[Endurunner]

As this is my first thread after having spent months lurking on the forum I guess that a proper introduction is in order Hello to all fellow Volvo enthusiasts who actively share on Swedespeed - you've made this site my go-to source of information throughout the initial research and car ordering process, which is very much appreciated

As a soon-to-be owner of a MY23 V60CC after a nearly 12-month (sic!) slot reservation/ordering process, I'm pretty much in the honeymoon phase of my relationship with Volvo, getting very excited for the delivery (due in mid-September, hopefully). That said, I make a conscious effort to remain as objective as I can when it comes to every product's shortcomings, and the same goes for my new car. One of such things that in my view detracts from the overall driving experience is the removal of Drive Modes from the new mild-hybrid, AAOS-equipped Volvos. I enjoyed them very much on the MY21 test cars I've driven.

To be sure, I'm not referring to the drive mode selector on the center console (which, contrary to what Volvo deems to be the general consensus among its customer population, I found very useful and miss it everytime I see the empty space the dial used to occupy). Setting the drive modes through the central display - while not overly in line with good UX design principles, I could live with.

The real issue for me is that, to my knowledge, the new mild-hybrid (i.e. B4, B5, B6) are not equipped with drive modes at all (an exception I'm aware of is that AWD cars, including V60CC, come with the off-road mode buried in the central display menus). PHEV cars do get the drive modes, but that is solely by virtue of the hybrid powertrain they come with (i.e. Pure, Hybrid, Power etc.). The C40 and BEV XC40 do not come with drive modes either, so if current electric cars are anything to go by, this may be the direction that Volvo wants AAOS to evolve in as they electrify their entire range.

I'm happy to be proven wrong here since I obviously haven't driven the car yet - my understanding is based on the MY22 mild-hybrid XC60 I played with at my dealer, driver feedback I read on Swedespeed + various user reviews/walkthroughs on Youtube. My local MY23 V60CC user manual updated back in May also made it clear - no drive modes beyond "default" and "off-road". Although the screenshot Volvo decided to use as an illustration for this clearly shows "Dynamic" as an active drive mode in the AAOS driver's display. Go figure...

I'm not starting this thread to debate whether it made sense to remove the drive modes or not, I'm rather trying to focus on whether there is a possibility of the drive modes returning to non-PHEV cars after they've been abandoned.

I decided to approach Volvo directly about this, since the local sales personnel was not able to provide a coherent answer. I basically asked whether the removal of Drive Modes feature in AAOS for new MHEV cars (i.e. the choice between Comfort, Dynamic, Eco and Individual, or their equivalents) was:

1) a conscious product strategy decision and, as such, the above-mentioned drive modes for non-electrified cars WILL NOT be implemented in the future, e.g. by way of OTA updates; or

2) it is a functionality that had been deprioritized when the transition to AAOS platform was made, presumably due to software engineering/technological complexities, however Volvo INTENDS to implement it in the future.

The answer I got from Volvo International after a few weeks was, uninspiringly:

Thank you for contacting Volvo cars and for your feedback regarding the drive modes.

Unfortunately, we can not comment on our future plans, you are more than welcome to follow us online where you can find the latest information about our products and features.

To me, this reads as a templated, corporate policy-dictated non-answer. Then again they said they could not comment on their FUTURE plans, which in itself may give away the fact that this actually IS something that qualifies as a feature they have in their backlog. But maybe that's too much of a stretch and I'm getting my hopes up for nothing

Another question that occured to me while writing this - will installing a Polestar Optimization tune change this in any way? As in, will the default "Comfort" mode become the "Polestar" mode, or (rather unlikely) will a dedicated "Polestar" mode appear after the P* install?

Curious what others think about this. I've read a lot of intelligent discussions here on Volvo's product development strategy, AAOS development roadmap, "cost optimization" decisions for subsequent model revisions - all of which prompted me to share my 2 cents.

PS This turned out longer than expected - apologies for a lengthy read

 

[FusionRedXC60]

Volvo usually don't publish any info about what small change they plan to do, and at what time.
The most recent change they did is adding Car Play to AAOS, which was announced before in AAOS marketing but delayed for months.

 

[Endurunner]

Thanks. I agree, based on my relatively short experience with Volvo, they are rather conservative with sharing their plans publicly (and have mixed results following through on them, but that's another story). I followed the CarPlay update news as well, using it mainly as an indicator of how well new features will be added to AAOS. The fact that there is no word on drive modes yet bugs me a bit - I guess that if drive modes are not already there for MY22 and MY23 vehicles, then there are slim chances of Volvo ever allocating resources to implement what is in essence an ICE vehicle-only feature. I hope I'm wrong, though .

 

[AustinTX]

I had a similar request to Volvo for my 2019 V60 and the ability to switch to camera view when in "parking mode" - that could be a soft button on the parking assist screen and would have been really helpful.

Multiple emails, calls and requests to corporate ended up nowhere - I got canned responses or people on the phone who were reading scripts and gave canned answers.

