Polestar upgrade for XC40 T5, 2020MY
 

There has been an offer from Volvo to fit the Polestar upgrade to my T5 for a reduced price of £590, yet it seems that not many owners are having this upgrade. The Volvo handout for this shows only a small improvement in recorded performance.

So my questions are these. Has anyone had experience of this upgrade, and is it really worth the money?

Any information would be very helpful.

Many thanks,

Villarsch

Did you do it and if so how it performs

Hi there.

I had the upgrade on my 2020 T5 and it is nice.
The throttle response is quicker and you get a nice pull when you floor it...
The exhaust gets a little bit louder too.
I dont think fuel economy changes, I regularly get over 50 mpg, thats probably down to the short journeys the car does. Taking the car abroard fully loaded, without charging it only drops to 38mpg.
I would get it on any new Volvo i could, it just depends if you want to spend £600.
Hope this helps

I have a XC40 T5 2020 and have had polestar added, the gearbox is much more responsive which is great for overtaking and when approaching a roundabout the car seems to select a lower gear than usual which I definitely prefer so if I need power to get into the roundabout it's there ready.

The throttle response is far better than it was, just a slight press on the pedal and the power is there or it will change down immediately. When driving slowly in traffic I find I need to be a less aggressive on the throttle than usual because the car is so responsive.

I have found fuel consumption drops about three MPG but I do like to enjoy the extra torque and feel the car surge forward, but if I drive like a granny fuel consumption will stay the same.

I'm 60 years young and like to enjoy my drive but I don't hammer the car as I am mechanically sympathetic.

Cheers.

I have just had it installed on mt T5 phev. It's only a small overall performance hike but you can definitely notice the extra mid range pull.


You get a 14 day trial anyway so if you think it's not worth it you can get your money back.

I payed £550 quid and have had it a week now, obviously on the PHEV it does nothing for the electric side of it but I'm probably still going to keep it, it has made wat was a very nice car just a little bit better.
Plus my insurance company did not care, I explained it to them and it made no difference.

I would go for it if your in the UK and the discount is on, you can always have it taken back off.

Which insurance company are you with Andy as I've just spoken to Direct Line and was told that they would decline to insure me if I got P* fitted to mine.

Not Andy, but try the eSure group (Sheilas wheels etc) as I know they are one group that's fine with chip upgrades. I also know that Aviva aren't - they just decline.

LV are happy with P* and loaded the policy by 10%

I'm with the RAC, I spoke to someone explained it was an upgrade direct from Volvo, they asked it is just a software upgrade with no hardware, and that was it not interested in anything else.

I later went on the live chat and asked again gave all the details including a link to the Polestar page. It had no affect, I did this so I could get a Pdf of the chat just incase any questions where asked I have proof I told them about it.

I have just under a week left to decide if I want to keep it. I'm pretty certain I will be doing, it's not life changing at all in Polestar mode at say 30 mph it definitely pulls harder than it did before. Because it's the PHEV the 0to 60 time is always crippled by the slight pause as the electric motor shifts from 2nd to 4th just before 60 so you can feel a drop in power, but either side of this it pulls hard.

I have a 350mile trip to see the inlaws on Saturday so will see what the fuel economy is like now.

Hi.
If anyone needs any help with insurance for a polestar conversion then please feel free to drop me a line.
Regards,
Dan.