Plug-in
hybrid reminds us of just how special a performance station wagon can be
HOW TO
SPEC IT?
As is, but
drop the pricey heads-up display
Driving a
new vehicle every week as we do, auto journalists can and do get a little jaded
from time to time. Every now and then however, a car comes along that renews
one’s faith in the automotive industry. This week’s test vehicle is just such a
car.
It’s been
nearly a half-century since Volvo launched a vehicle that would
become synonymous with the brand. The 1953 Volvo Duett marked the beginning of
the Swedish automaker’s long and storied history producing station wagons.
And while
today’s road test vehicle isn’t the culmination of that still-being-written
story, it certainly marks a high-water mark in terms of combining technological
innovation with elegant design and eye-watering performance for the wagon
segment.
That latter
point — consider it’s 4.5 second sprint to 100 km/w from a standstill — is
thanks to Volvo’s Polestar division getting its hands on an already impressive
plug-in hybrid T8 eAWD wagon and working their engineering magic. It bears
noting here that the name ‘Polestar’ is also a stand-alone brand under Volvo
parent company Geely’s umbrella, with a PHEV sedan — the Polestar 1 — and a
coming soon all-electric crossover — the Polestar 2 — in its growing stable.
However, the Polestar name attached to Volvo models, beginning in 2013 with the
Volvo S/V60 Polestar, refers to performance variants
in the same way AMG and M do for Mercedes-Benz and BMW models, respectivelly.
On paper, a
Volvo station wagon with a four-cylinder engine doesn’t really get the Swedish
juices flowing, but in person the 2020 V60 T8 Polestar is stunning. My tester
was Crystal White Pearl on the outside with a Charcoal interior and Charcoal
R-Design seats.
However, it
was under the skin that the real beauty of this smoldering wagon lurked. That
four-banger? It’s a 328-horsepower turbocharged and supercharged
direct-injection inline 2.0-litre engine. There’s more. An electric motor adds
a further 87 ponies to this package for a total power output of 415 horsepower
and a torque rating of 494 lbs.-ft (317 from gas, 177 for electricity). That’s
15 more horsepower and 22 more lbs.-ft of torque than the already impressive T8
eAWD version.
But the
Polestar crew is not just about grunt. Stopping power is beefier thanks to
Polestar Engineer Brembo brakes, while ride and handling is crisper courtesy of
Öhlins adjustable shock absorbers and performance tuned coil springs. Cosmetic
updates include a Polestar grille up front and Polestar dual integrated
tailpipes in the rear, chromed R-Design pedals and 19-inch black polished
forged alloy wheels.
It’s been
two years since the second-generation V60 came out, and while that can feel
like two decades with some designs, Volvo’s contemporary design language —
including the unique ‘Thor’s hammer’ daytime running lights — seems as fresh
today as it did when it debuted on the 2015 XC90. But in many ways, those styling cues are much
better scaled for the wagon than a taller SUV, most notably those distinctive
taillights. They seem too prominent on the SUVs and CUVs but just right on the
current generation of station wagons.
The V60’s
cabin also sports Volvo’s newest dash, gauge and seat designs, in my opinion
among the best of any manufacturers. The seats in particular are world-class,
from comfort to bolstering to aesthetics, and the Polestar signature yellow
seatbelts add a nice stroke of colour to the otherwise dark interior. I love
the vertical centre dash screen and ‘smartphone’-like swipe feature to scroll
through different menu settings. That and the chrome dial below the starter
switch on the centre console to select drive mode setting — Constant AWD
(all-wheel drive), Pure (eco drive), Hybrid (everyday use) and Polestar
Engineered (performance).
The only
weak point in the cabin is the on/off switch, which you turn to the right to
start and turn off the vehicle. Just feels a little cheap. A button would be
preferable.
What I do
have a major issue with is the key fob. Like some other automakers — I’m
looking at you Mazda — Volvo has inexplicably put the fob buttons (lock, unlock
and rear door release) on the edge of the fob. Not on either broad surface, but
on the skinny side. A classic case of form failing function.
Fortunately,
everything else about the T8 Polestar is exceptional. Particularly driving it.
And after all, isn’t that really the most important thing about a car? The
prodigious power comes on smoothly and evenly throughout the eight gears
channeled through the manumatic transmission; the Polestar engineered
suspension is stiff when it needs to be, wagon comfy when it doesn’t; and the
braking is sharp but not jarring.
The real
key to the handling of this all-wheel-drive vehicle however, is the fact that
it isn’t a SUV or CUV. It is a sport wagon, which is essentially a sport sedan
with a box on the back instead of a trunk. And so there is no body roll around
corners and the low centre of gravity provides a driving position, as it should
be in a performance-engineered vehicle. Namely, your butt is low to the ground
instead of way off the ground. Ask a racecar driver which is better.
And
finally, not to be overlooked is the plug-in hybrid powertrain. In Pure mode
you can drive 35 kilometres without turning over the gas engine, and under
all-electric power the driving experience is amazing. Quiet and smooth, yet
fast and precise, it really whets one appetite at the prospect of a fully
electric T8 Polestar. And that electric boost also provides very
un-performance-like fuel economy numbers.
Many
scoffed at Volvo a couple of years ago when it said from 2020 onward all of its
vehicles would be electrified to some extent, predicting it would be a big step
backward for the brand. The 2020 V60 T8 Polestar proves those naysayers wrong,
and also proves the station wagon is far from becoming a footnote in automotive
history.
Source: Driving.ca
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