To Polestar or not... Your experiences?

[CharlieW4]

I am considering whether to Polestar our new (for us) car, and wanted to see what others in the forum thought, particularly if they have done it already. I think quite a number of you have.

One of the considerations is price, but set against that is an upshift in performance of course. Looking at the raw numbers on paper, it doesn't seem that impressive. A bit more torque and a few more horses, but I suspect that doesn't tell the whole story, and there may be some tangiable benefits in terms of pull from lower revs and perhaps accelation at overtaking speeds. What have people noticed?

Secondly, do you think it make a noticeable difference to the economy? I assume (incorrectly possibly), that one of the ways that you get better acceleration etc is by the car staying in a lower gear for a little longer. That responsiveness can be fun, or annoying/diesel-guzzling.

The other thing that crossed my mind is whether in theory if you P* your car, you need to notify your insurance company. If people have done that, what sort of effect did that have on your premium? Having transitioned from a 2.7l 2006 Audi A6, I was suprised to discover that the XC90s insurance was actually cheaper. I assume because the insurance algorithms consider cylinders and engine size as major factors.

[Julianpms]

Hi Charlie,
My experience has been with Polestar on a V60 D4. You are right that the increase in power is not huge (although 40Nm extra torque on my car is worth having), but on automatics you also benefit from improvements to the gearbox logic. I have found that makes a real difference to the responsiveness and pleasure of driving the car.
Official fuel consumption figures are unchanged, but in practice I have been getting about 2mpg more since the upgrade.
You should definitely inform your insurer, although in my case they didn't increase the premium as the power increase was only 10% and it was an official Volvo upgrade.
With Polestar your official Volvo warranty is unaffected, which is a big plus for me, and helps justify in part the admittedly high price of the upgrade.
This is just my 2c; other users of this forum (including a trader who sells his own upgrades) will have their own views and, in some cases, experience of other options.
Julian.

[don kalmar union]

Up to MY 2011 I can offer you MTE's Swedish written and very well received software for your XC 90 D5 that will give you increased outputs of 225bhp with 480nm of torque.

That currently costs £395 including VAT and you carry out the process of installing it yourself that does not involve you in any travelling. You use MTE's unique Softloader device as an interface between your car's OBD port and an XP equipped or XP compatible laptop to take an initial reading which goes to MTE and from which they assemble their calibrations to exactly match your car's factory settings which you then flash back in to complete the process.

I loan that Softloader against a fully returnable deposit of £155.

From MY 2008 Volvo started to progressively implement their PINCODE BANDITRY that effectively prevents any competition to their somewhat lukewarm P* software that can only be supplied by a dealer. The old XC90 was just about the last vehicle into which Volvo installed this system

This pincode banditry is in absolute fundamental breech of a cornerstone of EU policy which outlaws manufacturers using a dominant market position, naturally occurring or otherwise to prevent competitive activity.

Don.

[tt82]

Upto MY11 Don? Not really relevant for the brand new MY14 XC90 with the new VEA engines is it!

[don kalmar union]

Originally Posted by tt82

Upto MY11 Don? Not really relevant for the brand new MY14 XC90 with the new VEA engines is it!

My apologies, finger up nose and mind in neutral.... thought I was in the original XC90 section......

Don.

[CharlieW4]

Thanks Julian. That's interesting and encouraging to hear. I spoke to our insurers the other day (Direct Line) to ask whether they would cover it. I gave them the details and explained it was installed by the Volvo dealership etc, and they put me on hold while they checked... Eventually the nice lady came back and said she was really sorry (and very surprised) to report that their underwriters will not insure anything which has its power increased at all, no matter how little the amount like here.

I had better look at the options...!

[Dutchbird]

Originally Posted by CharlieW4

Thanks Julian. That's interesting and encouraging to hear. I spoke to our insurers the other day (Direct Line) to ask whether they would cover it. I gave them the details and explained it was installed by the Volvo dealership etc, and they put me on hold while they checked... Eventually the nice lady came back and said she was really sorry (and very surprised) to report that their underwriters will not insure anything which has its power increased at all, no matter how little the amount like here.

I had better look at the options...!

Have you tried Volvo car insurance underwritten by RSA ? Ours is /was a Inscription model and had P* from new and did not effect the Insurance price as long as you inform Volvo Car Insurance.

Soon to be ex MY16 XC90 D5 P* Inscription & MY15 S60 D4 P* SE Lux G'tronic

[bobby2000]

I have mine insurance with Admiral, no extra with polestar cost £165.70 per year.

[CharlieW4]

Originally Posted by bobby2000

I have mine insurance with Admiral, no extra with polestar cost £165.70 per year.

Bobby how is that so cheap!? I thought mine at about £440 was cheap, but that's amazing!

[bobby2000]

Hi,
I original took it out on my Peugeot 508 rxh in Sept, then transferring to my XC60 during Oct, @ no extra charge.
It is on a multi car policy along with my Peugeot 407 coupe and of course I'm 67 with a full no claims and I have to pay a £350 excess.