► Month 10 with our hybrid Volvo
► Meeting the V60 Polestar
► Both V60s share certain traits
Remember at school when captains would take it in turns to pick their players for the lunchtime kickabout? We have a similar nightly ritual on CAR to decide what we drive home. And if I’m not in the V60, its key hangs unloved in the box: it’s not last pick, it’s no pick.
Discussing its shortcomings (obstructive steering, jittery ride, no left foot) with CJ, he warmly recommended the V60 Polestar as a reference point. This is Volvo’s S4 Avant rival, with a 345bhp six, all-wheel drive, uprated suspension with Ohlins dampers, and Brembo brakes. The comparison is eye-opening – and teeth-rattling when it comes to ride quality. The Polestar’s suspension feels as unyielding and lashed down as an F1 car’s: the ride is brutal, whereas the hybrid’s primary ride is just busy and stiff-legged. Volvo says the Polestar’s steering is largely unchanged compared with the regular wagon’s, but it feels so deft and engaging compared with our aggressively self-centring and glutinous rack.
The Polestar’s exhaust sounds a charming thrum, and the turbocharged engine is good for 0-62mph in 5.0sec. It doesn’t feel blisteringly punchy; a criticism that can be leveled at the D6, whose 325lb ft of torque almost matches the Polestar’s, before being bolstered by the electric motor’s grunt. Both V60s share other traits too: portly frames and unruffled civility on a cruise.
From the driving seat
+ 20+ miles of silent e-running on a full charge
+ Smooth-shifting auto ‘box
– Polestar’s rack shows up D6’s unruly steering
– Chassis lacks poise: no surprise with 300kg hybrid batteries in the boot
+ Tyre and wind noise well controlled
Logbook: Volvo V60 D6 R-design LUX
Price: £51,675
As tested: £53,150 (inc. £5k subsidy)
Miles this month: 228
Total miles: 16,670
Our mpg: 41.4
Official mpg: 148.7
Fuel this month: £32.73
Extra costs: £0