Exterior
Design
The Volvo S60 sedan has always been a good looker.
It carries sharp and elegant style cues which lend it a voguish appeal. The S60
Polestar brings more racy characteristics to the sedan. The front splitters
have been redesigned to look sporty at the same time restrict the amount of
airflow under the sedan. The S60 Polestar also features skirting all around and
gets a rear spoiler and diffuser which increase the down force, in turn aiding
tyre grip and control over the sedan.
Volvo has also added Polestar engineered
rims which have been tested and developed at the Volvo wind tunnel to optimise
airflow and provide an efficient braking performance irrespective of weather
and road conditions. It also increases the airflow to the brake setup thus
improving the braking endurance of the S60 Polestar. Other aesthetic changes to
the exterior come in the form of the Polestar badges on the trunk and grille.
The S60 Polestar is available in Rebel Blue and Onyx Black Metallic colours.
Interior
Design
The cabin of the Volvo S60 Polestar oozes
sporty performance and luxury. It carries distinct elements which are found on
the S60 sedan but yet has its own identity thanks to additions made under the
Polestar badge. Volvo has added Sport seats and a racy looking steering wheel
which gets brushed aluminum finish and does have identical styling cues to the
standard S60.
Even the start up image has been tweaked to
display the Polestar badge, while Volvo has made minor changes under the
Polestar badge such as the door panels, centre stack, carpets, door sill molds,
gear knob, gear knob stick cover, arm rest and sport pedals. The cabin feels
premium and rich with an exquisite blend of materials adorning the spaces
inside the sedan.
Performance
Unlike the previous versions 3.0 litre, 6
cylinder configurations, the new Volvo S60 Polestar gets a 2.0 litre, 4 pot,
supercharged, turbocharged motor. Despite having a smaller engine capacity,
power and torque figures have seen a jump over the previous version. The new
2.0L motor whips up an astonishing 362bhp at 6000rpm and a hefty 470Nm of
torque from 3100 - 5100rpm. The Volvo S60 sedan is by no means linear in its
mannerism, it is punchy and has a keen wit to catch you off guard. The gentlest
of taps on the accelerator make this sedan lunge forward. The engine has been
mated to an 8-Speed AWD automatic transmission. The AWD setup is marginally
biased to the rear wheels ensuring a very sporty drive. Volvo has also added a
gear hold function to the S60 Polestar, thus you can push the engine in a
single gear, the way it would be in a manual transmission.
The Volvo S60 Polestar also enables you to
turn off most driver aides like stability control and traction control, there
is minimal intrusion from these control systems thus making it truly a driver's
car. The chassis and suspension of the S60 Polestar has also been rigged to be
on the stiffer side, rendering more control and feel to this vehicle. On track
the S60 Polestar gets immense grip and control even with the various driver
aides turned off. The steering as well is on the stiffer side and has a very
sporty feel to it.
Safety
& Features
While the S60 Polestar gets kit like ABS,
Advanced Stability Control and Dynamic Stability Traction Control. Amongst
other safety features Volvo has chosen the S60 Polestar to incorporate its
Collision Warning with full auto brake and pedestrian detection system. Other
radar based safety features that have been incorporated are Adaptive Cruise
Control, Lane Departure Warning, Blind Spot Detection with Cross Traffic Alert,
City Safety and Park Pilot Assist.
Verdict
The Volvo S60 Polestar is much more
affordable than its closest rival from the tri-star stable and is just a tad
bit more powerful. The other big advantage it gets is the unparalleled safety
features.