Team-BHP - Garage overhaul from Torslandaverken - My Volvo XC90 and S60 Polestar
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The large SUVs in our garage had started showing signs of age and needed urgent replacement.

The cars my family currently owns are:
1) 2014 Toyota Fortuner which has crossed 1L km.
2) 2014 Mercedes Benz GL350 which has crossed 1.2L km.
The Fortuner is used by either me or my dad, and the GL350 is used by my uncle.

Our primary requirements were as follows:
1) No used cars.
2) Both the cars needed to be SUVs as our nature of work demands cars with high ground clearance. (Case in point, my 2010 BMW 525d that has done only 17,000 km. in the last 6.5 years)
3) My monthly car usage would be between 2000 - 3000 km., while that of my uncle’s car would be around 4000 - 5000 km.
4) High level of safety, comfort and luxury.
5) Petrol or diesel, either would do.
6) My uncle wanted a fully-loaded luxury SUV as well as exclusivity.
7) I strictly needed a 7 seater SUV as a replacement for the Fortuner.
8) I prefer at least above-average after-sales service. My uncle on the other hand, after getting used to being ripped off by Mercedes, didn’t see after-sales as a major priority.

SUVs we test drove or considered :
1) Mercedes Benz GLS : I didn’t like the car as it looks old and the interiors are the same as the GL350. In fact in most ways it is just the old GL rebadged.

2) BMW X5 : As we already own a BMW, we decided to skip getting another one. Also this model is due for replacement and is getting long in tooth

3) Audi Q7 : We owned a 2008 Q7 earlier and loved it, but the new one has lost its charm and looks like a station wagon instead of an SUV. The design just feels strange to us.

4) Porsche Cayenne : Though the Cayenne has a brilliant engine and gearbox, I did not like its interiors. To me, it looked too old with a plethora of buttons. The Platinum Diesel Edition doesn't even come with something as basic as memory seats or lumbar support.

5) Mercedes Benz AMG GLE 43 4MATIC Coupé :While it looks good and has good ground clearance, it is, in truth, a fake AMG. The engine isn’t hand built but rather mass produced. Also it has no burbly V8 but rather a turbocharged V6. Neither Sundaram Motors nor Akshaya Motors even had a TD car. To make matters worse, the car shown to us at Sundaram Motors was a customer's car. I was not comfortable checking it out. Still, my uncle sort of liked it and said he will think about it.

6) Jeep Grand Cherokee :Jeep? No thank you. This has barely sold and is on offer at an atrocious price.

7) Lexus RX450 or LX570 :[/b] Simply Overpriced for what is on offer

8) Range Rover Sport :Great build quality with bland interiors. The ride quality is unsettling, the brakes are missing feedback and the rear seat space is limited. Additionally, a person must climb into the car instead of walking into it. Might be an issue for people with back problems.

9) Range Rover Velar :Quite some time left till the Indian launch.

10) Volvo XC90 : Love at first sight - That is what happened in 2016 when I first saw the car on the roads of Bangalore. Then and there I decided that I want it to be my next car as soon as I'm capable of affording it.

When I informed my dad and uncle about my inclination towards the XC90, they both asked me the same question – “From when did Volvo start manufacturing cars?” I don't blame them for asking such a question because Volvo doesn't aggressively market its cars in India.

I booked a TD of the D5 Inscription from Martial Motors Bangalore and went for a 100kms drive, absolutely loving every moment of it. I had come across an article by Ford India and Autocar, in which it was written that Volvo was the only brand in the luxury segment which shares its part costs. The overall ownership cost of the car seemed good to me.

I decided to get the D5 Inscription in June but was aware that, post-GST, there is a chance that the price of XC90 may drop. Subsequently, I informed the SA that I will be in touch and will book it only after the post-GST pricing is out.

At this point, things got more interesting. My dad and uncle told me that we would need to dispose my cousin's 520d and buy a replacement car for him. With the maximum budget set at 50L OTR, the new car was to be co-owned by me and my cousin. I checked with my cousin as to what car he wanted and without blinking an eye he said S60 Polestar. Over that, he wanted me to convince everyone about this choice and get approval for the same. I initially opposed it as, for all practical purposes, the car is useless due to its low GC and low profile tyres for Bangalore roads, but owning one was definitely a dream.

I test drove the car and instantly fell in love with it. I was grinning throughout the TD, it's a rocket on the highway and no other car comes close to it. I got a quote of 65L OTR in Bangalore, which was miles out of the budget. So I told my cousin to choose something else. My uncle and cousin, who were off to Hyderabad for a while, said that they will try other cars and let me know. My uncle got back to me and said that he didn't like the AMG coupe at all after taking a ride in it and that he wanted the XC90 T8 Excellence. Post this, my cousin called me to say that he is getting a deal of 60L OTR in Bangalore for the S60 Polestar and that he wants me to book it. It took me a while to convince folks at home about this choice, but soon enough I succeeded.

Pricing of S60 Polestar :
Ex-Showroom: 48,00,000/-
Road tax: 9,59,040/-
Insurance: 1,92,960/- (IDV of 48,00,000 from Reliance with zero dep, engine cover and RTI)
TCS: 48,000/-
Total on-road: 60,00,000/-

The Polestar was booked on July 2nd and delivered to us on 31st July.


