When was the last time you drove a fast Volvo?
A FAST VOLVO?
I have no memories of the S80 V8. It was a rare car and I hear it was fast, but going by how the non-V8 S80 handled from my memories of a few years ago, you couldn’t call it a driver’s car. Eight cylinders became six and I’ll give you a cookie if you find me an S60 T6. That was a rare breed too. When the T6 faded out, came the Drive-E four cylinder engines. New powertrains that were cutting edge, smooth and refined but far from fast. Every new Volvo has them, and in the peak of their performance, they can be found in the XC90 T8 with a supercharger and a turbocharger bolted on. It’s a heavy breather and also gets an electric motor to push out about 400 horsepower. This beautifully blue S60 Polestar houses a close relative of this engine. And we had a few hot laps in the ‘mad’ Volvo at the Kari Speedway. How did it all go?
Get the gear selector into Drive, yank it left to engage Sport mode and turn the ESC off. Good lord, in a Volvo! I’m already starting to like the influence of Polestar on the guys who always play safe, not fast. So ESC off is important because Volvos are famously electronically restrained cars. Once you get that done, you can engage Sport Plus too with a long procedure that involves a sequence of paddle shift movements, but it’s best to avoid it. Sport is good. Once there, drive the S60 Polestar out of the pits and a long nice supercharger whine will surprise you as you get on the gas. The S60 Polestar comes across instantly as a quick car. It builds speed well and just as you are through with the first gear into turn one, you have got to brake for the next sequence of corners.
Denne historien er fra May 2017-utgaven av evo India.
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Denne historien er fra May 2017-utgaven av evo India.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
FAST STEAD
This Skoda Octavia RS 230 is fast enough to blow your mind but not its engine
Ford Fusion
Practical, great engine and dynamics, but weird styling ensured buyers stayed well away
Mahindra Bolero Neo
Armed with an iconic badge, a fresh face and a mechanically locking differential, the Bolero Neo could just be the compact SUV you’ve been looking for
RISING FROM THE ASHES
The third generation Suzuki Hayabusa is one of the fastest production motorcycles in the world, and a bike that truly deserves to be ridden flat out at the High Speed Track at NATRAX
BIJOY KUMAR Y
Bijoy is quite looking forward to what the recent space launches could mean
DOA: HSV HRT 427
This racing-inspired 7-litre Holden Monaro garnered more than enough interest for its limited production run to sell out. But sadly the sums didn’t add up
Mini Cooper S Convertible
Mini gives the Convertible a more modern front end, more technology on the inside and a very bright paint scheme
VW Taigun GT
Good news! With two GT variants, Volkswagen are set to make the 1.5 TSI motor even more accessible to us enthusiasts
THE DOCTOR CHECKS OUT
As Rossi decides to hang up his boots after 26 seasons, we take a look back at his journey through MotoGP
“IF THE RATING IS DONE, NATRAX COULD BE ONE OF THE TOP THREE PROVING GROUNDS IN THE WORLD”
Speaking to Dr N Karuppaiah, additional director and centre head, NATRAX