Is the Polestar software upgrade worth it for a 2017 S90 T6 model? Does anyone have any experience with this from stock to the Polestar?

 

I have the Polestar on the 2017 S90 T6. I'm not sure what difference it makes because I've never driven the car without it, but I can say that the dynamic mode is very fun with it (which is where I assume most of the software changes affect the drive). The only downsides are fuel economy and the way the gear shifting operates in dynamic mode seems to want to gear up or down right around 50kph, which is the standard speed limit for most city driving. That kind of results in some weird sluggishness from wanting to shift and/or feeling like you're revving the engine very high for no reason around at that speed.

Again, that might just be dynamic mode on its own, and not necessarily the Polestar.

It adds around 20hp (316ish to 334ish) and shortens up the shift times, resulting in a 0.1s reduction to the 0-100kph time. In the grand scheme of things, that's pretty marginal, but still fun. If you can get a good deal on it from your dealer, then I say go for it?

 

Thanks for the input Mr. thedadmobile! You must have an older update, because the newer ones have the Polestar mode selection and not Dynamic. However, it is great insight. Again thanks for the reply.

 

+1

 

The Polestar upgrade is on sale now for $900. I am still debating if it will make a noticeable difference. The service tech tells me that I will be impressed, but who knows if he is just trying to cross sell me on it?

 

Quite frankly, I have no idea why I am writing this, because I see 969 people have viewed this post, but no one comments. So what is the point of this STUPID forum that no one interacts with? Are all S90 Volvo drivers inept?

I had the Polestar Optimization update completed. I received the badge logo on the back. The shifts are much smoother and I recommend it. PM me if you want more details.

 

It's just not a popular car, man. There aren't very many of us, and even fewer that want to talk about it on the internet. There were like, what...1,800 of this car sold in ALL of Canada since it came out? There are literally dozens of us! It's a pretty slow forum.
I'd say most of the views are from people checking in regularly.

 

Most posts are related to car maintenance and difficult to diagnose faults, particularly for older models. Not a huge audience for, nor users with experience in modifying a one year old car. Some of the questions that don't get responses either are opinion related. For example, if you ask "what's better a 2019 S40 or S60?" the response is totally subjective and who outside of of a car journalist or a dealer would have the qualifications to give good response. LOL about the forum being slow - you can go and check out other forums , google for posts on your topic etc so no need to sit on your hands hoping somebody responds. My personal experience is forums are all about their community and common interests. I had a tech question on my VW CC and posted on VW Vortex. Got crickets - all their posts are about what brand of down pipe to install or adding a catch can etc. Point here is its all about how your interests match up to the community. If I wanted to install an air suspension, VW Vortex would be great. If I want to help my son fix his S40's small evap leak CEL code, this forum has a ton of insights.

 

I started viewing VW Vortex back in '01 when I bought an '01.5 Passat...then got a '05 Touareg...then (in 2011 an '04 Phaeton. ...I sold my Phaeton and got my '17 S90 Polestar Optimized. The Phaeton group was awesome for me--a lot of brilliant minds. Overall, it seemed the less expensive of the vehicle, the more immature the posts...

POLESTAR OPTIMIZED... I rented an '17 S90 T5 for a week (Sixt Rental, SEA-TAC) and found the shifts up and down a bit unsettling. I bought a new '17 S90 that came with Polestar Optimization and LOVE IT. The shifts up and down are almost flawless. The list price for Polestar Opt. was $1200, tacked onto my MSRP list. I received a $10K dealer discount, and a $500 Volvo discount (member of the Volvo Club Of America).

Ultimately, I never drove a T6 without Polestar Optimization....so I am clueless as to a really good comparison.

 

I rented a 2020 XC90 R series that was optimized. Found it to be underpowered compared to the V90 CC T6 without the optimization.

I've not seen anything online (either way) if this is an upgrade worth placing on the V90 CC T6. Perhaps worth pursuing though.

https://engineered.polestar.com/en-c...tomatic-2019-2

 

What you felt was probably the weight difference and between cars, or the cars may have been in different drive modes - the worse aerodynamics of a large SUV compared to the wagon probably doesn't help either. For reference, the 2019 V90CC T6 is 1,983 kgs with a 236 kW power plant (8.4kg/kW). The optimized 2020 XC90 is 2,086 kgs with a 243 kW power plant (8.5kg/kW). The extra 7 kW isn't going to make up for a car that's 100 kg heavier.

