The 2024 Volvo V60 Recharge is a vehicle that makes little sense to the average American consumer. It’s a wagon, which instantly makes it uncool in the eyes of anyone who was once chauffeured around in one of those wood-paneled monstrosities from the ’80s and ’90s. But look closer at the sporty 19-inch wheels, gold-painted Brembo brake calipers, and white Polestar Engineered badges, and it becomes apparent that this isn’t your grandma or grandpa’s station wagon.

Polestar is now an electric car brand on its own, but it still exists as the performance arm of Volvo. For the 2024 model year, the Polestar Engineered trims are few and far between; only the V60 Recharge wagon and XC60 crossover lineups are still topped by the performance trim. In fact, the Polestar Engineered version is the only way to get a V60 Recharge in the US now – the only other V60 option is a lifted Cross Country model.

With a turbocharged four-cylinder engine paired with a plug-in hybrid system, the V60 Recharge Polestar Engineered produces an impressive 455 horsepower, allowing the wagon to go from 0-60 mph in 4.3 seconds. That’s more powerful than any other wagon barring the 621-hp Audi RS6 Avant. The V60 Recharge costs the same as its less powerful rivals, and while it’s certainly not for everyone, the 2024 V60 Recharge Polestar Engineered is a special car.

Exterior: Eye Of The Beholder

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, as the cliche goes, but it does truly apply here. Ask an average person on the street what they think of this car, and they might say something along the lines of, “It looks like a boring wagon.” But show up to a Cars & Coffee meet in one of these, and suddenly you are the cool person who just brought the only sleeper wagon.

There is a clear disconnect between the average consumer who thinks crossovers look far more attractive and car enthusiasts who know that wagons are more entertaining to drive while still offering excellent carrying capacity. This disconnect is also most prevalent in the US where wagons have virtually been forgotten,compared to Europe, where they remain a favorite.

Volvo’s design language hasn’t changed much in recent years, but that’s fine with us. The Thor’s Hammer headlights still look great, as do the standard 19-inch wheels and gold Brembo brake calipers. Volvo doesn’t like to make its performance models stand out too much, which is why the V60 Recharge only gets two discrete Polestar Engineered badges – one on the grille and the other on the tailgate. It’s also why this car is only available in black, white, grey, and silver – an utterly boring color pallet.

Interior: Restrained Improvement

Much like the exterior, Volvo has only made subtle changes to the second-generation V60 since it went on sale in 2018. As of last year, the infotainment is now Google-based with a more simplified interface. The system is easy to use, but we wish Volvo would have increased the touchscreen size from just nine inches; it’s looking out-of-date next to similarly-priced rivals. We do like the cleaned-up gauge cluster graphics, but the screen can only show blank dials or a Google Map, nothing else. Why can’t it show audio information, fuel economy, or anything else?

You won’t find masses of carbon fiber interior trim here. The Polestar Engineered treatment is limited to gold seatbelts. That’s about it. This car no longer gets a unique shifter, instead opting for a crystal knob from Orrefors that appears on other high-end Volvo models. At some point, Volvo improved the shift logic so it no longer requires multiple movements of the shifter to get into drive or reverse. Unfortunately, Volvo also eliminated the paddle shifters and the rotating drive mode selector as of the 2023 model year.

The V60 Recharge Polestar Engineered comes standard with a 15-speaker Bowers & Wilkins audio system, possibly our favorite system at any price. Concert Hall and Jazz Club modes make the music sound like it is being performed live inside your cabin, which is truly an experience.

Practicality: The Case For Wagons

The Volvo V60 is considered a compact wagon in the context of the US market. It sits below midsize options like the Volvo V90 and Audi A6 allroad, and despite appearing longer, the V60 is actually the same length as its S60 sedan counterpart at 187.4 inches. Like the S60, the V60’s rear seat is generous but not massive with 35.2 inches of legroom. Headroom is great, at more than 38 inches in the back.

As for the cargo capacity, the V60 differentiates itself with around 22.9 cubic feet behind the rear seats. As a comparison, the S60’s sedan trunk only offers 11.6 cubes. Folding the rear seats down opens the V60 to 60.5 cubic feet, which is a substantial amount for a relatively small car. The XC60 crossover provides more with up to 68.8 cubes, but it’s important to note that the XC60 and other crossovers like it deliver more vertical space, meaning that they might not be more practical unless you are stacking items up to the roof. We think a wagon like the V60 is well worth the slight practicality trade-off for a more car-like driving experience.

