Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Starry Eyed: Polestar Tune Adds Power to the Volvo XC90 T8 Plug-In Hybrid

Volvo XC90 T8 Twin Engine with Polestar Performance Optimisation

If the Volvo XC90 T8’s 400 horsepower powertrain seems too tame for your tastes, Polestar has you covered. Volvo’s performance arm will offer an “optimization package” for the plug-in hybrid crossover come October.

Armed with 421 horsepower and approximately 502 lb-ft of torque, the Polestar performance optimization package adds 21 hp and nearly 30 lb-ft of torque to the T8’s gasoline-electric powertrain. Along with additional power and torque, Volvo says that the package also improves throttle response and includes a gear hold function for the big Swede’s 8-speed automatic transmission. The latter system works by not shifting to a higher gear when it senses the vehicle is turning at high lateral g-forces. Volvo also claims that these performance enhancements do not affect the T8’s fuel economy or electric driving range.

The plug-in is rated at 53 MPGe combined by the EPA, but we averaged a dismal 19 MPGe during our winter test of a Volvo XC90 T8. In that same test, we clocked the T8 running from 0-to-60 mph in 5.3 seconds, or 0.7 quicker than the standard model. Improving on that performance with the Polestar package would make for one wickedly quick 5159-lb SUV.





The XC90 T8 Polestar tweak follows Polestar’s recent announcements of similar performance optimization packages for the XC90 T6 with the Drive-E engine and for the new S90 sedan and V90 wagon.


from Car and Driver Blog http://blog.caranddriver.com/starry-eyed-polestar-tune-adds-power-to-the-volvo-xc90-t8-plug-in-hybrid/


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