Volvo S60 Polestar priced from $109,950

Cited as the “quickest point-to-point luxury European sedan – in any weather” by Volvo, the 3.0-litre turbocharged six-cylinder all-wheel-drive S60 Polestar makes 257kW of power at 5700rpm and 500Nm “plus” from 2800-4750rpm. The 0-100km/h sprint is claimed to take 4.9 seconds, and the limited top speed is 250km/h.

Polestar, the tuning company associated with Volvo since 1996, has taken the $40K-cheaper S60 T6, then heavily modified it. Chassis changes include new stabilisers, a carbonfibre reinforced front strut brace, new tie blade bushings, new rear toe arms, and new springs that are a staggering 80 per cent stiffer than the regular S60 T6.

Ohlins dampers are adjustable with 20 “click” settings, aimed to deliver a “high level of driver control and car feedback in combination with a comfortable ride”. Bigger 19-inch alloy wheels sit in front of larger brakes.

A new Borg Warner turbocharger for the engine, harder shifting for the retuned automatic transmission and a full flow stainless steel exhaust round out the performance changes.

Volvo says it has eight customer deposits for the S60 T6 Polestar, out of the 50 coming to Australia. Volvo cites the 245kW/440Nm Audi S4, 331kW/505Nm Lexus IS F, 309kW/400Nm BMW M3 and even the 336kW/600Nm Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG as competitors.

Polestar, however, wants to be seen more like the Renault Sport division than Mercedes’ AMG or BMW’s M.

The S60 T6 Polestar matches the 100km/h sprint of the IS F, and beats the S4 by one-tenth; though it is 0.1 of a second adrift of the M3 and 0.4 seconds off the C63. It weighs 1684kg which makes it lighter than only the Lexus and Mercedes-Benz. It's also cheaper than those competitors by $10-30K.

Stay tuned for first drive impressions.

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