Used Volvo S60 Polestar 2014-2017 review

The sharpened chassis – which is some 80 per cent stiffer than that of the T6 R-Design on which it’s based – gives the car a composed high-speed ride without feeling too rigid when you carry some pace through corners.

The all-wheel drive system helps to give the car a surefooted feel, while grip at the standard 20in wheels is impressive across quick, winding roads, and the steering is weighted consistently enough to help attack corners with confidence and verve.

The gearbox doesn’t miss a beat, delivering quick changes through the paddle shifts in manual mode, or smoothly pushing you along in automatic. Downshifts, when the gearbox is left to its own devices, aren’t quite so smooth or intuitive, though, so pushing on along back roads is best done in manual mode. 

Inside the cabin, the Volvo S60 is comfortable and luxurious, without being lavish, and it's specced up to the eyeballs, with plenty of safety kit thrown in. The dash is a bit cluttered with buttons, though, and the multimedia screen could do with being a bit bigger to make it easier to read. 

On the equipment front, the S60 is certainly fully loaded with luxuries such as leather sports seats, suede interior trim, climate control, xenon headlights, rear-view camera and parking sensors all included in the package. There is also a 7.0in screen Sensus infotainment system paired to a Harman and Kardon stereo system, complete with DAB radio, sat nav, Bluetooth and a hard drive for storage.

But for all its laudable engineering, the S60 Polestar simply doesn’t offer the fun of its German rivals. On the one hand, the impressive refinement, sure handling and smooth acceleration make this a versatile saloon that’s easy to live with.

You’d have to travel to the Continent to acquire one of these hot saloons right now, and with more Polestar projects in the pipeline you’d be wise to hold off to see what happens when it delivers a full-blooded assault on the UK performance market.

The S60 Polestar's price point puts it in a no-man's land between quick executive saloons and full-blooded super-saloons. It’s considerably more expensive (and faster) than a BMW 340i, for example, but usefully cheaper than BMW an M3 or a Mercedes-AMG C63. Dynamically, it remains some distance short of its rivals, too.