From Porsche to Polestar

MR_Y

Well-known member
Dunno how much cred I should give this when an IS250 and Swift is taking over 🤣
IS250 was driven by a senior gentleman with clearly some racing pedigree.

The Swift Sport is the best hot hatch in my view, so deserves to do well, especially on a tight and slippery gymkhana.

We can laugh, but keeping a RWD M car well behaved on a skidpan is tricky.
 
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Nish_H

Well-known member
So, I have been dailying the Polestar all week, given that my V60 is sold and the wife is driving the EcoSport (prefers raised ground clearance) while waiting for the X3 to arrive.

While the Polestar is a hoot to drive, when traffic clears, the fuel consumption is pretty bad. Can't wait to go back to the EcoSport next week, with its more sober drinking habits...
View attachment 13460

That is mighty high consumption, albeit worth it if the drive makes up for the frequent visit to the pumps.
With that said, your Volvo does consume fuel more rapidly than my Audi.
Wife uses the RS4 as her daily, and with no highway driving, and peak traffic, it’s averaging 12.3l/100kms.
 

MR_Y

Well-known member
That is mighty high consumption, albeit worth it if the drive makes up for the frequent visit to the pumps.
With that said, your Volvo does consume fuel more rapidly than my Audi.
Wife uses the RS4 as her daily, and with no highway driving, and peak traffic, it’s averaging 12.3l/100kms.
Agree.
Apparently, the supercharger comes on from low revs and the turbo only kicks in at higher revs. I assume running the supercharger at low revs chows fuel...
 

MR_Y

Well-known member
Update for last service under maintenance plan today:

Car is on 38,000km and due for the 5th year service.

Besides the usual service, the exhaust tips and loose headlight washer will be fixed.

The brakes are still in excellent condition.

The technician found the coolant pipe leaking, which is concerning since it did pass a full technical check recently. Seems that the leak just started recently, which is disconcerting. Part will be ordered.

They also agree that there is a rattle in the rear of the sunroof recess (I raised this complaint earlier). However, they say that a warranty claim needs to be lodged for a new sunroof glass panel. This will take a few days.

The car will be at the dealer until end of this week, when hopefully all the above can be fixed.

The car does have an extended 2 year warranty that will kick in when the maintenance plan expires soon.
 

MR_Y

Well-known member
Update

Volvo SA has changed its parts' warehouses and there is a backlog of orders to get through countrywide.

I need a new coolant pipe, sunroof panel and headlight washer. The coolant pipe is the only critical item on that list. ETA was 2 days. Now, ETA has been revised to TBC.

Talking to other Volvo owners, it seems this backlog may take 1-2 weeks to resolve.

I am not too perturbed, since the parts are at least in SA and not being imported so the delay is unlikely to take months (which is the issue I had on my Porsche gearbox last year).

Still, seems that Volvo SA dropped the proper-prior-planning-ball on this one.

I am assured that even though my maintenance plan expires soon, these parts will be honoured. Also, the extended warranty with Volvo would likely cover these parts as well
 
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MR_Y

Well-known member
So...

Car has been sitting at Volvo dealer for more than a week with no ETA yet on the coolant pipe. Brings back bad memories from my Cayman gearbox parts delay....

The temptation to look for a used M340i is strong (jokes:) )
 

MR_Y

Well-known member
So...

Car has been sitting at Volvo dealer for more than a week with no ETA yet on the coolant pipe. Brings back bad memories from my Cayman gearbox parts delay....

The temptation to look for a used M340i is strong (jokes:) )
So Volvo confirmed that the Polestar spec hose is not in stock. They have the normal S60 hose which does not work.
It is on back order from Sweden.
Given rarity of part, no firm ETA provided.

Well at least I have more quality time to spend with the X3...
 

MR_Y

Well-known member
Demand a loaner...
I would but their current cars are boring :)
Also, this dealership loans out its non Volvo stock. So would likely end up with a Toyota Quest.

Anyway, dealer called me today and apologized. But, understandably, their hands are tied. Polestar parts are not in high supply and wait times can be long.

Given what I paid for the car and the performance on offer, not too perturbed yet.

However, a bit annoyed that they blamed the local warehouse for delaying the original order and then the warehouse only confirmed today that they don't even have stock of this part.
 
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MR_Y

Well-known member
After escalating to Volvo SA, the coolant pipe was sourced somehow yesterday and fitted.

I also received confirmation that new sunroof, headlight washer and exhaust tail pipe will be delivered next month and that even though my Maintenance Plan would have expired by then, all costs will be covered.

Well, happy with this outcome and happy that I can drive my car today.
 

MR_Y

Well-known member
Driving update

Car has been driven spiritedly after it got back from the workshop. No coolant issues.

The high fuel consumption is becoming a bit of pain though, with average sitting above 16 litres per 100km. I am not pushing the car that hard all the time. When I do push it, it approaches 19 litres per 100km for a trip.

The brakes perform well, though they need to be warmed up before they bite hard from a high speed. This can be an irritation when you want to take the car out for quick blast, since you need to remember to prep the brakes.

I am getting used to the hard suspension and the current Ohlins are set up for a good compromise between highway use and spirited back road driving.

Off-the-line performance is very good. With the car in sport mode, the supercharger kicks in and preps the car for maximum attack mode. However, at higher speeds the limitations of a 2.0 motor become evident. Even with 470Nm on tap, the muscle seems to drop off at higher speeds. At sane speeds, however, it feels stronger and more eager than (say) a German sedan of similar power.

The recent BMW skidpan experience was great and the car put up a decent time (I am no driving god), however understeer is still the name of the game with this car.

The steering is a bit lifeless when pushing on back roads - just like fast Audi cars.

I called up Motorite for a quote on a maintenance plan extension. They said that they do not cover the S60 Polestar for maintenance because it is too costly and risky for them. Well, that does not sound like a vote of confidence...

Anyway, I have the Volvo extended warranty for mechanical failures and a little maintenance fund for services and those expensive brakes (which I will consider replacing with Rotaras in the future maybe).

I do yearn a bit for more driver involvement at times. Like most modern AWD high performance cars, you need to drive fast to get proper thrills. My Cayman S gave those thrills at lower speeds, but had other limitations (like no rear seats and a harsh ride).

Let's see how this Polestar behaves itself in the coming year. If it has any major issues, a used (not abused) RWD 4 seater coupe may be on the horizon...
 
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