Essentially a software tweak that overwrites the car’s Dynamic driving mode, it ups the amount of torque sent to the rear wheels to create a sportier, rear-driven feel. Throttle response is also sharpened and the 8-speed automatic gearbox allowed to hold onto its cogs for longer before upshifting.
The £745 option can be fitted by a dealer post-purchase, and retains the car’s original warranty. It was fitted to our test car along with the improved Intellisafe Pro pack, which adds steering assistance to its blind spot detection system for the first time, letting the car swerve if it drifts into the path of a potential collision.
All in, options boost the price some £4000 to £42,880, which is knocking on the door of a sensibly-specced Range Rover Evoque P250 and the Audi Q3, though only the Range Rover can claim styling anywhere near as distinctive as the Volvo’s Scandinavian influenced looks.
What's it like?
As refined and relaxing to drive as any other XC40 in its standard Comfort drive mode, even on the 20in wheels and stiffened suspension that come fitted to R-Design models as standard. Polestar’s optimisations only appear when shifting into Dynamic, now renamed Polestar mode, or disengaging the electronic stability controls completely.
Once you do, the more rear-biased power distribution can be felt right away. Turn-in feels tauter and the car feels pushed rather than pulled through corners. You can even tease out some oversteer with relatively little effort, although while in Polestar mode traction control still kicks in a little sooner than you’d expect. Steering remains light throughout, lacking the feeling of a precise connection to the front wheels, though it does weight up with pace.
The throttle reacts much faster to your foot here, with a greater sense of mid-range urgency helping the car feel more responsive when overtaking. In its most powerful configuration the 2.0-litre is suitably swift, with the kind of straightline pace that could bother some hot hatchbacks, although it doesn’t sound particularly engaging at high revs. Peak torque is long gone before you hit the 6500rpm redline.
Although manual gear changes are slightly faster in this mode, the eight-speed automatic can still feel reluctant to react to each pull of the steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters. Better to leave the car to it for the most part, only upshifting when you no longer need to maintain the higher end of the rev range.
Beyond the renamed entry on the drive mode selection screen, there's no other visual evidence of Polestar engineering - but seeing how the XC40 has one of the best interiors in its class, that's no bad thing. It remains airy and sophisticated, with the 9.0in, portrait-oriented Sensus touchscreen dominating the centre of the dash. It contains the majority of the climate controls as well as all the infotainment, but does a better job of ditching physical buttons than most rivals.
Join the debate
si73
The comment about its price
The comment about its price knocking on the door of an Evoque or Q3 implies it is less worthy of such a price which I don't follow as this is equally as premium and probably more so than the Audi.
The Apprentice
si73 wrote:
I agree, Evoques are two a penny these days, XC40 is still relatively 'exclusive' they certainly catch my eye on the road. Its slightly exagerated chunky proportions are unique.
xxxx
MPG in the 20's when cruising
I suppose there's always trade offs but sub 30 mpg when cruising is a bit of a sore point on the hottest day of the year (probably down to excessive CO2). Fast and SUV just don't go together in my book, especially as you'd lose time filling up with todays ever decreasing fuel tanks.
Be interesting how the Model Y will effect sales of this and fast Q3's etc
typos1 - Just can’t respect opinion
Citytiger
xxxx wrote:
Despite what the makers and other claim, the model Y is not an SUV, its a minivan, a people carrier, a posh Touran, Zafira, Picasso, or possibly even a Golf +, anyone who thinks otherwise needs to take a look in the mirror and stop believing the hype.
An SUV should at least have the appearance of being able to go off road, the Model Y does not fit that critera in the slightest.
xxxx
Why
It's just a tag that means nothing, I don't think the Q3, XC40 are true SUV's either, but depneding on size this £43k or more likely the XC60 could be up against the Model Y. And mpg figures starting with a 2 won't look good
typos1 - Just can’t respect opinion
Ski Kid
You have to be joking
Small car ,under 30mpg forget the codswallop of co2 and nox, in the real world a sensible diesel euro 6 getting 40mpg plus with less co2 is logical,until solid state batteries arrive and hopefully improve cradle to grave for ev's .The hybrid scenario is a waste of weight and minerals,just a tax dodge.Like the idea of Hydrogen in the future ,hope it comes along.
m2srt
The war on diesel!
cuwala
How Many Time You Lost This
nivison
interiors..
...shown are from an Inscription. R Design only all black, which is fine - sporty! But also only with awful (imo) cheap looking Op-Art decor strips I just didn't want to look at every day. Shame but with that and who knows what digital tracking those Chinese owners have installed we passed....
Citytiger
nivison wrote:
Do you wear a tinfoil hat as well, to stop aliens reading your mind?
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