Now back to XC90’s.
It turned out the MD of Martial Motors is a friend's junior from school and my friend said that he would talk to him about pricing for both the XC90 variants. Mr. Ritesh (MD of Martial Motors) visited my office during the 2nd week of July and offered the XC90 D5 Inscription and T8 Excellence at the pricing shown below,

Post-GST pricing of XC90 D5 Inscription.
Ex-Showroom: 85,90,000/-
Road Tax & Registration: 17,18,521/-
Insurance: 4,09,607/-
Handling Charges: 40,000/-
TCS: 84,407/-
Total on-road: 1,08,42,535/-

Post-GST pricing of XC90 T8 Excellence.
Ex-Showroom: 1,38,00,000/-
Road Tax & Registration: 27,59,480/-
Insurance: 6,51,400/-
Handling Charges : 40,000/-
TCS: 1,38,000/-
Total on-road: 1,73,88,880/-

I smelled something was fishy about the pricing and confronted Mr. Ritesh Reddy. You can read more about the entire fiasco here: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...rice-list.html, after the thread was up, I got many calls from Volvo India apologising for the bad pre-sales experience. Consequently, Martial Motors sent a new quotation for both the cars as shown below,

D5 Inscription
Ex-Showroom: 82,50,000/-
Road tax & registration : 16,50,589/-
Insurance: 2,08,073/- (Tata AIG zero-dep, engine cover & RTI)
TCS: 82,500/-
Total on-road: 1,01,91,162/-

T8 Excellence
Ex-Showroom: 1,27,50,000/-
Road Tax: 25,49,690/-
Insurance: 3,19,483 (Tata AIG zero-dep, engine cover & RTI)
TCS: 1,27,500/-
Total on-road: 1,57,46,673/-

While the T8 Excellence is sold with white/blonde interiors as standard, my uncle wanted either black or brown interiors. Mr. Ritesh told us that it would take close to 4 months for delivery of a custom order. At this point, my uncle said that we should go ahead with my car purchase and give him some time to decide the interior colour for his car.

I asked the SA to arrange another TD of the XC90, but this time for my mom, dad and wife. SA got the D5 Inscription with amber interiors as well as the D5 R-Design. The amber interiors in the Inscription looked weird in-person and none of us liked it. Other options were blonde/white and black. Blonde/white interiors are next to impossible to maintain, and the black was too bland and dark for me. The R-Design, which the SA brought, had black interiors with contrasting white stitching and real carbon fibre inserts. I liked it a lot but sadly the same was not available in the Inscription.

The R-Design gets the following features over the Inscription.
1) Paddle Shifters.
2) Front and rear sports bumpers.
3) R-Design exclusive front seats.
4) Sporty pedals.
4) Real carbon fibre inlays on door panels, dashboard, and centre console.
5) Better looking alloys.
6) Silver matte ORVM's.
7) Less chrome.

To gain some, you must lose some. R-Design loses the following.
1) HUD.
2) Leather wrap on the dashboard.
3) Bolster adjustment.
4) Front massager seats (I tested the massager seats in the Inscription and they were utterly useless)

The price difference between Inscription and R-Design was 4.18L OTR. I felt that the latter was a better deal than the former, thus I decided to go with it.

Colour?
The R-Design is sold in blue, white, red, and black. The blue did look good, but my mom, dad and wife were against the colour. Red was not in stock. I did not prefer black as my 525d is black, leaving the only option as white and I was ok with it.

Price offered to me for R-Design is as below :
Ex-Showroom: 79,00,000/-
Road Tax: 15,80,659/-
Insurance: 2,12,531/- (IDV of 79, 00,000 from Tata AIG for zero-dep, engine protect & RTI)
TCS: 79,000/-
Freebies: 2 years extended warranty, mud flaps and rubber floor mats.
Total on-road: 97,72,220 /-

Booking and Delivery :
Booking amount for the car was 10L, which I duly paid on 9th August. The Promised delivery date was 24th August, but that was not met due to delay in clearing customs by Volvo India, though due to no fault of their own. The delay was caused by the Central Board of Excise and Customs as their clearance portal was down for 48 hours.

On the 23rd I read news articles stating that the Government of India was trying to pass an ordinance to hike the GST cess on cars and there was a possibility that the hike could take place at any time. Fearing the same will affect my purchase, I visited Martial Motors the same day and asked them to bill the car to me ASAP so that the effect of GST cess hike, if any, is negated. Mr. Ritesh promised me that the hike will not affect my car as Volvo had promised him that the cars which have been ordered will be protected from a hike, in case any comes up.

Mr. Ritesh gave me the VIN on 24th August and said that we are lucky. We had placed an order for an MY17 car but since there weren’t any in stock, Volvo India had released an MY18 car for us and it is the first MY18 R-Design in India. I checked the VIN on Polestar’s website ( URL does not work anymore). The car was duly billed to me on 26th August and, after registration, it was delivered to me on 28th August.

During the PDI, the only noticeable differences I could find between MY17 (existing TD car) and MY18 (my car) were as follows,
1) 360 Degree Camera.
2) Nubuck on A, B, C, D pillar and roof lining.
3) The start knob only turns clockwise for on and off.
4) Visors and grab handles are covered with the same leather as the seats.
5) No AUX port.

After I got the tax invoice, I was shocked to see the amount of tax (GST) on the car, below is what I was able to figure out,

Landing cost of the car according to Zauba (September 2016 information) is: 15,59,394/-
Import duty: 33,21,509/- (213% according to Zuaba HSN code 87033291)
Ex-Manufacturer: 55,24,475/- (Volvo India adds about 6.43L)
GST: 28% on ex-manufacturer: 15,46,853.14/-
Cess: 15% on ex-manufacturer: 8,28,672/-
Ex-Showroom: 79,00,000/-
Road Tax (19.98%) + registration charges: 15,80,659/-
Total: 94.8L

Out of 94.8L that I paid to the dealer, the government took 72.7L as taxes and only 22.02L reached Volvo.

