Polestar is rising
The XC60 is the perfect middle ground for Volvo
FOR those who don’t know, Polestar is a spin-off sports car brand of Volvo. Its first model, the Polestar 1, is currently in production in China, and it’s a two-seater sports car with a hybrid powertrain.
The petrol engine does most of the work, assisted by motors delivering added power to the rear wheels, and that same technology is brought to bear on this car, which Volvo calls the XC60 T8 Twin-Engine Polestar Engineered Automatic AWD — try writing all that across the back of the tailgate!
In diesel form, the XC60 starts at €54,600 for the Momentum trim, so the price premium for moving up the range is massive — this version costs a whopping €88,309, and with options on my test model, topped out at €93,189, though you do get a lot for the money.
The XC40 is probably the most lauded of Volvo’s SUVs, but it’s a bit too compact for me. The XC90 is too big unless you have a large family, so the XC60 is the one that hits the sweet spot.
It has a commanding kerbside presence, but it’s not intimidating, thanks to sleek air intakes, nicely detailed sculpting on the side panels, and that unmistakeable Volvo belt running diagonally across the grille.
I also loved the gold Ohlins air valve caps and brake calipers, which worked beautifully in contrast with the black of the car and, in another nice touch, the seatbelts also were gold, a welcome change from the usual bog-standard black.
Talking of kerbside, I was parking one night after dark and relied on the bird’s eye view display, which proved to be a mistake. I scratched the rims, which annoyed me — I hate doing any damage to test cars, and have a near perfect record of care over the 20-odd years I’ve been reviewing them, and I really should have relied on my mirrors. Lesson learned. Anyway, the good news is that this is a rocket. The very second you hit the motorway and floor the accelerator, the twin power sources practically catapult the car into orbit.
For an SUV with such bulk, a 0100kph sprint of 5.4 seconds is extraordinary and I loved every second behind the wheel on the open road, especially in the selectable Polestar drive mode.
On back roads, it’s not quite as much fun, because the suspension is a little bit too hard, and the 21inch wheels on the test car didn’t help in that regard.
There is, however, compensation in the interior comfort, which as always with Volvo is exemplary. The leather seats are a work of art and, as always, I loved the vertically mounted tablet-style infotainment screen, still one of the best in the business, and compatible with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
My car also came with a harman/ kardon sound system with Dolby Pro-Logic II surround sound — it was better than the first home cinema system I bought years ago!
It’s no surprise that the XC60 is Volvo’s bestselling car, and also the bestselling mid-size premium SUV in Europe since its launch.
As for the hybrid power train, you’ll get around 38km in fully electric mode, but the real benefit is the added power when it’s needed. The hybrid system also reduces emissions to just 73g/km, for annual motor tax of just €170
— that’s one area in which you won’t take a hit in your wallet!
The extras fitted to my car were the Intellisafe Pro Pack at €1,933, which included adaptive cruise control, distance alert, lanekeeping aid, blind spot information, cross traffic alert with auto braking, and rear collision mitigation. You never, ever feel unsafe in a Volvo.
The Xenium Pack cost €1,181, and included power glass tilt and slide panoramic sunroof, parking camera with that 360-degree surround bird’s eye view system I mentioned, and automatic parallel and 90-degree parking, which I should have used.
The final option was a power passenger seat with memory for €636 (the driver’s seat already has this).
All in all, the XC60 really is a terrific car, but you’d want to be mad into an extra bit of speed to creep all the way up to this model. Personally, if I were buying, I’d be looking at the diesel in Inscription trim for €60,562. That way, you get all the luxury and safety, but at a price that at least is digestible to anyone shopping in that segment of the market.
Paying an almost 28-grand premium is fine if money is no option, but in the real world, it’s better to be as pragmatic as, well, a Volvo.