Road Test: Volvo V60 T6 [350] Polestar 5dr Geartronic

Volvo. Not a car company synonymous with a pattering pulse, is it? At least not since the Nineties 850 T5-R. But that could change, thanks to a little company called Polestar - Volvo's global performance and motorsport partner that's become, officially, an Alpina-style ‘hot' branch of Volvo.

It has history, this outfit. Polestar has made a name for itself by producing Volvo-based championship-winning STCC cars since 1996 and more recently for becoming the first manufacturer to send shockwaves Down Under by being capable of breaking Holden and Ford's dominance in Australian V8 Supercars. Proving its engineers know a thing or two about how to set up a car - on track, at least.

The company has also fumbled around with road-going concepts in the shape of the brilliantly mental 400bhp C30 and 500bhp S60. But before you get too excited, this V60 - Polestar's first official production road car - isn't as bonkers as previous showings might suggest.

A new, bigger BorgWarner twin-scroll turbo and intercooler have been bolted on to the straight-six T6 turbo. Enough to encourage 350bhp and 369lb ft of torque from the 3.0-litre and propel the previously sedate V60 to 62mph in 5.0secs and on to 155mph, via a Haldex 4WD system - Audi S4 Avant pace. But where the Swedes have really worked magic is in their gentle fettling of the way this thing goes around corners, a refreshing mindset of championing chassis control over all-out grunt.

Polestar fitted the same extreme Michelin Pilot Sport rubber favoured by Sweden's other performance name, Koenigsegg, on 20in wheels. Those were hung from mechanically adjustable Öhlins shocks that are a massive 80 per cent stiffer than a standard S60 R-Design. Sounds like you'd need to spec a chiropractor with the car, but the ride is great: firm, stable and well-damped.

The steering has got more weight and is more direct than other V60s, thanks to some electronic tweakery, and a posh carbon-fibre-reinforced strut brace has been introduced across the engine bay to corset the front end and help telegraph information from the road straight to your hands.

On a fast and twisty stretch of road, the V60 feels like a proper point-to-point weapon. With beefy 371mm ventilated front discs and six-piston Brembo calipers, you can brake late and happily chuck it into bends at properly un-Volvo pace. Get on the throttle mid-corner, and the reworked Haldex system sends as much torque to the rear inside wheel as possible to help rotate the car, mitigating understeer and allowing the suspension set-up and sticky tyres to provide tons of traction.

The horsefly in the ointment is the six-speed auto 'box. Polestar has recalibrated the electronics to give the hardest and fastest possible shifts in Sport mode, but compared with double-clutchers - as in the S4 - it simply can't keep up. It also has a tendency to sniff around for gears at constant throttle - massively irritating when cruising.

And that's when those pseudo supercar tyres also have drawbacks. Being 245mm wide and noticeably performance-orientated, they love to tramline and generate a lot of extra, unlovely decibels. You might think the 2.5-inch stainless full exhaust system might help drown out the tyre roar, but unfortunately you don't get as much noise in the cabin as you'd like. Noisy and naughty outside, yes, but not so much from the driver's seat.

Elsewhere, the sporty aesthetic is subdued and stylish: cheeky chin and rear spoilers, restrained badging and a rear diffuser that actively increases stability at higher speeds, apparently. It's a similar restrained story inside, with new, bulkier-bolstered sports seats, blue stitching around the cabin to offset grey Alcantara trim, and a floating centre console, clad in carbon fibre.

With a list price of £49,775, the Polestar V60 sits awkwardly between stuff like the Audi S4 and its bigger RS4 brother. Which is rock/hard place territory. Except for the fact that while you could end up spending thousands on Audi extras, the Polestar comes with every possible V60 box ticked. Considering that'd cost around £46k, £4k for the Polestar upgrade seems a bit of a bargain considering how the package transforms the car's attitude.

This odd Volvo is proof that Polestar's expertise can make a sporting Swede worth taking seriously again. Volvo needs Polestar to show it's recovered a modicum of go-fast mojo; Polestar needs Volvo to raise its brand profile. If they keep on like this, it'll be one happy marriage. Now get cracking on that V40, chaps.