Dealership Experience :
This is something I would like to mention separately about the entire buying process. After the entire fiasco about pricing with Martial Motors and taking it online, the attitude of the dealer changed completely. I was kept in the loop about my booking and car status via email and daily calls from the SA. On the 23rd, when I walked into Martial Motors showroom, the entire body language of Mr. Ritesh Reddy had changed for the good. When I asked him about the delay, he gave me access to his PC so that I can check what was happening. There was an email from Volvo India stating details about the issue of the customs portal going offline for 48 hours and another email in which Volvo India wrote about the protection from the GST cess hike, if any, would not affect any cars which were in-transit to the dealership. Mr. Ritesh and I had a casual chat about the Polestar, which had already been delivered, and the Excellence, which was on display.

While writing this thread, I had initially given the dealer rating as 2/10. But, looking at how things changed post booking and how the entire, seemingly bad, experience turned out to be a surprisingly positive one, I would now rate the dealership as 9/10 (No, I am not exaggerating).

Garage overhaul from Torslandaverken - My Volvo XC90 and S60 Polestar-xc90-polestar.jpg

XC90 Review

Exterior Design:

Garage overhaul from Torslandaverken - My Volvo XC90 and S60 Polestar-front.jpg

Garage overhaul from Torslandaverken - My Volvo XC90 and S60 Polestar-img_20170902_185018_01_01.jpg

The R Design is the sportiest XC90 both on the outside and the inside. Thor hammer inspired full LED headlights looks slick. The front bumper is different from one on the Momentum or Inscription. The grill is horizontal and has a glossy black finish. The lower bumper looks very aggressive with a mix of contrasting black and white colour, and to break the monotony Volvo has incorporated glossy black fake air intake vent on either side of the bumper. The fog lights, which are LED, also come in a glossy black housing. There are a total of 4 sensors on the bumper, 2 of them are on the lower part of the bumper and 2 on the air intake vents while the camera sits inside the Volvo logo.

Garage overhaul from Torslandaverken - My Volvo XC90 and S60 Polestar-front-quarter.jpg

The side profile is very impressive, the new design language hides the bulk of the car when compared to the old one. The alloys on the R design are 20 inches with a sleek looking design and contrasting colours. The mirror caps are finished in matte silver on the R design irrespective of the car colour. There is a camera housed underside of the ORVM's for the 360-degree camera system. The body lines are perfect when compared to other cars.

Garage overhaul from Torslandaverken - My Volvo XC90 and S60 Polestar-rear.jpg

Garage overhaul from Torslandaverken - My Volvo XC90 and S60 Polestar-brake-light-1.jpg

The rear has the signature Volvo tail lights which go all the way to the roof. The lower part of the bumper has sensors and contrasting black and white colour elements mixed to add character to the rear. The lines on the rear bumper are close to what it is on the inside around the sensus touchscreen (infotainment screen). There are 2 exhaust housings on either side finished in chrome and they are fake, the actual exhaust pipe is inside the housings.

Interior Design and Comfort:
Grab the door handle and the door opens without any need of pressing buttons on the key fob or door handles. The key fob is great to look at and the buttons are on the side of the key fob have a chrome finish. The outside door handles are built to last and are huge. The door panel is covered with Scandinavian leather and the top part of the door has real carbon fibre insert. Each of the 4 doors holds 3-way Bowers & Wilkin speakers. The door bins are wide enough to hold 1-litre water bottles and other items.

Garage overhaul from Torslandaverken - My Volvo XC90 and S60 Polestar-door-pad.jpg

The steering wheel is sporty with paddle shifters, it is compact compared to the Mercedes which I already own. The buttons on the LHS control pilot assist / cruise control and the ones on the right control music and voice control. I do not like these, they look and feel cheap thanks to the glossy black finish. The horn area is made from hard plastic and looks out of place in an otherwise great looking car.

Garage overhaul from Torslandaverken - My Volvo XC90 and S60 Polestar-steering.jpg

Garage overhaul from Torslandaverken - My Volvo XC90 and S60 Polestar-paddle-shifter.jpg

The car gets racing inspired bucket seats with extra bolster support and is finished in full leather with contrast white stitching. The seats are the most comfortable ones I have ever come across in any car. The driver and passenger seats are 12-way adjustable including under-thigh support which is a boon for me as I never ever get good under-thigh support in any of the cars, all thanks to my height. While both the seats can hold up to 3 settings, one clever thing that Volvo has incorporated is that the front passenger seat can be controlled via the driver side buttons by selecting an option on the sensus screen

Garage overhaul from Torslandaverken - My Volvo XC90 and S60 Polestar-front-seat.jpg

Garage overhaul from Torslandaverken - My Volvo XC90 and S60 Polestar-rear-seat.jpg

The rear seats are equally comfortable as the front and each seat can be individually moved to make space for the 3rd-row passengers. The space in the 2nd row is huge and, 3 people can sit at ease but the middle passenger might feel a little uncomfortable due to the centre tunnel hump.The third row of seats is also comfortable but suitable only for kids or short people. Overall space is more than my old Q7 which is a good thing. The boot is just massive even with all 3 row up.

Garage overhaul from Torslandaverken - My Volvo XC90 and S60 Polestar-boot-space.jpg

XC90 has a 4-zone climate control system which is effective but it does get noisy on full blast. The rear AC is controlled via touch panel on the centre console. Third-row seats get just vents and no climate control settings. All the 3 rows AC can be controlled on the front touchscreen.