Powertrain: Quiet But Deadly

With the non-hybrid V60 no longer sold in the US and the Cross Country model restricted to the B5 mild-hybrid setup, the Polestar Engineered PHEV is the only way to get a non-lifted Volvo wagon model. The Polestar-tuned model comes with Volvo’s T8 powertrain, which now pairs a 312-hp turbocharged four-cylinder engine with a 143-hp electric motor at the rear. Together, they combine to deliver 455 hp and 523 lb-ft of torque going out to eAWD through an eight-speed automatic transmission.

Volvo quotes a 0-60 time of 4.3 seconds, which is far off the pace of more expensive performance wagons like the Audi RS6 Avant and older Mercedes-AMG E63 Wagon, but those both have more than 600 horses to play with. We think the V60 Recharge is more than quick enough, and despite its performance chops, the V60 Recharge manages 31 mpg when driving on gasoline power. Fuel economy can be improved by relying on the 18.8 kWh battery, which enables a highly competitive 41 miles of electric-only range. During a week of driving with just one recharge, we averaged 38.5 mpg. Unfortunately, the V60 can only except a maximum of 3.6 kW when charging, requiring around five hours for a full battery. In Europe, the car can charge at 6.4 kW, taking around three hours.

Driving Impressions: Soft Side Of Performance

Polestar bills itself as Volvo’s performance tuning arm, but it goes about the business of speed differently than most European rivals do. A PHEV is quite rare in the performance segment, but then again, the V60 Recharge isn’t marketed for performance like the RS6 Avant. In the Swedish wagon, the turbo-only engine sounds less coarse than the old twin-charged unit, but it doesn’t emit a loud growl or the cracks and pops that some enthusiasts may want from their performance luxury vehicles.

In fact, the V60 Recharge feels more comfortable at low rpms since it has heaps of torque and electric assistance at all times. Plus, the only way to shift manually involves bumping a giant crystal knob left and right, which doesn’t exactly feel engaging. Volvo believes that speed doesn’t have to be obnoxious or undignified, which is an interesting approach, and summarizes what this wagon is rather well.

With just 134 hp from the electric motor, acceleration isn’t inspiring in Pure Mode. Putting the V60 into Hybrid or Polestar Mode engages the engine more readily, greatly improving the eagerness to accelerate. We love how Volvo includes a little fuel drop icon in the power/charge gauge; it lets drivers modulate the throttle to keep the engine off during normal traffic or know when it engages during spirited driving. You can also keep the engine on to hold the battery charge at its current percentage or use the engine to charge it on the go.

Volvo aims for a natural approach with light-but-accurate steering, which can be made a bit heavier by selecting the “firm” setting, independent of drive mode. The regular steering tuning felt over-assisted to us, while the firm setting felt just right.

Volvo’s T8 powertrain is strange. Power from the gasoline engine goes to the front wheels only, while the electric motor only sends power to the rear. This combination creates a strange sensation because the two power sources are not physically connected. The V60 Recharge understeers like a front-wheel-drive car at the limit, but it can use the rear electric motor to pull itself out of these situations. It’s not a natural feeling, but it can be fun when you get acquainted with it.

Another interesting tidbit is that the V60’s Ohlins dampers need to be adjusted manually – there are little gold knobs under the hood and in the rear fenders. We have no idea how they were set in our tester, but they enable just enough body roll without feeling too firm. Unless you love getting under your car to set it perfectly, we imagine most owners will have the dealership adjust the suspension once and leave it be.

Pricing & Verdict: Niche Of A Niche

The 2024 Volvo V60 Recharge exists in a very niche class, pretty much on its own. Volvo only sells one version of the conventional V60, which is the Recharge in Polestar Engineered guise at $71,250. For the same price, you can get a Mercedes-Benz E-Class All-Terrain, but that is significantly down on power. There are no performance station wagons at this price point – you’ll have to go up a size class and spend about $55,000 extra on an RS6 Avant.

That puts the V60 against stiff competition only if you’re willing to consider other body styles, including the Audi RS5 Sportback ($78,900) and BMW M3 ($76,000). Those German options are much quicker but are more expensive, more aggressive, less practical, and less efficient – and neither of them has that wagon-swagger factor. The V60 Cross Country offers all the same space and luxury as the Polestar Engineered at just $50,300, but it only delivers 247 hp and comes lifted like a crossover. Lastly, if you want the Polestar Engineered package as a crossover, the XC60 version is available starting at $75,250.

This is a very small niche, but any US buyers looking for a potent wagon under six figures really have just one option – luckily, it’s a brilliant package. Consumers won’t be swarming to buy these, sadly, but any enthusiast who does will know that they have something special.