Tuesday 21st April 2015

Volvo V60 Polestar: PH Fleet

A long weekend in Wales was meant to be the perfect test for James's Volvo. The pothole had other ideas...

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Having been reunited with the Polestar, I was looking forward to a family weekend away in Wales over the Bank Holiday. I was genuinely excited at the prospect of spending some quality time in the car. Alongside this, it would be an excellent test of the car's sporting estate credentials: it had to be exciting while remaining a very good and family-friendly load-lugging Volvo.

Ah yes, that's borked

Very early morning progress was aided by the Polestar's excellent adaptive cruise control system. The V60 really is an exceptionally comfortable car to cover miles in, especially considering how tough the suspension is at lower speeds. The excellent damping really does contain that "jiggling" feeling often found on cars that are too stiffly sprung without decent dampers. Wind and road noise are kept pleasingly subdued as well. We were soon leaving toll booths and making our way through the Brecon Beacons, having recorded a new fuel consumption high of 28.8mpg (!) on the way across.

By 0900h we were nearing Aberaeron on the west coast of Wales. The plan was to unload the family and luggage at the hotel, grab a late breakfast and head off for a more spirited drive to properly enjoy the car. As I say, that was the plan...

The weather had really closed in by now and with a precious five-month old passenger onboard I was gently cruising along at 50 mph on a very wet Welsh country road. And then I collided with a meteorite. OK, so it wasn't actually a meteorite, but for split second I thought it was, such was the violence with which the car shook.

And they're such good looking wheels!

Once the infotainment screen had recovered from the jolt and turned back on (yes, really) I realised that what had actually happened was that the puddle I'd just driven through had a pothole hiding in the bottom of it. A huge one. And I'd hit it. Hard.

A closer inspection of the wheel revealed a very damaged tyre, albeit one that continued to hold air. No problem though, all I needed to do was locate a 245/35 R20 Michelin Pilot Super Sport tyre. In a remote part of Wales. On a Bank Holiday weekend.

And my weekend of driving pleasure was reduced to a 50 mph and an extremely gentle tour of west Wales' finest tyre fitting establishments. Unsurprisingly, it was a futile endeavour as there was absolutely no chance of sourcing a replacement. Instantly the dread about a slow speed 250 mile schlep back home set in; the journey ended up taking seven hours. Joy.

This was the Wales plan...

Volvo's inspection revealed that both near side wheels and tyres would need replacement due to flat spots and sidewall damage. At the same time they carried out a 'blue light' inspection of the car due to the severity of the impact. This is a belt and braces check applied to Volvo emergency service vehicles on a regular basis. Luckily the only thing that this uncovered was the need for a four-wheel alignment, which meant that the car was quickly returned to us in rude health.

I can't help but wonder if all this could have been avoided if it weren't for the trend to have enormous wheels and very thin sidewalls on cars. And don't get me started on potholes...

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FACT SHEET
Car: 2014 Volvo V60 Polestar
Run by: James
On fleet since: February 2015
Mileage: 12,267
List price new: £49,775 (and £49,775 as tested too!)
Last month at a glance: Pothole puts paid to Polestar plans in Wales

Previous updates:
Hot Swede welcomed to the PH Fleet...
A few others have a go in JD's Volvo's, they love it too!

[Pics: Ben Lowden]

 

 

[Matt Bird]

Quick note on the photos here to avoid any confusion. With James unable to take any useful photos with the tyre nightmare, we've dropped in a couple of unused ones from Ben's Welsh trip a little while back. Hence the snow! There will be some fresh ones in the sunshine for next time.

Cheers!


Matt