2020 Volvo S60 Polestar Engineered

 
 

For this week’s review we’ve gotten our hands on the brand new 2020 Volvo S60 Polestar Engineered, a twincharged supercharged plugin hybrid. In 2019, there were only 20 Polestar models available in the US so I’m very excited to see and drive one in person!

Disclosure: Volvo Canada provided me with the 2020 S60 Polestar Engineered for a week to test drive, and photograph. All photos in this blog post was taken by me. #VolvoS60PolestarEngineered

To see a tour of the exterior and interior of the car check out this YouTube video!

ACCELERATION: 8.5/10

  • Hybrid 2.0L I4 - 415 HP / 494 lb-ft

  • 8-speed shiftable automatic with AWD

  • 4.3 second 0-100 km/hr

  • The 0-100 km time is really fast on paper but there is a delay when you slam the pedal. You have to wait a moment before the power kicks in but once it gets going though, you’re flying! If Volvo can solve how to get the power to deliver immediately this would be a 10/10!

BRAKING: 9/10

  • The massive brembo brakes are mighty! You’ll put a quick stop to this heavy fast moving Volvo.

HANDLING: 7.5/10

  • The handling is way better than a regular Volvo and luxury sedan but it’s driving dynamics aren’t quite at the level of a performance sedan like a C63 AMG or M3.

RIDE: 8.25/10

  • The factory settings of the suspensions are nice for everyday driving but Volvo allows you to manually tune the suspensions to be stiffer or softer yourself without the need of bringing it into a shop!

CABIN NOISE: 8.5/10

  • Very quiet in the cabin if you’re in hybrid mode. If you’re using gasoline only mode there is more engine noise!

EXTERIOR: 8.5/10

  • Very handsome looking styling which has been updated to the third generation in 2019.

  • To identify this is the Polestar Engineered model it comes with gold accented brakes and a small black and white badge on the front and rear.

Under the hood there are two gold knobs for you to manually set the damper levels of the suspensions instead of bringing it into the shop. The Ohlins dampers have 22 levels of damping! I have never seen that before and is super cool for driving enthusiast to easily tune their cars! I didn’t want to mess around with it in case I couldn’t set it back to default but from what I read online, setting it to 1 is like sitting on a pile of rocks, and 22 is sitting squishy thick pillow. The factory setting is set to 6 up front and 9 at the back.

INTERIOR FOR DRIVER: 8/10

  • Overall minimalistic interior is very attractive like the rest of the Volvo family! The only

  • Because of the battery the center console storage is tiny compared to a non-electric S60! You’ll only be able to fit thin items like a cellphone or deck of cards.

  • If you press the L & R button at the same time for the mirrors they’ll both fold in.

  • Viewing angles for the driver is good and seats are comfortable & supportive!

  • 35 km electric range, so it’s possible for most people to get to and from work.

In the image above, the two buttons in the on the right are blanks and is just there for symmetry. Since there are buttons already there, I wish it was a custom programmable button to link it with something the driver uses often in the infotainment system.

Equipped with the Bowers & Wilkins sound system. VERY NICE! The audio system is one of my favourite points in the interior.

INTERIOR FOR PASSENGERS: 7/10

  • There is a big hump in the middle of the floor to fit battery stuff which could make it uncomfortable if you need to fit 3 people

  • Has heated seats for the the rear left and right seats.

  • There’s a 12V outlet but it would be nice to see USB or USB-C charging available for rear passengers.

  • Panoramic sunroof will let in more light in the rear!

INTERIOR STORAGE: 7/10

  • 11.6 Cu Ft with the seats up

  • 60/40 folding seats

  • Has a pass through in the middle seat.

INFOTAINMENT SYSTEM: 8.25/10

  • I like the tablet style infotainment system but boot up time still feels a bit too long. After it does load up, it’s very responsive. The cool thing is if you’re from somewhere cold you can wear gloves and still use the screen because it uses infrared tech instead of haptic like our smartphones.

  • The 360 view camera is the best I’ve seen. I couldn’t figure out how to split the screen to display both the 360 and rear camera at the same time which I would prefer.

  • Supports Android Auto and Apple Car Play

OVERALL IMPRESSION OF THE 2020 Volvo s60 polestar engineered:

Volvo’s S60 Polestar Engineered is a rare and handsome car packed with great electric technology from Polestar. From a technology perspective it’s very impressive what Polestar and Volvo were able to do here. It is a fast car with strong acceleration and braking but it isn’t a performance sedan like a M3 or AMG. With only 20 being available in the US for 2019 the Polestar model is very rare but most people will think it’s a regular Volvo at a glance. In 2020, they plan to ramp up inventory for the Canadian market.

All things considered, it’s certainly worth a test drive if you’re in the market for a small luxury sedan.

 
 
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