First drive evaluate: The 2020 Volvo XC60 Polestar Engineered is made for Volvo fans
Volvo simply set me unfastened on a dwell airstrip in British Columbia, Canada and mentioned I’ll need to get off rapidly if a aircraft is available in to land. Nice, I’ll simply watch the sky and the pavement in entrance of me on the identical time.
The 22-way adjustable Öhlin dampers are cranked down to six within the entrance and 9 within the again. The entrance finish feels overly tight and jittery over each crack on the damaged pavement resulting in the runway. There’s no means I might dwell with the shocks at these settings on public roads, however on the airstrip the setup retains the automobile I’m in steady by means of a slalom course at practically 40 mph with practically no front-end dive upon arduous braking.
That automobile is a 2020 Volvo XC60 Polestar Engineered. That’s proper, I’m driving a crossover SUV with manually adjustable dampers.
Whereas Polestar is not an in-house operation at Volvo, it nonetheless works carefully with the Swedish automaker to amp up the dynamics of Volvos just a few notches.
For 2020, the Polestar staff labored its magic on the XC60 to create the 2020 XC60 T8 Polestar Engineered crossover SUV with extra energy, greater brakes, and adjustable suspension. The consequence is likely one of the best-looking mid-size crossovers accessible immediately and a really sporty SUV that few will personal.
2020 Volvo XC60 Polestar Engineered
Simply take a look at it
The Polestar Engineered XC60 begins with the R Design’s gloss-black accents and mesh grille, and widens the physique with wheel-arch extensions. Every nook is as much as 20 mm wider than the usual XC60. Twenty-one-inch wheels fill the wells because the inventory selection, and sharp 22-inch machine-cut cast aluminum wheels are an possibility I might advise towards (extra on that later).
Inside, the beautiful XC60 will get refined modifications to make the elegant but easy inside seem sportier. The spotlight is the gold seat belts, however the comfortable nappa leather-based seats and mesh steel trim add to the atmosphere.
2020 Volvo XC60 Polestar Engineered
2020 Volvo XC60 Polestar Engineered
2020 Volvo XC60 Polestar Engineered
2020 Volvo XC60 Polestar Engineered
The Polestar contact
The way forward for efficiency is galvanized and Polestar’s gone that route with the XC60 Polestar Engineered. It begins with Volvo’s T8 plug-in powertrain, which consists of a turbocharged and supercharged 2.Zero-liter inline-Four teamed with an electrical motor and Eight-speed computerized transmission. The tuning has been remapped by Polestar to extend output from 400 to 415 horsepower, although it loses a single pound-foot of torque to return in at 494 lb-ft.
The aforementioned Öhlins dampers are adjustable 22 methods and appear to be works of automotive artwork. All 4 could be adjusted with the straightforward flip of a knob, the fronts below the hood on the strut towers and the rears by popping a rubber cap off the knob within the rear fender wells.
The Polestar staff additionally added a strut-tower brace to maintain issues from twisting whereas huge Akebono drilled brake rotors with gold 6-piston brake calipers are there to sluggish issues down rapidly.
2020 Volvo XC60 Polestar Engineered
Lacking the feels
The is in place, however the work Polestar did doesn’t translate by way of really feel or immediacy. Mash the accelerator from a standstill and there’s a split-second pause because the electronics and powertrain kind themselves out, then the rear finish squats and the mass of Swedish steel takes off in a rush. Practically 500 pound-feet of torque will do this.
Volvo says the XC60 T8 Polestar Engineered can dash from Zero to 60 mph in Four.9 seconds. Between the crossover SUV’s mass of Four,747 kilos and the plug-in hybrid powertrain’s hesitation, it doesn’t really feel as fast as marketed (although Zero-60-mph instances are measured as soon as a automobile will get rolling, not when the throttle pedal is pressed).
The Polestar XC60 could be environment friendly, too. When driving with a lightweight foot the hybrid powertrain can keep in all-electric mode till the battery pack’s electrons are exhausted relying on the load round city. Roll the powertrain mode selector to Polestar and the gasoline engine by no means shuts off (it even disables auto start-stop), which turns the XC60 into a robust hybrid whatever the battery’s state of cost.
The electrical energy steering doesn’t present plenty of data to the motive force about what’s happening on the wheels, however it’s correct and lightweight round city.
2020 Volvo XC60 Polestar Engineered
The drilled Akebono brakes and 6-piston calipers that sit so proudly behind my tester’s 22-inch wheels suggest immense braking energy. Nevertheless, each on the road and through a 92-mph stopping maneuver on the airstrip, the pedal feels wood with zero preliminary chew, no development, and no suggestions indicating how a lot braking is being utilized. It seems to be a tuning challenge that was chosen as an overreaction to suggestions acquired in regards to the S60 Polestar Engineered that was launched earlier within the 12 months. On the time, many individuals felt the brakes had been too grabby.
For the road drive, the Volvo staff units the Öhlin dampers to 12, practically the center floor and possibly ideally suited for day-to-day driving although they arrive set from the manufacturing facility at 10 throughout. They will’t overcome the drawbacks of the 22-inch wheels, although, as they crash over each enlargement joint, crack, or grate on the highway. Go for the usual 21-inch wheels and save $800.
Priced from $72,045 together with vacation spot, the XC60 T8 Polestar Engineered is downright costly. Add in my tester’s metallic paint for $645, 22-inch wheels for $800, and the sticker value is $73,490.
With solely 300 XC60 Polestar Engineered fashions coming to the U.S. per 12 months (that’s about one per dealership), this will likely be one uncommon Swede. If the distinctive 22-way dampers don’t do it, that alone is perhaps sufficient to realize the curiosity of fans and anybody else on the lookout for a plug-in hybrid crossover SUV with practically 500 lb-ft of torque.
Volvo offered journey and lodging to Web Manufacturers Automotive to carry you this firsthand evaluate.
