How much is the tune if it’s not on the monroney sticker?
I usually pay around 500 bucks per stage 1 tune. For the good ones, anyways.
1 Like
Sticker price for Polestar is $1295
1 Like
Jesus Christ that’s not worth it.
2 Likes
Totally agree. It doesn’t add much hp (if any), don’t see why one would need it. There were older models S60 R Polestar that really had significantly higher hp.
1 Like
It was $1500 and change from service, low $1300s with coupon ($1316 plus tax maybe?), then the 30%/up to $200 rebate
I am very happy with it. Noticeable difference in HP and torque in Polestar and comfort mode, allegedly no change in fuel economy, no impact to warranty. Probably not worth it at full price but I would order on my next lease if residualized.
Edit: I don’t count it against the XC60 because I settled a lemon claim on the prior lease that more than paid for it. Next time I’ll still lease but I will order exactly what I want (which I tried to do when I started this round of lease shopping but 2019 ordering was closed and 2020 wasn’t open yet).
There is no hp increase on the current polestar upgrade. Read about it on Volvo site. Well, a couple of hp, if you really want to get into it 
All this talk about polestar. I had to look it up after I took delivery of my XC90 lol. From what I read it makes a difference but to be honest the XC90 is a bit sluggish compared to the S90.
1 Like
There is actually an increase in hp/torque from 316/295 to 330/325.
1 Like
On my (3 week, 500 mile old) T6 XC90, switching to polestar mode emits a slightly louder high pitched whine from the engine (supercharger?); It revs higher, shifts sooner. In practical terms, it’s slightly quicker off the line, the steering is stiffer. That’s it, not a whole lot, IMO not worth the $1300 sticker, more like a $500 upgrade. I do not have 4 corner air, don’t know if suspension changes in polestar mode if you have 4C.
In contrast, on my GLC43 even though it’s just a 43, switching to sport or sport+ mode makes the car a whole different animal. It leaps off the starting line and utters a palpable growl.
1 Like
Thanks everyone- Im going for a Ti sport Giulia instead.
1 Like
Also, don’t forget that Volvo technically says there is a difference between a car that comes with Polestar and one that has it added afterwards. A car manufactured with it is “Polestar engineered” and has a white badge. A car that gets it added after delivery is “Polestar optimized” and gets a blue badge. Supposedly, the “engineered” works in concert with the entire car, but the “optimized” is just the software tune - that’s how it was explained to me, if I remember correctly.
1 Like
That upgrade was an update for those with polestar already. It’s a separate thing that the polestar option.
Very poorly worded release
This is the paperwork included in the Polestar upgrade kit. The dealer sent this to me prior:
I’ll see about getting it dyno’ed when I have a chance. Too many other car related things this week.
The white badge/blue badge and polestar engineered vs optimized appears to actually be a recent change that all the new polestar equipped vehicles are getting as part of the separation of Polestar as a company from volvo. The blue color was part of the Polestar brand image and goes with polestar to their new life, so all the cars going forward get the white one. The “Polestar engineered” language is part of this agreement as well.
I’ll take it back then. Still not a significant increase in hp, but increase in torque is nice. But not for $1,295 for me.
1 Like
1.3k dollars is a lot to pay to tune a four cylinder engine. It’s even more just for 20 hp.
A 4-cyl … with a Disco Potato 
No question it’s not “worth” $1295 if you’re buying it for a lease (like I did). Maybe $15.50 on a payment (residualized and amortized).
I always said if I got a Volvo I would get it Polestar tuned, so I did. And I had a windfall from a lemon claim on the outgoing lease that more than paid for it. And I’m happy with it. 
It worked out for you and I’m glad!
1 Like