Saturday 2nd April 2016

New Volvo V60 Polestar

Six cylinders out and four cylinders in for the facelift of Volvo's V60 flagship

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Despite very limited production and a £50K list price, the Volvo V60 Polestar has quickly established a reputation for itself as a very capable and desirable fast estate car. The car that featured on the PH Fleet for a few months won over many with its style, excellent damping and plentiful performance.

The big changes are underneath...

Today the V60 facelift has been announced, and there's some significant news: the straight-six turbo has gone, replaced by a four-cylinder Drive-E engine. Hmm. It's the same Twincharged engine used in the V60 and S60 T6 but with a new turbo, new conrods, a new cam and a new air filter. Power is up to 367hp at 6,000rpm and torque is now 347lb ft at 3,100-5,100rpm. With an eight-speed auto replacing the old six-speed gearbox, 0-62mph is now claimed at 4.8 seconds, or two tenths quicker than before. Unsurprisingly the new four-cylinder is markedly more efficient than before too: CO2 has improved from 237g/km to 186g/km, and fuel economy has jumped from 27.7 to 34.9mpg. For reference a 340i Touring achieves 164g/km and 40.4mpg.

Far more interesting PH numbers come from the V60 Polestar's weight though. With the switch to four cylinders, Volvo claims 24kg has been shed from the front end alone. Overall kerb weight is 1,796kg, or 38kg less than before.

New 20-inch wheels part of the external tweaks

Further changes for this V60 Polestar include new 20-inch lightweight wheels, slotted brake discs at the front and a Polestar calibration for the electric power steering. Remember when Polestar's boss told PH recently how keen he was to work on steering? Now's the chance to try it!

Thanks to the reception of the V60 Polestar, this updated version will now be produced in greater numbers. Alongside the S60 Polestar not offered in the UK, there will be "between 1,250 and 1,500 cars" made, up from 750 before. UK orders are open now - there isn't a price confirmed yet - with deliveries expected in the last quarter of this year. Finally, if your fast Volvo must have more than four cylinders, then delivery mileage straight-six Polestars are available at £12,000 off list price...

[Cassius81]

Has anyone actually bought one of these? I've never seen one on the road, as far as I can remember...

Would seriously consider one when I get rid of the RS4, so would love to hear what they are like to live with.

[Tom74TVR]

Hi, I have one of the original V60 Polestars. I also had an Audi S4 (not the RS) and the Volvo is the better car, maybe not from a gearbox point of view but overall compared... I love my V60. I use it as my daily driver and I love the schizofrenic mentality of the car... It is a full option Volvo with all safety features so it's safe when I take my two kids to school but it is also a lot of fun when they are not in the car and I can act a little bit more irresponsable. I have two recent TVR's if I want to go really fast and want to focus on the actual driving... the V60 is different, it is the ultimate sleeper for me (well mine is rebel blue so not 100% inconspicious), still comfortable but capable of scaring the sh*t out of most other cars on the road when in sport mode. I really recommend trying one... And I think the original 6 cyclinder cars are great value for money. Go try one, see for yourself. Cheers, Tom.

[Cassius81]

Tom74TVR said:

Hi, I have one of the original V60 Polestars. I also had an Audi S4 (not the RS) and the Volvo is the better car, maybe not from a gearbox point of view but overall compared... I love my V60. I use it as my daily driver and I love the schizofrenic mentality of the car... It is a full option Volvo with all safety features so it's safe when I take my two kids to school but it is also a lot of fun when they are not in the car and I can act a little bit more irresponsable. I have two recent TVR's if I want to go really fast and want to focus on the actual driving... the V60 is different, it is the ultimate sleeper for me (well mine is rebel blue so not 100% inconspicious), still comfortable but capable of scaring the sh*t out of most other cars on the road when in sport mode. I really recommend trying one... And I think the original 6 cyclinder cars are great value for money. Go try one, see for yourself. Cheers, Tom.

Thanks Tom, that's helpful - I think I will try one. Is it larger or small inside that the S4, just out of interest?

[GroundEffect]

Cassius81 said:

Has anyone actually bought one of these? I've never seen one on the road, as far as I can remember...

