Any Volvo Polestar wagon owners on here?

[PorscheGAL]

Looking to see if anyone on here has had any experience in owning a Polestar wagon.

Since owning the Ford Focus RS, we, my husband and I, really like all-wheel drive performance daily drivers. The Polestar wagon looks good on paper to be fun, but we would really like to hear from some actual owners. The car would also help give our 17 year old son an option to drive in poor weather instead of driving the ST.


With this purchase, we are going to sell the Boss 302. We will miss the sound and pull of the Boss; we just cannot drive and service 7 cars. Also, it is not fun to drive in rain and it feels like a "cars and coffee" moment is about to happen when turning.

[Nickshu]

My wife has a 2015 P* sedan (S60) which we purchased new. It was been excellent and is stupid fast in a straight line. If you hit it right with the TCS off you can spin all 4 wheels on dry pavement, which is fun but probably not good for the driveline LOL.

We have had 3 Volvos in the last 12 years, all bought new, all have been flawless and trouble free aside from routine maintenance.

I am currently considering replacing my pickup with a new XC90 T8 Dual Motor....but I have considered another P* in V60 wagon form instead of the XC90...I can't get the sedan away from my wife, not for a second, she loves that car. If I didn't need the winter ground clearance I'd probably go for it.

Volvo is building some really amazing cars now and really amazing engine technology, much of which goes unnoticed because of the "Volvo stigma"...You know...the 80's 240 image.

[Craig T]

Yes! We have two My wife has the R-Design XC60 (crossover) with Polestar engine software and I have the Polestar V60 (wagon). We love them. My wife's only has about 20K miles, but mine has 39K. Both have been flawless mechanically. The only issue is front rotors warping on the XC60 (but she's hard on brakes).

The performance is awesome. My wife loves "spanking" unsuspecting BMW and Porsche drivers when they try to push her around. Most people have no idea about the Polestar and assume the driver is a ultra-liberal school teacher, or manager at the local REI, heading to a Greenpeace meeting. My wife's has about 400 hp, and is faster than her old 07 997. My V60 has about 360 I think and surprises me all the time.

I worry a little about Volvo being around for the long haul. They were struggling with sales the last few years and were bought by the Chinese. They announced they will go to an all-electric or hybrid fleet by 2020. Look around for a good Volvo independent in your area. if there is one, I wouldn't worry about it too much. There are enough of them around to warrant mechanics setting up shop.

[PorscheGAL]

Nickshu,

You had me at "you can spin all 4 wheels"!

Glad to hear about the maintenance. It appears that only certain Volvo dealers can service P* cars? I guess because of some form of certification.

There is new transmission for 2017 which is an 8 speed. There are complaints in reviews about the previous transmission. It doesn't sound like you or your wife have any complaints about the pre-17 trans?


Craig T: What do you think about the space in wagon?

[Pazuzu]

There's also a "polestar" chip upgrade for the non-Star cars. It's not a full Polestar conversion (no upgraded brakes, suspension, etc) but it apparently gives the engine quite the extra kick.

That's the extent of my knowledge, I have two acquaintances who got the chip put in their V60 wagons. I believe they said it was done by the dealer, is an official Volvo part.

[Craig T]

Originally Posted by PorscheGAL

Craig T: What do you think about the space in wagon?

The rear seats fold down perfectly flat, even with the front seats all the way back. My 150 lbs dog rides back there all the time. I use the thing like a truck. As for driver leg and headroom, I'm 6' and 190 lbs and have plenty of room. Honestly, I love my car (see signature below )

Make sure you get the sport seats!!! (standard with Polestar and R-Design models). They are the most comfortable seats I've ever been in.

[Nickshu]

Originally Posted by PorscheGAL

Nickshu,

You had me at "you can spin all 4 wheels"!

Glad to hear about the maintenance. It appears that only certain Volvo dealers can service P* cars? I guess because of some form of certification.

There is new transmission for 2017 which is an 8 speed. There are complaints in reviews about the previous transmission. It doesn't sound like you or your wife have any complaints about the pre-17 trans?


Craig T: What do you think about the space in wagon?

