends or family sit inside the car, they won’t be seeing a totally masculine interior with a flashy or an on-the-face sporty colour theme. Instead, the cabin is covered in pleasant yet rich black alcantara upholstery with elegant blue stitching, and carbon fibre inserts that are well complementing.
To conclude, well, we wrote this backwards, so you know what we have to say.
Vital Stats
- 2.0-litre four-cylinder Drive-E petrol engine with turbo- and super-chargers
- 367 PS of maximum power and 470 Nm of peak torque
- BorgWarner four-wheel drive system with Polestar calibration for stability control and rear torque dynamic distribution
- 8-speed Geartronic automatic transmission with paddle shifters, curve-hold function, off-throttle function, and quick and optimised gear shifts compared to the factory S60
- 0-100 in 4.7 seconds
- Electronically limited top speed of 250 kmph
- Launch control, sport mode and manual shift mode.
- 371×32 mm ventilated and floating front discs (Brembo)
- 302×22 ventilated rear discs (Brembo)
- Polestar/Brembo 6-piston brake calipers
- Polestar front splitters at corners
- Polestar rear spoiler
- Polestar diffuser
- 20x8x55 Polestar alloy wheels
- Michelin 245/35ZR20 tyres
- Temporary spare wheel in the boot – T125/80R17
- Polestar Chassis
- Dynamic Stability Traction Control (DSTC)
- Advanced Stability Control
- ABS
- Electrical parking brake with drive away release function
- 2 step airbag for driver and front passenger with cut off switch for latter
- SIPS airbags (Side Impact Protection System)
- Inflatable curtains
- Whiplash protection on front seats
- Seat-belts with Pyrotechnical pretensioners on all seats
- Isofix on outer rear seats
- Emergency Brake Assist
- Emergency Brake Light (Flashing)
- Adaptive Cruise Control (Stop & Go)
- City Safety
- Lane Keeping Aid
- Collision Warning with full auto braking
- Blindspot Information System with CTRA
- Part assist on front and rear
- Park assist camera at the rear
- Rain sensor
- Hill Start Assist
- 7-inch Centre Screen with Bluetooth, Voice Control and Navigation
- Electronic Climate Control with CleanZone (AQS) and Humidity Sensor
- Sunroof
Rushlane Rating
[wp-review id=”241021″]
