Polestar V60 review: the very blue Swedish estate

What is that intensely blue car?

It is the new V60 developed by Polestar, the Swedish motorsport specialist with a demonstrated knack for creating quick racing cars.

Polestar has built Volvo-based STCC championship winners since ’96 and, more recently, made a major impact in Australia by disrupting Holden and Ford’s V8 Supercars stronghold. This V60 is different, though: it is the fast-moving Scandinavian firm’s first proper series-production road car.

Polestar V60: more than a Volvo tuner

So, is Polestar simply a tuning company?

Not quite. Polestar is best viewed in the Alpina/Brabus mould: an independent business that works solely with one manufacturer. It has now officially become Volvo’s ‘Performance Partner’, effectively serving as Volvo’s version of an M division, intended to inject extra excitement into the marque’s image.

This is not, admittedly, Volvo and Polestar’s first joint project. The pair previously created two wonderfully unhinged, high-output concepts - the 400bhp C30 and 500bhp S60 - both of which we loved, although neither was a genuine production model.

What has Polestar changed?

Anyone hoping for the wild power outputs of Polestar’s earlier projects may be disappointed. The V60’s straight-six T6 turbo has received only limited mechanical attention, gaining a larger BorgWarner twin-scroll turbocharger and intercooler. Nevertheless, the 3.0-litre six now produces 350bhp and 500Nm of torque. That is sufficient for 0-100km/h in 5.0 seconds and a 250km/h top speed, with a Haldex four-wheel-drive system delivering the power to the tarmac.

Is 350bhp rather underwhelming for a serious performance car?

Some might think so, but Polestar does not. The Swedish company believes a performance car requires more than sheer muscle; it also needs a capable chassis that can properly use the available power.

Accordingly, its engineers have fitted substantial 51cm wheels with supercar-grade Michelin Pilot Sport tyres, rubber also chosen by Sweden’s other performance marque, Koenigsegg. These are paired with highly sophisticated mechanically adjustable Öhlins dampers, new front and rear top mounts, and a carbon-fibre-reinforced front strut brace. That is serious hardware by any standard.

Chassis, ride and cornering ability

The revised suspension makes the car a substantial 80 per cent stiffer than a regular V60 R-Design. You might therefore expect a single pothole to pulverise your spine, yet the ride is actually very well resolved. It is firm, but it deals with scarred surfaces with composure and absorbs ridges and bumps without firing unpleasant jolts into your coccyx. As a result, you can tackle winding roads at real pace.

That hardly sounds like a typical Volvo driver’s comment...

This is not a conventional Volvo, however. Turn the key and a rich exhaust bark emerges from the twin tailpipes. Both the throttle and steering have been recalibrated too, giving the V60’s controls a keener, more eager character.

The V60 is at its best in bends. Large ventilated front discs and six-piston Brembo calipers deliver substantial braking force; this sizeable estate stops hard, allowing you to brake late before pitching it into a corner in a distinctly un-Volvo-like manner. Thanks to the costly catalogue of motorsport components - the capable suspension arrangement, sticky tyres and revised four-wheel-drive system - it does not then fall off the road.

Expecting dramatic sideways action? Do not: the four-wheel drive refuses to indulge it. Even so, the V60 remains impressively settled through turns, offering plentiful grip and sufficient low-rev torque to make it genuinely rapid from point to point.

Compromises, cabin and price

So, where is the compromise?

Sportiness usually comes at comfort’s expense, and Polestar has unfortunately not found a way around that rule. The large tyres tend to follow grooves in the road and create considerable motorway noise, which even the prominent exhaust cannot entirely drown out.

There is also the transmission. Polestar has attempted to sharpen the rather languid six-speed automatic by reprogramming it, making shifts firmer and quicker while adding a launch-control mode. Yet beside a proper dual-clutch gearbox it still feels slow-witted, with an awful habit of hunting for ratios when the throttle is held steady.

It still has the appearance of a Volvo…

The intended look was sporting but discreet. Externally, there is a modest front splitter and rear spoiler, subtle badges, plus a rear diffuser designed to improve downforce and high-speed stability.

The cabin follows the same restrained approach, adding sport seats with more substantial bolsters, blue stitching throughout to contrast with the grey Alcantara trim, and a floating centre console covered in carbon fibre. If that treatment is too understated, select the loud Polestar blue paintwork. Those after a Q-car should choose black instead.

What is the price?

£49,775. That is a sizeable figure, and it inconveniently positions the Polestar V60 between an Audi S4 and RS4. At least the V60 arrives with every possible option box ticked. Given that a regular V60 with comparable equipment would cost roughly £46k, the £4,000 Polestar upgrade appears something of a bargain in view of how completely it changes the car’s character.

Polestar is producing only 750 S60s and V60s worldwide, of which just 125 V60s will come to the UK - sadly, there will be no S60 Polestar for us - so its scarcity should support residual values.

Can we expect more from Polestar?

Yes, and that is a Good Thing. As a separate business, Polestar can allow Volvo to deal with all the safety-related work and emissions rules at the factory while it gets on with experimenting in its workshop and making cars faster. The V60 shows that Polestar can tune a car for real roads, so let the future bring more exciting Volvos.