The dash is just wow to look at and to touch. In the R design, the dash is not wrapped in leather like the Inscription but it is soft rubber/plastic with carbon fibre inserts. The dash houses a centre channel speakers which sits out and looks classy. The middle area of the centre console houses the 2 cup holders, 12V power supply and some space to store knick-knacks and both the areas are covered with carbon fibre. The engine start button looks and feels very good, twist it clockwise to start the engine and again twist it clockwise to turn off the engine (In the MY17 model the button had to be twisted anti-clockwise to turn off the engine). The glove box is of a decent size.

Garage overhaul from Torslandaverken - My Volvo XC90 and S60 Polestar-dash.jpg

The drive mode button has a crystal look but it is made of plastic. There is some space under the centre armrest but it is too small to house anything more than a phone as it already houses a CD player. It also contains 2 USB ports, one(1 for connecting pen drive to the car HU and the other dedicated for android auto or apple car play. There is a massive panoramic sunroof in the car which starts from the front and goes all the way till the 3rd row of seats and in reality, I will never ever use it.

Garage overhaul from Torslandaverken - My Volvo XC90 and S60 Polestar-drive-mode-selector.jpg

Garage overhaul from Torslandaverken - My Volvo XC90 and S60 Polestar-drive-mode.jpg

Garage overhaul from Torslandaverken - My Volvo XC90 and S60 Polestar-sun-roof.jpg


Infotainment:
Either you hate it or love it, that is what the infotainment screen is. Every single setting for the car is controlled here including the AC controls. The car has exactly 10 buttons for car controls which are as below,
1) Glove box open button.
2) Track change - backward.
3) Volume rotary knob with play/pause button.
4) Track change - forward.
5) Rear windshield heating.
6) Front windshield blower.
7) Emergency lights.
8) Engine Start & Stop button.
9) Parking Brake.
10) Auto hold.

Garage overhaul from Torslandaverken - My Volvo XC90 and S60 Polestar-ac.jpg

Garage overhaul from Torslandaverken - My Volvo XC90 and S60 Polestar-senus.jpg

Garage overhaul from Torslandaverken - My Volvo XC90 and S60 Polestar-buttons.jpg

The touchscreen aka "sensus" called by Volvo looks are truly minimalistic in nature but I would have preferred AC controls as buttons than as a touchscreen tap because one cannot control the AC without taking eyes off the road. It is easy to use but it is complicated. It took me 10 days to figure out all the options and I am still not sure if I got everything right.

Garage overhaul from Torslandaverken - My Volvo XC90 and S60 Polestar-senu2.jpg

Audio quality is brilliant from the sound system, the Gothenburg setting is truly amazing. The HU can play FLAC as well but where it lags is the way it shows music directory, the system just cannot show folder view. If the songs are not tagged properly then God help you in finding that one song. The HU does lag quite a bit when scrolling through songs.

The screen can display front camera view even when driving, the 360-degree camera gets activated the moment the gear lever is shifted to reverse and stays on for a while even on a drive. Each of the cameras can be selected individually, rear camera can be zoomed as well.

Garage overhaul from Torslandaverken - My Volvo XC90 and S60 Polestar-360-degree-camera.jpg

The screen is a fingerprint magnet and I have got a matte screen protector from Germany and applied on it. It's a lot better now but still, I hate the glossy plastic around it. They should have simply given matte plastic.The R design doesn't get HUD like the Inscription.

The MID is a 12 inch LCD screen screen, it can either show navigation or media playing. Tachometer and speedometer are on by default, the color of the displays can be changed via setting but they do not change by selecting drive mode which is a bummer.

Garage overhaul from Torslandaverken - My Volvo XC90 and S60 Polestar-mid.jpg

Safety:
The main USP of Volvo has always been safety and the XC90 takes it to next level. There are 7 airbags in total including a knee airbag and all the bells and whistles you expect from a modern car. It also gets the Intellisafe, which is an radar-based system which constantly monitors the road and applies brake if it detects if there is an accident imminent.

On the dash, right behind the steering, there is a red light which glows if the car is about to brake or if it detects if the car is too close to the vehicle in front. There is an audible warning before it applies brake automatically. This works only if the car speed is under 50kmph.

The system in MY18 cars is version 2.0 which an update to the previous system. Noticeable differences are,
1) You cannot deactivate the city safety i.e. the auto brake.
2) To turn on the pilot assist, a vehicle in the front is no longer a requirement.

You may be wondering what pilot assist is, here it goes:
Pilot assist is the system which can take over the car steering, brake and accelerator but this works only if there are lane markings. It can be activated by just one button on the steering wheel and there is a symbol of steering on the MID which turns green. Post this the car maintains the speed you have set (maximum is 130 kmph). I have tested it on highway and boy it works like a charm. Fair warning, this can be a little scary the first time you try it. The system maintains lane, brakes if necessary and accelerates as well but for the system to work you have to rest your hand on the steering wheel else within 15 seconds the MID will display a warning and disable it.

Garage overhaul from Torslandaverken - My Volvo XC90 and S60 Polestar-pilot-assist.jpg
Garage overhaul from Torslandaverken - My Volvo XC90 and S60 Polestar-pilot-assist-1.jpg

Intellisafe consists of the following :
1) BLIS aka Blind Spot Information System is an always-on detection system for anyone or anything in the car's blind spot which turns on a small light on the ORVM on detection.

2) CTA aka Cross-Traffic Alert comes on automatically while reversing the car and displays a warning if any vehicle comes close to the car on any side while driving irrespective of the speed.

3) Lane assist tries to put back the car in the lane it it detects that the car is veering off the lane, it makes the steering slightly hard.

