A German and a Swede walk into a bar. Both
of them have three litre turbocharged engines
and sonorous six cylinder sounds. Both have
four doors and enough boot space for a family.
To make matters worse, both offer great performance and comfort. What do you choose?
For any petrol-head, this may sound like a joke,
but it isn’t.
Looking at the Volvo S60 Polestar and the
BMW 340i on paper can be a confusing affair, because the vehicles are nearly one and
the same. The differences lie when you get
behind the wheel of both cars. For starters it
must be said that the S60 was at a disadvantage here. The Volvo is more dated than the
newly facelifted BMW 340i and you notice
that straight away when you’re in the cabin.
Although well built, you can see that a new car
is due soon, which it is, but we’ll touch on that
later.
A combination of Alcantara and leather is the
trim Volvo chose for their performance version
of the S60. Seats that are well bolstered but
exceptionally comfortable add to the sporty
ambience in the cabin. As usual Bluetooth systems and technology items are standard in the
car, but when you have 258kW at your disposal
your attention gravitates more to that. Upon
pressing the “start” button is where you see the
real magic of this car, because a very fruity engine tone comes alive. If you’re out to annoy
neighbours and the elderly going for walks, the
Polestar should be your vehicle of choice. This
is because when the car is engaged to Sport
Mode, the noise doubles and the car becomes
almost as loud as its blue paintwork.
Naturally one doesn’t imagine a Volvo as a
car designed for apexes and tight corners, but
that’s what you get in the Polestar. Aided by a
four wheel drive drivetrain, the Volvo is able to
corner confidently without any fear from the
“Naturally one doesn’t imagine a Volvo as a car designed
for apexes and tight corners,
but that’s what you get in the
Polestar”
driver. At this point one may think the car would
be the preferred choice between itself and the
BMW, but the Polestar is not without fault.
Again it goes back to age, since its six speed
automatic is not nearly as fast as the 340i’s
gearbox. For everyday use the gearbox cannot
be faulted since it’s smooth and comfortable.
When it comes to the fast stuff though, the
eight speed automatic in the BMW outshines
the Volvo’s gearbox without question.
As a result, this drastically changes the personality of the Volvo Polestar. It’s essentially
a comfort orientated car that looks good and
can go fast, whereas the BMW 340i is a performance sedan that can be driven civilly. The
340i with its new engine drives with a sense of
eagerness that often needs to be reined in as it
so quickly runs through its gears. You would not
be ridiculed for believing that the BMW has a
double clutch system in the 340i. The setup in
the car works so well, even though it only offers
240kW of power, it is faster than the Volvo too.
Interior trim levels of the 340i also reveal the
newer age of the BMW, which is more modern than the Volvo. That being said, the Volvo
is more comfortable as an everyday commuter
but the BMW 340i is no back breaker, even in
Sports Package guise.
For someone looking in this segment, it may
seem like a tough choice between the two, depending on who you are of course. It’s a reality that people buy cars based on appeal and
as similar as these two cars are, they speak to
different people. The BMW 340i is the car a
younger person buys when they assume more
responsibilities such as children. On the other hand the Volvo S60 Polestar is what a more
mature person would consider when looking to
add excitement to his/her life. It’s still a Volvo
by heart, but with a brutish child lurking within.
This may all change quite soon though because
a new Volvo Polestar is due, one that features a
2.0 litre turbocharged engine. It promises more
power (270kW to be exact), more excitement
and hopefully an updated gearbox. So even
though the BMW 340i won this round since
you cannot buy the current S60 Polestar, the
fight will continue very soon.
Prices:
•
•
Volvo S60 Polestar: R735 000 (Sold Out)
BMW 340i : R733 000
By Francisco Nwamba