Ours is serviced by our regular dealer which is not a P* allotment dealer, no problems but we have not had any major work needed. They do have to order parts we just had to do rear brake pads and they had to be special ordered as the P* brakes are different/bigger brakes. No problem at our regular dealer. Maybe if you need engine ECU/electronics service you might have to use a designated dealer. The P* cars are more mainstream now...back when we bought ours only 500 per year were coming to the US and they were not listed on the main Volvocars website, but now you can view/build the cars just like any regular S60 variety on the main Volvo site, so less of a novelty now.

**Also Craig T is right about "spanking" unsuspecting M3/M5 and AMG drivers. They just look befuddled when you are two car lengths ahead of them by the other side of the intersection...in a VOLVO...good fun.

[Craig T]

Originally Posted by Nickshu

They just look befuddled when you are two car lengths ahead of them by the other side of the intersection...in a VOLVO...good fun.

^^^ This just tickles my wife to death. It never get's old for her

[LEAKYSEALS951]

My wife has 2015 V60 AWD. Not a polestar, but close.

1.Overall, good car- but make sure you get manual transmission if possible. The Auto on ours is too automatic, and ignores commands even if in the manual shift mode. It is the 6 speed auto. I drove it down the mountain last night and thought, "why the heck do they even have the paddle shifters?", the thing is shifting on it's own possessed will even in manual. I wasn't dogging it either (with unreasonable request). The intrusiveness completely ruined the driving experience for me. I understand auto being auto, but when I shift to manual mode, I want control, not big Aisun brother telling me when to shift on my behalf. I would not want to take an auto on a autocross track. The chassis handles Extremely well compared to my 78 SC, it makes me want to GO FAST, but the tranny ruins it for me., and makes me want to puke.

2.AWD is weak. I would not trust it in extended autocross, or in flogging. I would expect broken bevel gears and stripped splines on the transfer case. Having replaced all this on my xc70 after babying it, and seeing pics of the R series AWD failures, the system is not something p-car bulletproof. There are hidden filters in the rear haldex system which need replacement, and the newer models are constantly pressurized/active in terms of rear AWD haldex pressures, so I would assume they would need as much, if not more AWD maintenance than the earlier haldex systems which would activate the pumps only when wheelspin was detected..

3. Space- smaller than my xc70. We will be packing for road trip in next day or two- I will post pics.

If you have access to an auto version- drive it in manual mode, and see how you like it. Perhaps you will have a better experience than me. I would do some impromptu parking lot autocross in abandoned parking lot to see if it responds like you want.

[LEAKYSEALS951]

Also- (just talking about my car)-
what my wife chose seems to be a pre-polestar type deal.
It is not a xc60,
but more a sport package v60.
19 inch wheels,
suspension package,
etc. Gosh...
it handles soooooo nice.
It also has negative camber locked into it's suspension so it eats up the inside of tires. (perhaps a large part of WHY it handles sooooo nice!)
We got 40,000 out of hers with her daily driving.

Again- this car handles great,
but the trans ruins it for me.
If I could stick in a manual,
it would be KILLER!!!!

Gratuitous pic of our "family"
luggage problem solution.
I got a rear hitch from e-trailer real cheap and a carpod.
Wait for the roof rack tomorrow!
Funny pics coming!

[PorscheGAL]

Volvo doesn't do a manual but they did change the trans for the 2017 year for the reasons you mention.

Thanks guys for all the comments. I just needed some feedback before I make the 3 hr drive to the closest dealer with a Polestar in stock.

Now, I need to try to get a test drive in and sell the Mustang.

[Nickshu]

Originally Posted by PorscheGAL

Volvo doesn't do a manual but they did change the trans for the 2017 year for the reasons you mention.

Thanks guys for all the comments. I just needed some feedback before I make the 3 hr drive to the closest dealer with a Polestar in stock.

Now, I need to try to get a test drive in and sell the Mustang.

FWIW the transmission on our 2015 P* shifts very nicely in manual (paddle) mode. Maybe different software than the regular S60. Actually it's one aspect of the car I have been impressed/happy with. When I drive it I use manual/paddle mode almost all the time. In standard sport mode I think it shifts way too early.

[Craig T]

I agree with Nickshu. My wife's is a 2015 and mine is a 2016. I have no complaints about the tranny. Left in standard auto it does shift early, but gets great gas mileage, and is super smooth. When I feel like being sporty, I just use the paddle mode and its at least as good if not better then Porsche Tiptronic.