4) EBL or Emergency Brake Light that flashes the brake lights about 4 times per second during hard braking and then it activates hazards automatically once the vehicle is slowed down to 10kmph.

5) Hydraulic Brake Assist.

6) DAC aka Driver Alert Control which throws an alert if it notices the driver is loosing concentration.

7) Road Sign Information which can read the road signs and display the maximum speed allowed / school zone / no overtaking sign , an option can be set to give an audible warning if speeding above the limit. This information is displayed on the MID.

Garage overhaul from Torslandaverken - My Volvo XC90 and S60 Polestar-intellisafe.jpg

Garage overhaul from Torslandaverken - My Volvo XC90 and S60 Polestar-blis.jpg

Garage overhaul from Torslandaverken - My Volvo XC90 and S60 Polestar-all-around-sensors.jpg


Engine & Gearbox:
MY18 XC90 has received a tiny bump in power as it now has 235bhp rather than 225bhp. The boost is courtesy of an addition of a small cylinder next to the engine which stores compressed air and pushes it into the turbos when needed, Volvo calls this Power Pulse. The engine is quite powerful for a 2L 4-cylinder but it feels strained when pushing the 2-ton car. However the power is more than adequate for our road conditions and the twin turbos do a good job to help get the speed you would want. The torque delivery is very linear and there are no surges or throwing you back into the seat (read S60 Polestar). Although it is not a power horse like my old Q7 or the existing Merc, it does the job well enough.

Engine noise seeps deep into the cabin above 3500RPM but it is not the typical diesel engine rattle and does bother me a little. Volvo should have insulated the engine bay further to ensure the noise issue was avoided. The gearbox used is the Aisin 8-speed and it pairs nicely with the engine resulting in smooth gear shifts even when using paddle shifters. One does not feel gear shifts at all when using comfort mode, which provides further evidence of the right pairing.

Handling, Ride Quality:
The air suspension does a fabulous job in taking on the craters found on Bangalore roads. Inspite of sitting on 20" wheels small potholes are not felt by the passengers inside, the suspension doesn't throw you around on big potholes or places where roads only exist in name. The ride is very flat and comfortable when driving in comfort mode but my GL still beats the XC90.

At slow speeds, the steering feedback is not the best when compared to that of my BMW's hydraulic unit but it is still better and more accurate than the Q7 as it does weigh up as speed increases. The brakes have a good feel and bite, though there is wee bit amount of sponginess when braking hard. This is something I never felt on my Q7.

Drive mode button near the gear lever allows you select the different drive modes, below is what each mode does,

Eco: Engine power almost dies in this mode but gives the best fuel economy. Throttle response is greatly dulled, the transmission shifts to a higher gear sooner, AC cooling is reduced and, according to the manual, the cars coasts above 60kmph. I mostly drive in this mode when I am inside the city, all hail Bangalore roads.

Comfort: This is the mode Volvo wants one to use and is selected by default. The suspension setup is the best in this mode, throttle response is perfect and gearbox behaves the way it is meant to.

Off-Road: The air suspension is raised by 40mm. Throttle response becomes dull just like in the eco mode and the gearbox holds on to each gear for a longer time. In this mode, the car is not supposed to be driven above 30kmph.

Dynamic: The air suspension is lowered by 20mm. The dampers are stiffened, steering weighs up, throttle response the best in this mode, brake pedal feel improves and the gear shifts are good.

Individual: Customize the entire car to your personal preference.

What’s the FE?
9 to 11 kmpl, if driven light footed and with spirited driving gives about 6 to 7 kmpl.

Niggles:
1) The sensus screen died last week, it was not responding to touch at all. Without touch nothing works in the car other than audio. Called Volvo and it was of no use, had to take the car to workshop and do a software update. As of today it works fine, hopefully it doesn’t die again.
2) Noticed some rattle in the LHS of the boot, did not have time or patience to get it checked on the day I took it to Volvo. Shall get it fixed the next time I visit the service center.

Any accessories planned?
Yes,
1) Underbody protection plate.
2) Red key, while it does not open up any secret mode like the Dodge Hellcat or Ford Mustang, what it does is add an extra layer of protection to the car when chauffer driven. It can limit top speed and enable all safety features with no way to disable anything.

What I like about the XC90 :
1) Solid exterior build quality including the safety equipment. All safety features are activated by default.
2) Interior build quality and space is excellent.
3) The design of the car hides its bulk, and its road presence is very good. In reality, the XC90 is as big as the GL350 we own.
4) Limited chrome in the R Design.
5) Enough power from a 4-pot 2-litre engine for daily usage and highway runs.
6) Loaded to the brim with features when compared to the same variant which is sold abroad.
7) Handling and ride quality is great for an SUV of this size.
8) Both rear and front seats are very comfortable, the R-Design seats get extra bolstering.
9) Front passenger seat can be controlled from driver seat controls.
10) Suspension tune in comfort mode is the best for this type of car. It takes potholes at ease and the ride quality is very plush.
11) Huge boot space even after all 3 rows are up.
12) Dashboard looks “wow” compared to other cars.
13) Touch screen is exceptionally good.
14) Audio quality from the 19 speaker Bower & Wilkins is exceptional.
15) All the tech inside / outside the car ( blind spot detection, cross traffic alert, road sign recognition, auto high beam, auto brake, park assist) works exceptionally good.
16) Pilot assist (Volvo's radar based semi autonomous driving) works as advertised, the one in my car is version 2.0 .


