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Mike Sinclair24 Aug 2014
REVIEW

Volvo S60 Polestar and Volvo XC60 2014 Review

A tale of two Volvos… And your writer, a Swedish brand recalcitrant

Volvo S60 Polestar and XC60 T5 Luxury Drive-E
Road Test(s)

Two Volvos. Driven back to back. In some ways the same, but in others so very different.

And my reactions to the two of them probably tell you as much about my prejudices as about the cars themselves.

In the very bright, race-car blue corner, the soon to be updated MY14 S60 Polestar. In the other, a very capable, very family friendly and thoroughly polished XC60 T5 Luxury Drive-E. I like them both, but I’d only pay for one of them. And I’m willing to concede that’s because I’m a brand recalcitrant — the fact is I simply couldn’t bring myself to spend six figures on a Volvo.

At $99,950, the S60 Polestar is serious money for a mid-sized car, albeit one with very serious performance. Yes, as a market Aussies have convinced ourselves (in big numbers according to VFACTs) to spend circa-$150K on high-performance variants of the BMW 3 Series and Mercedes-Benz C-Class, but a Volvo Polestar is not an M car or AMG. In my mind, I doubt it will ever be.

There I said it…

Don’t get me wrong, I’m a real fan of the fastest ever S60. And I like Volvos in general. I just don’t (and probably never will) place the brand on the same plane as ‘name’ prestige marques.

Volvo is working hard to push itself upmarket Down Under... And it is cars like the S60 Polestar that will take the fight up to the other Euros and facilitate the change in perception, but it has a long road ahead of it. After all, it needs to convince luddites like myself

Polestar is to Volvo what HSV is to Holden, or indeed, M or AMG is to their respective parent brands. And although this S60 starts life a plane Jane T6, by the time the Polestar team has finished, the engine, exhaust, transmission, suspension, brakes and a whole host of other components have all been changed – or at the very least tweaked.

The end result is a car that has around 260kW and shedloads of torque -- over 500Nm. Plus an all-wheel drive system and chassis with the credentials to put every bit of it to good use. It’s fast, and not just in a straight line!

Volvo claims the Polestar S60 accelerates 0-100km/h in 4.9sec and storms on to a 250km/h limited top speed. But that's not necessarily the real strength of this car. Thanks to a big fat midrange, it's one of those rare cars that feels even faster in the real world. It can cover ground — curvy roads and all — at a furious rate and at the same time, remains totally unfussed.

One of this performance saloon’s most endearing characteristics is its excellent compromise of ride and handling. It’s the work of superbike and race-car suspension wiz, Ohlins. It’s to the Yamaha-owned Swedish outfit’s credit that this is the best handling Volvo ever. The car steers well (although I’m not a big fan of the artificial three-stage electric weighting) and always feels quick on its feet – yet you don't pay for that agility with the super stiff race-car ride some other similarly focused cars foist upon you.

The other rare quality is that the Polestar engineers have gifted the S60 with just enough exhaust and engine note to entertain when you want to drive fast, yet in ‘cruise’ or commute mode it's refined and quiet. And there’s not an electronic synthesiser nor exhaust bypass valve in sight…

Inside there's all the equipment you'd expect and then some. Comfort features are replete and the front sport seats are, quite simply, the best compromise of support and comfort I’ve experienced in quite some time. They even look the part — a pleasant combo of material, stitching and textures…

The car’s high level of active safety is almost a given (it is a Volvo) but shouldn’t be taken for granted. Volvo cops some flak for the mass of the S60 Polestar (it weighs a hefty 1770kg) but every safety and amenity system you add contributes to a car adds weight.

Here all the boxes are ticked in terms of active safety (including an excellent and easy to use active cruise control) and the passive safety suite is top notch too.

In the injection of performance, Volvo listened to us and others and has installed proper gearshift paddles – a first for the brand. And there's also just enough attitude to the body kit and wheel tyre combo to show the Polestar means business.

