Overview

There are few firms with such a rich history of estates as Volvo; the Swedish firm is to load-luggers what Hoover is to vacuums, and after the success of the 850 T5 wagon in the British Touring Car Championship in the mid nineties, fast estates have been flying out of UK showrooms. Which is why here in the UK we’re only getting the Volvo V60 Polestar, not the saloon-based S60 Polestar.

Design

That’s actually not a bad thing, as while the S60 looks sharp, the V60 looks just as exciting. You can thank the new aerokit for that, which brings with it a more aggressive front bumper with corner splitters, rear diffuser and subtle rear wing. The arches are filled with bespoke 20-inch alloy wheels, wrapped in sticky Michelin Pilot Supersport rubber, and there’s a pair of 3.5-inch tailpipes at the rear.

Inside the cabin is familiar V60, with some Polestar additions. The seats have extended bolsters, blue stitching and a mixture of leather and Nubuck suede covers these, the steering wheel and armrests. Slick Polestar badging appears throughout the cabin while there’s a carbon fibre covering for the slimline centre console.

Pick the Rebel Blue paint if you want to stand out though; there’s only three others available (Black Sapphire Metallic, Bright Silver Metallic and Ice White) and they’re all far more subtle.

Under the skin

It’s here the biggest and most impressive changes have been made to the V60 T6 this car is based upon. The headline figures are a jump in power (from 299bhp) to 345bhp and a total of 500Nm of torque, the latter number fully available from 3,000rpm, linked to a re-calibrated four-wheel drive system. That means this fast wagon can sprint from 0-62mph in just five seconds; it’s even got launch control and the snarling turbo engine sounds great.

But it’s not just built to go quickly in a straight-line, as the V60 Polestar sports some serious race-derived suspension from Swedish outfit Ohlins. Adjustable dampers are linked to springs that are 80 percent stiffer than those found on the regular V60 T6 and the Polestar features some new beefed up mounting points, bushes and 15-percent stiffer anti-roll bars.

The result is a Volvo that handles and drives like no other, with sure-footed poise and grip, blistering pace and thanks to the six-pot callipers and 371mm front brakes impressive stopping power too. Volvo is claiming it’s a car for all weather, all roads and all seasons, though it also trotted its stuff on track relatively convincingly – at least for short periods of time.

Loaded with kit

Want to personalise your V60 Polestar with some choice options? Tough. It comes with so much standard equipment that there’s literally no option boxes left to tick or packages to add – which is handy considering the near £50,000 pricetag.

That means the cabin is smothered in leather and Nubuck suede, with all the details picked out in bright blue Polestar stitching, the stereo’s been upgraded, dual-zone climate control features and there’s even a sunroof. All of the safety kit has been added, so each features the Driver Support Pack with Blind Spot Information System, Lane Keep Assist and Adaptive cruise control. There’s certainly no switch blanks to be found.

Limited status

There are only 750 Polestar V60s and S60s being built worldwide, and just 125 of them (all V60 models) are coming to the UK. That guarantees that Volvo fans will crave a slice of this limited edition cult-status car, but with such a lofty pricetag there are some rivals that one the face of it offer more for less money.

Read on to find out if the Volvo feels special enough to justify that cost in the full Parkers Volvo V60 Polestar review.