For a same car comparison, it gives about 0.1 second difference on the 0-60. So it's likely you wouldn't feel a whole lot of difference. Basically it's a very mild tune, that also generally likes to keep the car at higher revs (to keep the turbo spooled up for better throttle response). While I've never not had the polestar optimization on my car, in my experience - just in observing the difference between comfort drive mode and polestar - you'll probably notice a lot more rev-hang when you take off the throttle after accelerating quickly. There is also a bit more engine braking that you can feel when you coast down from about 60km/h to 50 km/h and the engine downshifts.

EDIT: In short, it focuses on delivering better throttle response to give you better 80-120 km/h times rather than delivering more raw power and torque, basically for highway passing and such...

 

Absolutely, the weight differential was significant. Where I was surprised was how Optimized and weight differential were sad in comparison to the V90CC non-optimized.

Is it a benefit in the long run?

While we live on an acreage 35 m from the City and should likely benefit more so than Joe Urban Driver, the number of times we drive in Dynamic now is very limited. The odd time we open her up and travel and exceptional speeds, but this is ultimately rare. The high rev hang becomes old, very quickly.

For that reason, I'm seeing if anyone else has a different view or experience that (you and I) are not visualizing.

 

$900 for burning an EPROM? I recently posted a note on my initial steps in looking at the current V60 & V90 as potential replacements for my 2015 V60. This kind of "gotcha" has taken Volvo off my list.

 

I bought a used 2018 S90 T5 FWD. It came with Polestar software installed. Can't find much about it online, don't really see what difference it makes especially on a FWD care?

 

My 2017 V90 XC T6 was delivered with the Polestar software which gave it a Dynamic mode. After a maintenance visit, the car had the Polestar Engineered mode instead of Dynamic. Seems like a routine upgrade and didn’t cost a thing. It didn’t make any difference to the handling vs. the Dynamic mode though.

The Polestar mode makes the care much more lively and fun. I can’t say how it compares to a car without it, but the difference between Comfort mode and Polestar mode is night and day.

 

Maybe way after the fact but when I was shopping I would have liked a bit more reviews on the polestar. The V90 isn't a really popular model (hence not to much input) but I fell in love with it. It's an awesome answer to the sea of SUV monotony. I just got a 2020 R design with the polestar. While it doesn't increase the overall 0-60 by much or the HP I definitely notice the difference in the shift parameters. It stays in gear longer and down shifts quicker. I also notice the emphasis in the AWD towards the rear wheels. The car is reasonably quick without it, but a bit snappier when it's in polestar mode.

 

I just had P* installed on my 17s90 - noticed a difference in shifting. Stays in gear when driving aggressively (a bit more fun) didn’t noticed a power gain - did notice a fuel economy drop - all this for 1k - I’m still on the fence.....my sig other drove it with no warning and was surprised that it was installed so if that is any indication....
Did anyone notice that the drive mode doesn’t update to say P*? It still says dynamic - on some post people have said various models get a new drive mode...the dealership was really short staffed so it took forever - i would no be surprised if i came to find out it was not done correctly

anyone come across good s90 exauhst upgrades? Seems very sparse....

New member so thanks for your input

 

FIRST TIME poster, as I've become enamoured with the Volvo SUVs (except for one deal-breaker). I currently own a RWD BMW 525i SEDAN, and am looking for an SUV for my wife. But, I'll have to like it also, since it will be used for most all of our long trips. The Volvo XC60 currently seems to be the superior choice in luxury SUVs, especially if equipped with the optional air suspension, except I am pretty much averse to torque-steer and FWD. Sadly, since there is no truth in advertising, most "AWD" cars are full-time FWD, 99% of the time ("unless slippage is detected"); just because a car has the capability and extra weight associated with AWD doesn't mean torque will (hardly) ever be applied to the rear wheels. My wife likes the Acura RDX, and since people "rave" about the RWD-like qualities exhibited by the SH-AWD, since it has the ability to at least send some torque to the outside wheel when in a corner (and because my wife likes it), I'm keeping it on the list > which currently only includes the Acura RDX SH-AWD and the BMW X3 sDrive - and we're waiting on information to be revealed about the rumored to be RWD-biased-but-I'll-believe-it when-I-see-it Mazda CX-70, hopefully in the spring (for fall or winter release). (Maxda's current AWD system seems to be marginally RWD biased around town, but shifts 100% of torque to the front wheels when on the freeway - which is better than nothing I guess.) The likelihood of a transverse mounted normally aspirated I-6 engine is also one reason we're hoping Mazda follows through on all the hype and offers an SUV that will compete with the RWD or AWD-with-RWD-bias SUVs currently offered by Mercedes and BMW.

