Some may say it’s already on an old platform. Some may say it’s too slow. Some may say they don’t like the lovely shade of blue. I don’t care what they say, because I kind of already love it.
I’m talking, of course, not about the 1990s-era Volvo 940, but the new 2015 Volvo S60 Polestar. Why haven’t you heard of it before? Why haven’t you seen it before? And what exactly is it?
Well, you may not have heard of it because it’s an oddball, and the basic guy running down the street to tell you about his new BMW M3 isn’t interested in oddballs, he’s interested in telling everyone about his BMW M3. You haven’t seen it because Volvo’s only bringing 40 of the 2015 models into the United States, and this one is number 38.
Thing’s rarer than unicorn steaks, and it’s a wonder they even brought it in at all.
But I am so, so happy they did. Because what it is, is a fast Volvo. And most people don’t know how to make heads or tails of a fast Volvo, especially one with enormous shoes and paint the color of a jolly rancher (NOTE: It’s also available in black!). In a bright yellow Mustang, people offer to trade you for it at red lights.
In this, people still have a bad case of slackjaw by the time you’ve set off.
It doesn’t have the same power as the original Volvo S60 Polestar concept, which had more than 500, but this one has a more sedate 345 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque. But don’t think it’s actually sedate, as other places have clocked it hustling to 60 MPH in less than five seconds. I haven’t tested it with a stopwatch myself yet, but that definitely feels right.
Weirdly for a car that’s less common than a Ferrari F40, it doesn’t cost Ferrari money. It actually costs less than any comparable BMW, at around $60,000 (give or take a couple hundred bucks here and there), and though it might be slower on paper than any comparable BMW, it still feels plenty quick in a straight line.
THINGS I LIKE:
- It’s a weirdo, and I like weirdos
- It’s becoming a cliche at this point, but Volvo makes the most comfortable seats in all the land
- It’s surprisingly quick in a straight line, and makes a positively delicious noise
- Polestar. It’s a pun, get it? Like, Sweden is up north, so, like the North Pole, the North Star, etc., but also, like, “pole position,” in a race, so, “Polestar.” Ha.
- It’s really, really blue
THINGS I DON’T LIKE AS MUCH:
- The standard setting for the manually-adjustable Öhlins front suspension is still a bit too much on the firm side
- The navigation system’s a bit complicated
- Did you see how blue this thing is? Sometimes I don’t need people staring at me slackjawed. Especially cops.
So what else do you want to know about it? I’ll be around for a bit, so drop your questions in the comments.
Contact the author at ballaban@jalopnik.com.
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