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Volvo S60 Polestar T6 2013 review

EXPERT RATING
6

Volvo is returning to Australian race tracks entering the V8 Supercars series from next year. But in the meantime it has the hottest Volvo to hit our roads since the turbocharged R models of the late 1990s. In fact, the S60 T6 Polestar is the fastest and most powerful Volvo road car of all time.

Volvo’s been here before, switching safety for sex. It’s all designed to help reverse perceptions about its staid image. Volvo road cars have improved over the years but the image hasn’t move with them.

For its latest campaign Volvo has teamed with its Swedish race team Polestar to add some extra urge to its already quite quick S60 T6 turbo road car. Volvo has built 50 special models, the first of their type in the world. If Australians take to it, more may follow both here and overseas.

VALUE

Let’s get the bad news out of the way first. This is an expensive car. At $109,950 plus on-road costs it is $40,000 (or more than 50 per cent) dearer than the S60 T6 on which it is based. Ouch.

For that you get a larger turbo, race-tuned Ohlins suspension (the same brand used by the Lotus F1 team and found in Lamborghini road cars), lightweight 19-inch wheels and Bridgestone RE050 tyres (the same type fitted to Porsches, Ferraris … and the new Holden Commodore SS).

Standard fare includes everything that Volvo can fit to an S60 sedan, including radar cruise control, crash alert and crash avoidance (it will slam-on the brakes below 50km/h if you’re about to hit the car in front). Then there is blind-zone alert, automatic high beam dipping, and the standard count of six airbags and five-star safety. The only option is a sunroof ($2650) but the decision has already been made for you. The 50 cars in the first batch of S60 T6 Polestar sedans have already been built; only 10 have sunroofs fitted.

TECHNOLOGY

A bigger turbo and a bigger exhaust are self-explanatory. More air in and more air out equals more power, times a higher fuel bill and a bigger smile. The brakes are showroom standard “floating” calipers with a large-ish discs but the brake pads come from racing experts Brembo. To be frank, at this price Volvo should have gone the whole way and fitted Brembo calipers as well. The Volvo S60 T6 Polestar stops ok, but the brakes are the Achilles heel of the car if you want to drive it in the same way Volvo wants you to.

The big news is the suspension. There are 20 settings to choose from on each of the four shock absorbers. The problem is you need to be handy with a spanner and don’t mind getting you suede slacks dirty. To adjust the front shock absorbers you need to turn the steering wheel on full lock and reach up into the gusset of the wheel housing and fumble your way to the adjustment point with a tiny tool that, helpfully, comes with each car.

Adjusting the rear is a little more civilized: you can do this via the boot. Just watch your slacks and your tweed jacket on the dirty bumper bar as you lean in. Hopefully, one day, you’ll be able to do all this at the press of a button (as you can in a top-end Audi, or a humble HSV). The last piece of the Polestar’s party tricks is the launch control, but ther is a catch. Only Volvo could come up with so many safety measures that you’re discouraged from using it.

In true anorak fashion you have to click through a complex menu on the dash, then pat your tummy and rub your head (or is it the other way around?), stomp on the accelerator and the brake and then you have three seconds to unleash the engine’s fury. Or you could ignore all this and just floor the accelerator. The result is pretty much the same.

DESIGN

The Volvo S60 T6 Polestar looks stunning in sky blue (the three other colours are black, white and red). The charcoal wheels set it off too. But apart from the discreet Polestar badges on the boot, grille and gearknob, you’d be hard pressed to pick it from the standard version.

We’re not sure if this is a blessing or a curse. Volvo owners may prefer the understated look. Either way there is room to add something to make it look a little more special. From the inside, the Volvo S60 T6 Polestar looks exactly the same as the regular model (but for the build number on the steering wheel).

The seats are nicely shaped, good to look at and sit on. But back-seat room is cramped compared with the competition. I love the design of the Volvo “floating” centre console panel but I still bang my knee on it every time I get in one.

SAFETY

It’s a Volvo. Next.

DRIVING

The turbocharged in-line six-cylinder engine (mounted across the engine bay like a large dog sitting on your lap) enables the car to do the 0 to 100km/h dash in 4.9 seconds -- the same as the latest HSV Clubsport and on par with its German and Japanese luxury competition. Thankfully Volvo has resisted the urge to make it sound like an aftermarket European hot rod. The exhaust doesn’t drone at freeway speeds or around town. Tick.

Power is plentiful and comes from low revs. It’s quite elastic on winding roads, never out of breath and always wanting to surge ahead. It is genuinely exhilarating. Which is why it’s disappointing that the brakes aren’t bigger or able to handle more punishment. Room for improvement here. 

The steering has been completely overhauled from the standard model (which was too heavy at some speeds and too light and vague at others). It’s a big improvement but and more than adequate but still not best in class (BMW, Lexus and Mercedes steering systems feel better and more intuitive).

Then there is the suspension which, let’s face it, is at the core of how the car feels. We drove it on public roads on the middle settings (10 out of 20, front and rear, whatever that means). It was firm but not uncomfortably so. Things only started to really get busy at low speeds in bumpy city streets. The good news is that if you don’t like it after your test drive, you can ask Volvo to soften it a little.

VERDICT

The best Volvo road car so far -- but it needs bigger brakes and a sharper price to complete the package.

Volvo S60 T6 Polestar

Price: $109,950
Engine: 3.0-litre in-line six-cylinder turbo
Power: 257kW and 500Nm
Transmission: Six-speed auto, all-wheel-drive
Thirst: 10.2L/100km
0 to 100km/h: 4.9 seconds

Pricing guides

$18,920
Based on third party pricing data
Lowest Price
$10,890
Highest Price
$26,950

Range and Specs

VehicleSpecsPrice*
T5 R-Design 2.0L, —, 6 SP DUAL-CLUTCH AUTO $16,940 – 21,670 2013 Volvo S60 2013 T5 R-Design Pricing and Specs
Polestar 3.0L, —, 6 SP AUTO $21,340 – 26,950 2013 Volvo S60 2013 Polestar Pricing and Specs
T4 Teknik 1.6L, —, 6 SP DUAL-CLUTCH AUTO $14,850 – 19,470 2013 Volvo S60 2013 T4 Teknik Pricing and Specs
T6 3.0L, —, 6 SP AUTO $11,880 – 15,840 2013 Volvo S60 2013 T6 Pricing and Specs
EXPERT RATING
6
Joshua Dowling
National Motoring Editor

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Pricing Guide

$21,340

Lowest price, based on third party pricing data

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