A COLLECTOR’S VOLVO
Polestar 1’s performance answers any questions raised when it was first unveiled, writes Andrew McCredie.
mising. That, in a word, describes the 2020 Polestar 1.
Postmedia was granted a sneak preview of the 2+2 PHEV months before the official First Drive event for the world’s automotive press, and what we learned is that in terms of horsepower, all-electric range, performance, technology and overall design, the Polestar 1 is as much about revelation as it is revolution.
I attended the reveal of the Polestar 1 last September in New York City, and while impressed with the spec-sheet figures — 600 horsepower, a 150-kilometre all-electric range, carbon-fibre body, track-tuned suspension
— I came away more puzzled than pumped. Why was Polestar parent company Volvo creating this new automaker when this vehicle would fit ideally into its re-energized model lineup? Why would a new automaker dedicated to the electric vehicle revolution produce a plug-in hybrid as its debut model? And why produce just 500 of these debut vehicles per year with a retail price touching $200,000?
After spending a couple of hours behind the wheel of a pre-production Polestar 1 driving in and around Gothenburg, followed by some hot laps at Volvo’s Hallered Proving Ground, I was reminded why I’m a journalist and not an automotive exec.
My first inkling of that ill-informed rush to judgment was about 80 kilometres into the drive that had taken us — my navigator was a Polestar engineer — along a mix of urban, highway and country roads. Despite hitting 140 km/h on some of the highspeed highway runs, and accelerating hard on sections of deserted country roads, the gasoline engine had yet to fire. My driving partner informed me that the threshold for it to do so is 160 km/h.
In addition, there was still a range of 60 km left in the 34 kWh battery pack. That full-charge range of 150 km makes this vehicle tops in the PHEV category.
Its all-electric range is essentially the same as every first-generation EV that I’ve ever tested, from the Nissan Leaf and the Kia Soul to the BMW i3.
As I was contemplating this, my driving companion suggested we switch the drive mode from all-electric to the sport setting, which brings to life the 326-hp 2.0-litre, turbocharged and supercharged four-cylinder gasoline engine. It also brings into play the front wheels, which are driven by the gas engine. Power for the rear wheels is provided by two electric motors.
Working in combination, the Polestar 1’s gas engine and electric motors produce 600 hp and 740 pound-feet of torque.
In sport mode on a stretch of open highway, I hit the accelerator when I had revelation number two. The preprogrammed navigation system interrupted my momentary lapse of bliss, indicating the off-ramp for the Volvo test facility was approaching.
“Brake later than you would once we’re on the off-ramp and try to feel the torque vectoring,” my companion suggested.
I did and was amazed at the “on rails” sensation of the rear end as we whipped around the corner. Many automakers claim to have torque vectoring, but this is the real deal, thanks to a rear-end setup that incorporates planetary gearing into the electric motors.
The Hallered Proving Ground is a huge, multi-track complex, and has played an integral role in the Polestar 1 evolution. The electric powertrain was developed and enhanced in Volvo S90 “mules” on the high-security track, while the chassis was tweaked and perfected over the course of thousands of laps on the facility’s real-world track by Polestar chief test driver Joakim Rydholm.
It was during hot laps in the passenger seat of Rydholm’s Polestar 1 prototype #004 that I came to fully appreciate the incredible performance attributes of this plug-in hybrid. That’s the same car that Rydholm drove at last year’s Goodwood Hill Climb event, and the one that he has tested in the High Arctic, the Arizona desert and the African subcontinent. I lost track of revelations at the track.
Auto journalists, and gearheads in general, like to play the prediction game of “new today, collectible tomorrow.” In other words, guessing which vehicles will be commanding top dollars at the world’s auctions in, say, 2050. Next time I’m involved in one of those discussions, the Polestar 1 will top my list.