Polestar 1 2019 first drive

Engage ‘Power’ and the performance gets serious. It’s perhaps not quite as rapid as you’d expect a 600bhp car to be (that’s the effect of nearly two and a half tons for you), but the combination of immediate electric torque and the power of that twin-charged engine mean, in a straight line, the Polestar easily has the measure of, say, a Mercedes-AMG A45. With internal combustion and electrictrification doing a double act there’s terrific traction, too, with only the odd squirm of torque steer reminding you that the front and rear axles have no physical connection.

It sounds good too, the mix of supercharger and turbo chatter, gravelly induction (the intake plenum is carbon fiber) and the whine from the electric motors creating a unique aural backdrop that’s not necessarily better than a standard car, just appealingly different.

However, the Polestar’s real party trick is the way it deals with the corners. The trick torque vectoring motors do their bit here, rotating the car into and out of the bends, but so does the suspension. There are double wishbones at the front and a multi-link axle at the rear, but in place of a Volvo’s adaptive dampers are eye-wateringly expensive Ohlins dual flow manually adjustable dampers, which, as an engineering choice, is both strange (who wants to get grubby adding a few clicks of bump and rebound to their luxurious sports GT?) and brilliant (because they work so well).

There’s not much feel through the steering, but it’s meatily weighted and has a cracking rate of response, which, in tandem with those torque vectoring motors, helps the Polestar scythe towards the apex with real agility, and you can sense that the outside rear wheel is subtly overspeed on the exit. It doesn’t generate oversteer as such, it simply helps kill any understeer to deliver a deliciously neutral stance. Rapid direction changes reveal a deft dexterity, while those special dampers deliver cast iron control. The brakes are up to the challenge too, the low speed snatchiness giving way to both prodigious power and a progressive pedal that has you second guessing where regenerative retardation ends and friction braking begins.

Take things easier and the Polestar does the whole GT thing well too. Its ride is perhaps a little on the firm side, but only on really rough sections of road, and even then it manages to just round off the sharp edges where an S90 would get a bit brittle. Plus with a little effort you can always soften the dampers a touch. It feels special inside too, the use of bespoke leathers, premium trim inserts and details such as the translucent gear selector helping to both enhance the already stylish Volvo-sourced interior and justify the Polestar’s price.