Frankly I find the car hard to fault, in form or function… And then we bump into that price again…

Fully $34,935 or almost 35 per cent (!) cheaper sits our other Volvo. The one I would be prepared to shell out the money for — and a car you should consider if you’re in the market for a mid-size SUV with polish.

It goes without saying that our 180kW/350Nm XC60 T5 Luxury tester isn’t half as quick or as grippy as its muscled up Polestar stablemate, but what impressed were the same ‘embedded’ qualities and the added level of functionality the crossover packaging adds. Things that make a Volvo a Volvo…

The XC60’s cabin is a pleasant, airy place to be, made all the better for the materials used that have both real substance and a quality feel to them.

The car’s ergonomics are well executed and despite the XC60’s Goldilocks external dimensions (not too big, not too small), there’s plenty of room across the back seat for (for example) three teenagers — something that can’t be said of other Euros in the segment.

Volvo’s ‘remote control’ inspired centre-stack may not have the visual wow factor of other brands (and it’s now towards the end of its design life) but it just plain works. The set-up’s all the better for the fact there’s now a proper integrated sat-nav and infotainment rear camera screen (the first XC60s had a separate pop-up).

Our T5 Luxury had just two options (heated front seats $375 and metallic paint $1750) yet it lacked for little. City Safety autonomous braking is standard and so are features Volvo essential still has on its own — like toddler-friendly booster cushions built into the outboard rear seats’ design.

Both front seats get electric adjustment — something again not always offered by name badges at this price point. Active bi-xenon headlights are also standard and let's not forget one of my favourites (and something you only miss when a car doesn’t have it), a powered tailgate.

Best of all, under the XC60 T5’s skin is a willing and reasonably economical 2.0-litre turbo four that’s a taste of (even better) things to come from Volvo. A fast-witted yet not frenetic eight-speed auto makes the most of the Swedish neddies.

Acceleration from 0-100km/h of 7.2sec and an academic top speed of 210km/h doesn’t adequately describe the meaty midrange of the engine. There’s an eagerness to the way this car performs that’s endearing.

Labelled as a Drive-E power train, the XC60 T5’s mechanicals aren’t by any means the latest from Volvo — the newest turbo and twin-charged engines will debut in the new XC90 which is unveiled in late August (2014). They are, however, a generation more recent than the nonetheless impressive six that powers the Polestar.

To the casual observer idle stop-start technology is probably to most obvious indicator of the T5’s modernity.

Without regard to economical driving (but thanks to the extra economy idle stop-start delivers in traffic), a couple of days of normal suburban work netted the T5 around 8.8-9.5L/100km in my hands. Given the XC’s size, capacity and better than average performance, that’s a number I’d find very easy to live with.

The words hereabouts aren’t meant to be considered an in-depth test of the S60 Polestar or XC60 T5 — we’ve provided links to extra details on both. Having driven both cars within days of each other, however, I just wanted to get my impressions down to share.

Am I being unfair in suggesting one of these cars is far better value than the other? Am I being unfair relegating Volvo to the ranks of the near-prestige rather than the top tier to which it aspires? I’m genuinely interested in your views…


2014 Volvo S60 Polestar pricing and specifications:

Price: $99,950 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 257kW/500Nm
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Fuel: 10.2L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 243g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety Rating: Five-star ANCAP

What we liked Not so much
>> Seamless powertrain performance >> Six-figure price-tag (nearly)
>> Excellent balance of roadholding and ride >> Spare wheel chews up boot space
>> Front seats and cabin finish >> Little else

2014 Volvo XC60 T5 Luxury DRIVE-E pricing and specifications:
Price: $62,890 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 180kW/350Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: 7.0L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 164g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety Rating: Five-star ANCAP

What we liked Not so much
>> Eager 2.0-litre turbo four and eight-speed auto >> Buy a white one and pocket $1750 metallic charge
>> Right-sized XC packaging >> Not a huge fan of new front end
>> Well equipped including power tailgate >> Little else
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