[Steve Carlton]

Originally Posted by Nickshu

My wife has a 2015 P* sedan (S60) which we purchased new. It was been excellent and is stupid fast in a straight line. If you hit it right with the TCS off you can spin all 4 wheels on dry pavement, which is fun but probably not good for the driveline LOL.

We have had 3 Volvos in the last 12 years, all bought new, all have been flawless and trouble free aside from routine maintenance.

I am currently considering replacing my pickup with a new XC90 T8 Dual Motor....but I have considered another P* in V60 wagon form instead of the XC90...I can't get the sedan away from my wife, not for a second, she loves that car. If I didn't need the winter ground clearance I'd probably go for it.

Volvo is building some really amazing cars now and really amazing engine technology, much of which goes unnoticed because of the "Volvo stigma"...You know...the 80's 240 image.

Another one to consider is the V90 R-Design (special order or Overseas Delivery only), but maybe for ground clearance the V90 Cross Country and put the Polestar software in it. There's laminated glass in the V90, so it's a quieter and nicer driving car than the XC90. There should be a T8 version of it before too long. There's an all-new XC60 out now, with a T8 version coming in a couple right away with the same 400hp as the XC90 T8. It looks like a mid-size XC90.

Extended warranties are available and recommended.

[Steve Carlton]

Originally Posted by Craig T

I worry a little about Volvo being around for the long haul. They were struggling with sales the last few years and were bought by the Chinese. They announced they will go to an all-electric or hybrid fleet by 2020. Look around for a good Volvo independent in your area. if there is one, I wouldn't worry about it too much. There are enough of them around to warrant mechanics setting up shop.

I wouldn't worry about Volvo going away any time soon. The purchase by Geely put $11B into the company and now it's doing really well. Geely is just a parent company that doesn't manage Volvo. Volvo being managed in Sweden was part of the deal.

Volvo plans on making gas engines for 18-19 more years, it's just all-new car lines introduced starting in 2019 will be hybrid or all-electric. Three of them will be from Volvo, two from Polestar, which may spin off as some sort of separate franchise. Or not.

[impactbumper]

Originally Posted by Nickshu

Ours is serviced by our regular dealer which is not a P* allotment dealer, no problems but we have not had any major work needed. They do have to order parts we just had to do rear brake pads and they had to be special ordered as the P* brakes are different/bigger brakes. No problem at our regular dealer. Maybe if you need engine ECU/electronics service you might have to use a designated dealer. The P* cars are more mainstream now...back when we bought ours only 500 per year were coming to the US and they were not listed on the main Volvocars website, but now you can view/build the cars just like any regular S60 variety on the main Volvo site, so less of a novelty now.

**Also Craig T is right about "spanking" unsuspecting M3/M5 and AMG drivers. They just look befuddled when you are two car lengths ahead of them by the other side of the intersection...in a VOLVO...good fun.

I have an M4, i would like to see a polestar putting 2 cars length on me.




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[Nickshu]

Originally Posted by Steve Carlton

Another one to consider is the V90 R-Design (special order or Overseas Delivery only), but maybe for ground clearance the V90 Cross Country and put the Polestar software in it. There's laminated glass in the V90, so it's a quieter and nicer driving car than the XC90. There should be a T8 version of it before too long. There's an all-new XC60 out now, with a T8 version coming in a couple right away with the same 400hp as the XC90 T8. It looks like a mid-size XC90.

Extended warranties are available and recommended.

I looked at the V90CC but I am not sure I like the looks. I'd like to see the R-design version, I didn't know they made one, thanks for that tip.

[LEAKYSEALS951]

Just got the V60 packed.
I solved the spare tire problem.
Not that you 'would' pack this much stuff, but you could!




Edit- another thing to think about if you test drive one is rear visibility. Rear window is small and rear wagon windows are about useless because they are small and blocked out by rear seat headrest when you look over your shoulder.

[Steve Carlton]

Volvo sells a kit that puts a space saver spare under the cargo floor. You lose the storage space there, but it's slick.

[LEAKYSEALS951]

Hey Steve, how are those xc90/v90 platforms holding up so far? I'm also wondering about seeing if there is a software update for my shifting, since others here are having better luck, I might go check.