What I dislike about the XC90 :
1) Cheap & glossy plastics on the steering buttons and hard plastic on the horn area.
2) Manually folding 3rd row of seats.
3) Although there is an option in the touchscreen to electronically fold the 2nd row headrests, I have to manually put them back up. Also, there is no sensor in the headrest or seat to stop them from folding if someone is seated. This is a glaring oversight and if the folding option is selected on screen accidentally, the head rest hits the occupant quite hard.
4) The boot cover cannot be placed anywhere in the car if all 3 rows are occupied. Even the cheaper cars get a place in the boot to store it.
5) The touchscreen is a finger print magnet, wonder who even thought of giving a glossy screen in a car.
6) I wish the AC was control was through buttons and not the touchscreen.
7) Steep learning curve due to a plethora of options and technology. It took me a week to learn everything about the car and I am still not sure if I got them right.
8) There is wee bit of wind noise which seeps into the cabin at higher speeds.
9) When compared to the previous gen's 5-pot diesel engine, the one on the current gen is not as refined and it gets noisy if pushed hard. To the least, Volvo should have put more insulation to reduce the engine noise and ensure that it doesn’t seep into cabin. The NVH is just barely acceptable for a car of this cost.

Here is the spare wheel size.
Garage overhaul from Torslandaverken - My Volvo XC90 and S60 Polestar-spare-wheel-size.jpg

A close look at the Thor hammer inspired headlight
Garage overhaul from Torslandaverken - My Volvo XC90 and S60 Polestar-headlight.jpg

Total of 3 keys are given and each key can be assigned to a driver profile. Key's are wrapped in same leather as the car interiors. The small key is truly a passive key tag with no buttons at all. A total of twelve keys can be programmed and used for one single car.
Garage overhaul from Torslandaverken - My Volvo XC90 and S60 Polestar-key-1.jpg

S60 Polestar Review


Garage overhaul from Torslandaverken - My Volvo XC90 and S60 Polestar-front-awe.jpg

Why I bought the Polestar
Me and my cousin were looking for a sedan with good power but had a budget of ~60L INR. There are very few cars available in that price range for petrolheads. The only real options we had were the BMW 330i and 530d and the S60 Polestar. The BMWs are not really performance cars from the word go as they have a soft made for India suspension that causes a lot of roll around corners. We were not too keen on getting a BMW as I already have a 6 cylinder 525D at home and he has a 520d. This only left the Polestar in the reckoning. This car is way more focussed as a precision driving tool compared to the executive sedan type BMWs and that is what we wanted as we have other rides to haul luggage and passengers.

The major differences in the Polestar vs the standard S60 are in the engine which is boosted further compared to the T6 and has a completely different intake/exhaust system, the suspension which is optioned by racing suspension legends Ohlins and has manually adjustable dampers on all corners for both rebound rate and height. The brakes have also been upgraded to brembos both in the front and rear with the fronts having 6 pot callipers that provide a stunning level of brake bite and feedback. There are various aero bits added around the car to aid downforce with a different front splitter and a rear diffuser. Unlike most other cars, these actually are functional. Finally the Haldex AWD system has been calibrated differently compared to the other Volvo cars. The AWD system can be locked to always provide 50% of the power to the rear wheels in the secret sport+ mode giving it some of the RWD fun which many AWD cars miss out on.

Exterior Design:

Garage overhaul from Torslandaverken - My Volvo XC90 and S60 Polestar-front-close.jpg

Garage overhaul from Torslandaverken - My Volvo XC90 and S60 Polestar-front.jpg

Garage overhaul from Torslandaverken - My Volvo XC90 and S60 Polestar-side.jpg

The S60 Polestar variant is based on the facelifted S60 with a few differences on the outside. The front grill looks more aggressive than the regular S60. The front bumper lip, rear spoiler and gloss diffuser in the rear with brushed aluminium exhaust pipes. Glossy black ORVMs, window line area, and Polestar badges on the front grill and rear bumper are added to the Polestar. The noticeable difference is the 20-inch alloys and low profile tyres. Black S60 polestar would be a pure sleeper but not my rebel blue. The colour is unique to the S60 and V60 Polestar.

Garage overhaul from Torslandaverken - My Volvo XC90 and S60 Polestar-alloy.jpg

Garage overhaul from Torslandaverken - My Volvo XC90 and S60 Polestar-rear-2.jpg

Interior Design and Comfort:
Since the car is based on the S60 the key looks exactly the same as the standard s60 and so does the start-stop button. The interiors are very similar other than the seats with lots of blue stitching, the polestar logos and carbon fibre inserts in the dash. Compared to the interior of the XC90, Polestar looks old but fully functionally with superb build quality.

Garage overhaul from Torslandaverken - My Volvo XC90 and S60 Polestar-dash-1.jpg

Garage overhaul from Torslandaverken - My Volvo XC90 and S60 Polestar-steering-wheel.jpg

The steering wheel is wrapped in nubuck and leather and is beefy to hold. Paddle shifters are made of brushed aluminium. The MID is a straight lift from the S60 sedan. The stalks are of great quality plastic. The doors are built to last, they are wrapped in leather/ nubuck with contrast blue stitching and this theme continues to the seats as well.The front bucket seats are heavily bolstered compared to the S60 sedan, they are also made of nubuck and leather. The space in the rear seats is quite limited and is best suited for short people.

Garage overhaul from Torslandaverken - My Volvo XC90 and S60 Polestar-rear-seats.jpg

Garage overhaul from Torslandaverken - My Volvo XC90 and S60 Polestar-door-pad.jpg

Behind the steering wheel, on the dash, sits the collision warning light which glows when the car is too close to the car ahead or the car is about to engage Auto Brake. If the warning light bothers anyone, it can be turned off in the settings. The BLIS (Blind Spot Information system) light sits on the A-pillar and throws a warning if the system detects vehicles in the car's blind spot, this works very well even at high speeds. Volvo has badged the Polestar on the seats, gear lever and door sills. I think there are a total of 12 Polestar badges on the entire car.