Would seriously consider one when I get rid of the RS4, so would love to hear what they are like to live with.

A colleague bought a brand new one as a 40th birthday present to himself. It sounds very naughty coming in to the car park.

[Lunar Tick]

38kg reduction in a car that weighs nearly as much as a neutron star is no performance panacea. Have they built this thing out of tungsten or something?

[Baryonyx]

The change for a four cylinder engine is disappointing but it sounds like it will now have a gearbox suited to it's performance. What a fantastic looking car though, it makes you wish the sort people who buy these things new were imaginative enough to move away from Audi and BMW.

[MrBarry123]

ermahgerd



I really need to buy one.

[Nickbrapp]

Love this, the facelift is a bit subtle though, still agree this is the best looking car in its class.

[Aeroresh]

Does it sound like a hairdrier though?

Major thing for me with any performance car is how it sounds and a multi turbo 4 cylinder I suspect isnt going to cut it.

I could be doing Volvo a dis-service so Ill reserve judgement until I try one.

[dukebox9reg]

Lol 34mpg. I've just got a new V60 cross country D4 awd with a polestar map. Struggle to get a 35mpg combined from that in mixed driving. Still needs to loosen up mind.

Hate to say they idea of a 4 cylinder doesn't do it for me in something like this. One reason why I got the V60 awd as I reckon its one of the last times well see a 5cylinder engine of any sorts. Makes a Lovely noise let alone for a diesel. Im a big fan of the V60 though.

Weighs so bloody much as it's still on the old Ford/volvo/lr platform. Basically an evoque underneath.

Edited by dukebox9reg on Friday 1st April 21:42

[Axionknight]

Wibble!

I fking want one, badly.

Edited by Axionknight on Friday 1st April 21:50

[iamAlegend]

Terrible shame, made an awesome noise, kind of like an r32 (the Japanese kind). I don't understand why the performance cars can't stay cool and let the rest of the range take the hit. They don't sell enough of them to make a difference!

[After_Shock]

Lunar Tick said:

38kg reduction in a car that weighs nearly as much as a neutron star is no performance panacea. Have they built this thing out of tungsten or something?

Safety comes with weight, unless of course its crazy materials which are not an option at this price point. Cars are fully loaded also, no options from the factory to be added, again adds weight.

[Axionknight]

I bet the electric seats weigh a good 40kg each, easily - it's amazing how heavy those things are.

[skyrover]

Lunar Tick said:

38kg reduction in a car that weighs nearly as much as a neutron star is no performance panacea. Have they built this thing out of tungsten or something?

It's a Volvo, safety first.

[pdtrewern]

Really? The S/RS4 isn't exactly light on its feet is it?!!

[Axionknight]

Around 1700kg for an Audi S4 or RS4, so not that much in it really.

[norchi]

Reading the current Top Gear appraisal of this latest offering the third paragraph from the end sums it up: damning the car with faint praise:

"So there are two cars here. The likeable, satisfying, sure-footed quick estate you fall for before you learn the price, and the dated insides, flat-sounding, not overtly exciting Volvo you pay lightly used C63 AMG money for after you discover its dark secret. Fifty grand is an awful, awful lot of money for a car that, though technically moving in the right direction, doesn’t feel as naughty or lovable as it used to."



Volvo UK and their dealers have many of the older p*s still in stock after nearly two years, gathering dust as they drop to prices at which they will be bought at a value the market dictates.

Sad to see that in their new situation of being the proper owners of the p* brand they are still lying about the provenance of it, more specifically claims are still being made for ownership, under that name, of all the good work done by others, Prodrive, Flash Engineering, Motordesign et al.

Clearly the parochial senior management are quite desperate to have a brand name to rival Schnitzer, Alpina, AMG, and so on and so forth, all of which attach to a long life's work of their original owners, in some cases dating back to the late '60s. In my view they just look a bit shabby and dishonest in their wannabe scrabble to build a brand with some heft....

[Axionknight]

fking hell Don, you managed to complain about Volvo but NOT mention their "pin code banditry".

Are you feeling OK?