Well, overall the S90 is incredibly capable. It’s one of those cars that can do everything you ask of it, but it doesn’t exactly make you think it wants to. If you drive it like a FWD car, it’s scary good.
I was very pleased with the handling of the car and the resistance to attrition. I wasn’t being nice to the brakes and with what I assume is nearly 420bhp on tap (based on my ET and trap speed with weight at the strip) the car could boogie on the straights.
Sadly i was only able to get my 360 data. I couldn’t get my Dragy Laptimes app to connect.
Anyway Senti was able to get over 110mph (almost 111mph) on the front straight which put us near the top of the 1st tier(fastest cars of our class). I’m still a noob so my braking points where all over the place, but I was told my line was pretty decent.
So, about the car? Well, Senti did damn good but I overheated their brake fluid after about 9 hard laps while running away from the M4 behind me 
At 4400+lbs with me in it, pulling 100+mph on just about every straight, and no brake cooling, the hard charging finally got to them.
Everything ALL Stock except JB4 (with my own custom map), E50 mixture, and K&N drop in filter:
Tires:
F:255/35 20 Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 4
R:255/35 20 Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+
Now, what you’re curious about is how the car handles.
The Polestar Tune is 100% worth its weight in gold on the track. I’m actually convinced this is just the P3 S60 Polestar Sport+ mode transplanted with slightly less boost.
I used to be like “meh” for my experiences with it in the real world. I was a naysayer, for using Polestar on the street.
It is way too aggressive, and always felt slightly dangerous anywhere on city streets. IT was so eager to go you sometimes wondered if you’d accidentally accelerate into the back of someone.
On the track, though? Wow. the throttle response is exactly what you need, and the transmission is ALWAYS in the right gear!
I worried about needing to downshift or upshift without paddles, but to be honest, this thing knew exactly what gear to be in every time. It was eerie. They say it’s programmed to be “Above 4000rpm and will hold gears in a corner”… That description is absolutely correct. It’s aggressive as hell on the street but right at home on track. Racers and enthusiasts definitely programmed this mode, and it was perfectly situated. 10/10 no notes (i only recall one moment where it downshifted out of a corner and that was my fault.
Anyway, when you switch to “sport mode” or ESC OFF, the control systems go on standby. They’re there, watching you in case you actually do something stupid, but for the most part they’re chilling out watching Dr. Who in the background, leaving you to your devices.
Side note, Even with ESC on (with the polestar tune) the car allows you to get a little goofy on the street, as I’ve gotten sideways taking onramps a little too aggressively. With ESC off, it allows some true 4-wheel-drifting to happen. This is how I got into trouble (mentioned later)
The balance of the car is special. I need to know how these journalists are driving this car to say “it pushes at the limit”… It is unbelievably neutral and will power oversteer a bit if you catch it just right (the “more toque to the rear” programming is VERY evident when powering out of corners) and the balance of the car is wild. “Push at the limit”… Pah! I eclipsed the limits of adhesion and went sideways into a chicane so… Definitely not “pushing” I was off my pace after running away from the BMW M4 behind me, since the brakes were getting a little squishy. Saw him coming back up on me, so I goofily boogied down the back straight thinking I’d scrub enough speed before the chicane… I was wrong! Not enough brake so I overcooked it.
I loaded up the front as best i could, and chucked it in. It got sideways like I expected. Gave it throttle to avoid a true spin (FWD technique to induce some understeer) since I was still going way too fast LOL…
As I clipped the apex, I slid wide to the edge of the track then darted forward as I gave it more throttle to power out. I thought I’d cleared the corner, but I was on the wrong line so we were aiming for the run off in the chicane. To correct it, I aimed it out of the chicane, and throttled it a bit… you can guess what happened
Inertia swung me back the other way and I got the second half of a tank-slapper slide😅. a dab of brake to even the wheel speed and then throttle snatched me back in line, but RIGHT as I got it back under me, the crash detection woke up and yanked my seatbelts LOL!
I was like “Okay, time to pit” lol…
Anyway, that’s the flaw of the S90 on track. No brake cooling. It’s a luxury car, so of course wouldn’t expect brake cooling, but there’s some blank spots in the front bumper that could DEFINITELY be utilized. I’m swapping out the brake fluid since my brake is now a little squishy, and I may do EBC Yellows going forward… the stock pads held up IMPRESSIVELY and while they’re a little glazed, right now, they’re working JUST fine. I’m so impressed with the stock components.
My thesis statement is, the new SPA cars are pretty capable, but the steering is definitely more muted than you’d like. I’m used to that because I like driving luxury cars fast, so my sense of “Tire Activity” comes more from the sensation through my feet, my ass and Guesswork of slip angle and input. Anyway, These cars will definitely need brake cooling because otherwise, this car was perfectly capable of going go toe to to with the BMWs out there.
One of my cohorts said “that car is FAST!” after one session of her being behind me in an SRT 😊
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