Garage overhaul from Torslandaverken - My Volvo XC90 and S60 Polestar-p1050228.rw2.jpg

Garage overhaul from Torslandaverken - My Volvo XC90 and S60 Polestar-gear-selector.jpg


Infotainment: The centre screen is exactly same as the S60 sedan with an exception of carbon fibre insert around the button area. The audio quality is great from the 12-way Harmon Kardon speakers, a much-needed music system in Bangalore’s traffic. The cars settings including the drive modes are controlled via a button on the LHS stalk.
Garage overhaul from Torslandaverken - My Volvo XC90 and S60 Polestar-drive-mode.jpg

Garage overhaul from Torslandaverken - My Volvo XC90 and S60 Polestar-p1050238.rw2.jpg

Safety:
The Polestar comes with a total of 6 airbags and a city safety system. While there is no pilot assist in the Polestar, the city safety contains the following,
1) Blind Spot Information System.
2) Cross traffic alert.
3) Lane departure warning.
4) Front collision alert system.
5) Adaptive cruise control.
6) Pedestrian & cyclist detection system.

Here is a look at the rear camera, its of pretty bad quality but does the job.
Garage overhaul from Torslandaverken - My Volvo XC90 and S60 Polestar-rear-camera.jpg

Handling, Ride Quality:
The new engine i.e. the 2L 4-cylinder is taken from the XC90 and produces 362bhp and 470 Nm of torque thanks to the supercharger and turbocharger. Even though the polestar looks the same as S60 on the outside, it's a different beast under the hood. Volvo has extensively changed small bits which make it a hot sedan. Put the throttle down and you can feel the surge of power pushing you back to the seat, but the lag can be felt in the 1st and 2nd gears which are really tall. The lag is minimal but one can notice that the engine is working hard to deliver the power needed. The exhaust note is not that great when compared to the inline-six engine of the old gen S60 but it is fun. The gearbox is an 8-speed torque converter which does the job but it is slow compared to the ZF units in other cars. Even though the polestar is an AWD, it is mostly biased towards front wheel drive and can send up to 50% power to the rear wheels if needed. To enable launch control just flick the gear lever to left (enables sports plus aka maniac mode) and go to settings to disable ESC.


Any accessories planned?
None planned and honestly as the car has every feature one can think of as standard, none are needed.

What’s the FE?
10 to 12 kmpl, if driven light footed and with spirited driving gives about 3 to 4 kmpl.

Garage overhaul from Torslandaverken - My Volvo XC90 and S60 Polestar-fe.jpg

What I like about the S60 Polestar :
1) Solid build quality inside and outside.
2) Mind blowing 362 bhp & 470 Nm of torque out of a 2L, 4-pot engine.
3) Loaded with all safety equipment and features.
4) No other car comes close to it especially for the 60L OTR I paid for it.
5) Very good grip levels, thanks to the AWD and the Ohlins suspension setup.
6) Seats are comfortable even for a 6-footer like me.
7) Love the exhaust note.

What I dislike about the S60 Polestar :
1) Low profile tyres and ground clearance.
2) Space is at a premium in the 2nd row.
3) The boot is super small.
4) First and 2nd gears are tall compared to other gears.
4) Tyres will bubble up if not maintained properly and replacements are not going to be cheap.
5) Wear and tear parts are not cheap either, brakes cost a bomb and last only about 8-10K km if and only if driven light footed.

Key is exactly same as the S60.
Garage overhaul from Torslandaverken - My Volvo XC90 and S60 Polestar-key.jpg

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Initial Ownership Section. Thanks for sharing!

Just curious - Your initial requirement mentioned High GC as something very important, and you mention both of you already have a Bimmer each. I understand the heart overruling the head, but what about your work related travel now that you have bought a polestar?

Quote:

Originally Posted by greenhorn (Post 4347850)
Just curious - Your initial requirement mentioned High GC as something very important, and you mention both of you already have a Bimmer each. I understand the heart overruling the head, but what about your work related travel now that you have bought a polestar?

mjumrani, I will be happy to respond to this for you. Being an owner of S60 for the past two years, I haven't come across a single place where the car doesn't go. With its adaptive suspension, I have driven the car across tar roads, pot holes and mud roads. No where it has scratched the bottom in its 38000 kms so far.

It's true that it can never replace a SUV, but it can take you to any place where an average Maruti goes.

Quote:

Originally Posted by greenhorn (Post 4347850)
Just curious - Your initial requirement mentioned High GC as something very important, and you mention both of you already have a Bimmer each. I understand the heart overruling the head, but what about your work related travel now that you have bought a polestar?

We have sold his bimmer, he uses the polestar as his daily drive during weekdays and I use it only during weekends. XC90 is for work related travel outside Bangalore.

Quote:

Originally Posted by abhiram.soma (Post 4347933)
mjumrani, I will be happy to respond to this for you. Being an owner of S60 for the past two years, I haven't come across a single place where the car doesn't go. With its adaptive suspension, I have driven the car across tar roads, pot holes and mud roads. No where it has scratched the bottom in its 38000 kms so far.

It's true that it can never replace a SUV, but it can take you to any place where an average Maruti goes.

Polestar has bad ground clearance and it doesn't come with adaptive suspension. It does scrape to glory if not driven carefully.