If the XC60 were RWD biased, or even split 50/50 or 60/40 (like Subaru's system) I'd just plop down the extra $6,000 for the well-equipped XC60 and be done with the whole thing. But it's not, so I still have a headache!
To the point, and relating to RWD, below is my question, relating to the following quote on Volvo's web site (with no further clarification available within the article):

" Polestar software upgrade delivers more rear-wheel torque in all-wheel drive Volvos. Volvo Cars, the premium car maker, has introduced a new Polestar-developed software upgrade that increases torque distribution to the rear wheels of Volvo cars equipped with all-wheel drive (AWD), for more dynamic driving."

Does anyone know what this means? Does an XC60 with Polestar have torque sent to the rear wheels some of the time or all of the time, and if all of the time, what percentage? Is it enough to reduce or eliminate torque steer, and make the SUV drive similar to a RWD automobile? If I purchase an AWD XC60, will the simple addition of Polestar software allow me to "beat the (FWD) system"? Or, not so much?

THANKS!

 

I have a 2015 xc70 t6 with polestar. That's the 3 liter 6 cyl with 325hp/354 torque in Polestar tune. A quick car, lots of torque. There is some torque steer - but I was checking my AWD last week (had a error code) and was surprised to find a lot of power going to the rear wheels during just normal driving - the amount of torque sent to the rear wheels can be viewed using VIDA while driving on that car. It's not expressed as a percentage though. The car also has a limited slip rear diff.

Also own a 2020 xc60 t6 with polestar (for the wife). Torque steer is not a problem - of course the super/and turbo charged 2.0 liter with polestar does not produce (allegedly 317 hp?, but it's the torque (or lack of) that gets you to the next stoplight in a hurry) the power of the 3.0 6cyl turbo. Air suspension - mine has it, works well, you can set the car to lower when turned off to make it easier for shorter people to get in and out. I've heard of problems in colder climates with failures due to moisture and the mercedes I've fixed air suspension on were $$$$ to replace the system. I've always liked powerful cars and am selling the xc70 and replacing it with - a Genesis gv70 with the 3.5t engine. 375hp/391 torque That car is front engine trans in the middle/rear wheel drive with front added on. Going to take a chance - having been in the car business for 45 years and saw what a piece of crap Hyundai's were 20 years ago. It's the motor trend Suv of the year so hopefully if it's poor quality, there will still be others that will want it in a year. Genesis makes a 2.5t version of that car also.

As far as a Bmw - I've owned a M5 and a M3 - and I would not own a new Bmw outside the warranty period. Worked on many and learned the Bmw means Bring More Wallet. Also not sure if I'll own this xc60 outside of warranty - had a unseen rain water leak @ 25000 miles that damaged a major control unit. Was covered under warranty. I know something like that at my shop would have cost several thousand to repair. (fix water leak, take carpets out to dry, replace and reprogram module)

Long trips - make sure whatever you choose has the ability to store a spare tire. Many cars do not come with them anymore and run flats won't do any good with a sidewall cut in the middle of nowhere.

 

Thanks so much for your reply. On FWD biased "AWD" cars, I think most drive shafts and rear differentials are not made to withstand the wear and tear of daily use. Especially since, south of the Mason-Dixon line, many autos never see any torque at the rear wheels, ever. However, WOULDN'T IT BE NICE if one could just dial up and select the Front-Rear bias on their new, sophisticated, AWD SUV?? Under normal, dry, circumstances, I wonder if anyone who knew/cared would use anything but (close to) 100% RWD?

If I could ever find one with Polestar, I probably just need to drive the AWD version of a new (ish) T5 XC60, and see how it does.

I've been pretty lucky so far with my 160,000 mile BMW, but it's coming on 17 years old and it's time to give it to a nephew (who can't rebuild a transmission, but can do work like replacing valve cover gaskets, himself).

I hate the ride quality of run-flats; and buying a certified nearly-new car these days just about assures the previous owner, or dealer, will have replaced the old tires with run-flats. It is almost an advantage to me if the car's tires only have 10,000 miles wear left on them, that way I can look forward to replacing them with non-run-flats soon! I agree about carrying a spare; for driving around town I have AAA, and also carry a 12v air compressor (gets me to the tire store in 75% of flat-tire situations). On a long trip I just take my compact spare and put it in a garbage bag, and put it in with the rest of the luggage. A small price to pay for better ride quality, 100% of the time. (I probably won't ever own a Subaru Outback Wilderness, but if I did I'd just strap a full-sized spare to the roof, because I think it would look cool.)