Congratulations mjumrani. Excellent Dual review! Volvo cars are hard to come by on roads as well as TBHP. The XC90 ticks all the right boxes in terms of Luxury, space and drool-worthy looks.

I almost bought a preowned S80 V8 but was very skeptical of the spare and service costs. Any idea on how the after sales is compared to the three Germans?

Hope you have great ownership experience. Keep updating the thread.

Congratulations Mjumrani! clap:

What an envious collection. Wishing you loads and loads of Fun (especially with Polestar) and safe driving. Eager to read your ownership report.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mjumrani (Post 4261031)

After I got the tax invoice, I was shocked to see the amount of tax (GST) on the car, below is what I was able to figure out,

Landing cost of the car according to Zauba (September 2016 information) is: 15,59,394/-
Import duty: 33,21,509/- (213% according to Zuaba HSN code 87033291)
Ex-Manufacturer: 55,24,475/- (Volvo India adds about 6.43L)
GST: 28% on ex-manufacturer: 15,46,853.14/-
Cess: 15% on ex-manufacturer: 8,28,672/-
Ex-Showroom: 79,00,000/-
Road Tax (19.98%) + registration charges: 15,80,659/-
Total: 94.8L

Out of 94.8L that I paid to the dealer, the government took 72.7L as taxes and only 22.02L reached Volvo.

Is this correct way of calculation? I find it very strange and almost unbelievable that Polestar is just 22L for Volvo! Can someone throw some light on this please:

On the XC90

The door open process is rather unique.

Volvo car seat comfort is possibly the best there is. The way they have designed all the seat contours to form perfectly around the body and leaving no area unsupported, has to be experienced.

Basic aircon control could have very well replaced the stereo physical buttons on the center console as the driver has access to them on the steering wheel. If the passenger must fiddle with the stereo, that giant screen can serve the purpose.

When you say the scrolling lags a bit when looking through your music directory, is this only for flac content or just about everything? If there is a search function, might be easier to get to where you want. Also; the voice control may also be a better way to get to the artist or song you want. If not Indian artist names, it should easily recognise International artists/track names.

Kinda odd that an R edition, which suggests sporty intentions does away with HUD.

Pilot Assist sounds neat. I would be very careful with it on our roads though. Good thing that you are required to hold onto the wheel.

Mighty impressed by the power pulse system. Never heard of anything like it. More than serve a heavy load scenario, this can actually eliminate or reduce turbo lag. Sounds more like a feature the S60 should have. The 2l diesel on the R Edition is supposed to be Polestar Optimized. You might never pop the hood on your car. When you do, will be good to see the placement of this compressed air cylinder and the plumbing around it, that is, if any of it is visible.

Does the seat belt have "SINCE 1959" inscribed on it?

The R Design is definitely very appealing.

S60 Polestar
Possibly the most rare high performance sedan to spot in India. After reading about the XC90, the S60 needs to up the game, especially on the interior. The true petrol head could not care less but you do expect more when you are paying so much.

I guess there is some logic behind the governments decision to protect or promote local manufacturing. If you could end up buying a XC90 for 30 lacs, that is probably the end of the road for TATA, Mahindra and everyone else manufacturing a SUV at this price point. Having said that, I wonder if India is turning out to be a really expensive place to manufacture a high end car. Volume isn't enough to justify this. What is the difference today compared to the days we illegally imported and then somehow made it legal to drive an import? Sounds like it all costs the same. The only difference today being that there is a official channel aka car dealer where you can now go to, sample the car for yourself and buy it.

Thanks for sharing. Garage overhauls don't get any better than this.

Congratulations on two excellent purchases. Both I know will give you lots of fun and comfort and peace of mind. My experience thus far with the Volvo XC60 over three years indicates it is a trouble free ride. Happy miles.

Congrats on both cars, they're lovely. Wishing you and your folks many happy and safe journeys.

My brother drives a 2016 S60 Polestar in Abu Dhabi. He loves that car to bits.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan (Post 4348458)
On the XC90

When you say the scrolling lags a bit when looking through your music directory, is this only for flac content or just about everything? If there is a search function, might be easier to get to where you want. Also; the voice control may also be a better way to get to the artist or song you want. If not Indian artist names, it should easily recognise International artists/track names.

You can confirm with the service center if they have the latest sensus update installed.Volvo releases an update every 6 months.The initial voice control was a joke but has improved with new releases.You can download and install map and voice updates directly from Volvo support website.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan (Post 4348458)
On the XC90

Pilot Assist sounds neat. I would be very careful with it on our roads though. Good thing that you are required to hold onto the wheel.

I use it regularly.No need to hold on to the wheel.You just need to touch the steering wheel every 10 seconds.

Congrats and Welcome to the Volvo family !

Although you had a sub par experience with the dealer initially, I'm glad it worked out in your favour in the end.

It seems not long ago that I had read and watched reviews of the S60 Polestar in India and I was skeptical of how many would actually buy one in India. But Volvo goes ahead and does a wonderful thing of launching it at a mouth watering price. At that cost the question became " why wouldn't anyone buy one ". As these are limited production cars, I am surprised they are still available.

This is truly a sports car in the skin masquerading as a sedan. I am sure you will enjoy every moment driving it. Even if stuck in Bangalore traffic, you can enjoy all the attention you will get. And you always have the XC90 for your other journeys.

Wish you many happy miles ahead !

Congrats mjumrani on your Volvo's!
We had added a Volvo s60 D5 inscription to our garage last year. And I can vouch for it's comfort, reliability and exclusive looks which is sort of coupe style. Always a head turner ! Have fun getting noticed in your polestar.


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