I doubt you will get anywhere with your request ... Companies like Volvo are not set up for this type of customer specific support question - their supporty staff have barely more information than well informed ens users like members of this Forum.

 

[DFrantz]

I haven't driven one of the car cars with Polestar yet, so I can't really speak to it's changes. We don't normally order them for the lot since we can just add it on request. I still miss the old sport mode from a quick slide of the shifter. I only drive in sport mode so it's just become my shift pattern. The old mode wheel did feel clunky to me compared to the older shifter slide.

I suspect this will be more something the aftermarket at some point can handle. I look forward to a more open source world with automotive computers. I'd say Volvo is right that generally people don't use the drive modes, so most people aren't bothered by the loss. It hasn't been a sticking point for nearly all the folks I've talked to. It saves money and time to not remap a bunch of options for factory settings and reduces the development time of system updates a great deal too I'd imagine.

As others have said too, I'd love to see the left/right arrows on the left side of the steering wheel remapped for this... or at least the right arrow (you could bump the left arrow while steering depending on where you place your hands).

 

[Wayne T5]

Drive modes aren't coming back - sorry OP.

 

[FusionRedXC60]

I'd say Volvo is right that generally people don't use the drive modes, so most people aren't bothered by the loss.

Not bothered? Anyone driving a T8 or has air suspension could change driver mode multiple times every day.
Maybe it is marketing people that are shortsighted like this?

 

[DFrantz]

Not bothered? Anyone driving a T8 or has air suspension could change driver mode multiple times every day.
Maybe it is marketing people that are shortsighted like this?

We sell maybe 2-3 air suspension cars a year year... and up until this year, demand for T8s was pretty low (not that I don't agree on the T8 aspect)....

Most problems in the world I'm glad to blame on marketing people. =-P

 

[Pioneer4x4]

Not bothered? Anyone driving a T8 or has air suspension could change driver mode multiple times every day.
Maybe it is marketing people that are shortsighted like this?

I change driving mode every trip. Mainly switching to Pure from the start. But occasionally switching to Power. I typically do that to fire up the engine when coming to a red light, to prewarm-up the engine when I know I will be needing it soon. But sometimes, Power, just for fun as well. On a T8 what would really be nice is a physical button for "Hold" on the steering wheel more than any specific drive mode.

 

[FusionRedXC60]

They offer Polestar tune to make some money and they axed the mode switcher.
Maybe these are decisions from two marketing groups?

Next year they will offer a mode switcher accessory for $$$$?. Oh yeh, this must be the plan.

 

[frank20]

They offer Polestar tune to make some money and they axed the mode switcher.
Maybe these are decisions from two marketing groups?

Next year they will offer a mode switcher accessory for $$$$?. Oh yeh, this must be the plan.

Did they nix the drive modes across the entire lineup? I have a T8 XC90 ultimate with Air on order. Will I still be able to use drive modes to raise/lower the car?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Endurunner]

Thanks for all your comments; lots of valid points raised.

I doubt you will get anywhere with your request ... Companies like Volvo are not set up for this type of customer specific support question - their supporty staff have barely more information than well informed ens users like members of this Forum.

Yeah... Not that I had high hopes of Volvo doing anything based on my e-mail in the first place. I figured this was a simple yes/no question that maybe no one had bothered to ask before, so I tried my luck.

Not a dealbreaker, but still it's strange to see drive modes on much cheaper cars.

As others have said too, I'd love to see the left/right arrows on the left side of the steering wheel remapped for this... or at least the right arrow (you could bump the left arrow while steering depending on where you place your hands).

That's actually a good idea and a very sensible solution. Especially since the buttons do nothing now, which is another oddity. Changing between Pilot Assist, ACC and Speed Limiter with the arrow buttons on the fly was a nice feature. The least Volvo could do is give them some purpose related to controlling driver support systems.

Drive modes aren't coming back - sorry OP.

My gut feeling exactly... Didn't hurt to try though.

Next year they will offer a mode switcher accessory for $$$$?. Oh yeh, this must be the plan.

That could be funny if it wasn't for the fact that it actually sounds like a plausible next step judging by where the market is going Guess we have to focus on appreciating the tons of other great features our cars currently come with.

 

[Endurunner]

Did they nix the drive modes across the entire lineup? I have a T8 XC90 ultimate with Air on order. Will I still be able to use drive modes to raise/lower the car?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Not a T8 driver myself, but my understanding is that all PHEVs do come with drive modes to better manage the ICE/electric powertrain elements.

 

[Sven787]

Not a T8 driver myself, but my understanding is that all PHEVs do come with drive modes to better manage the ICE/electric powertrain elements.

I believe you do lose the "individual" mode though, which would allow a quick custom setting to pair the low/power air suspension setting with pure, hybrid, or power engine response settings for example. I think you get engine/powertrain options, steering feel options, and an air suspension on/off option which I still don't quite understand.

 

[kadu]

Hi all. Some time passed by and I wonder if anyone decided to upgrade a MY2023 AAOS car with a Polestar tune? Volvo claims the tune is not only affecting the engine operation but also changes the throttle response and transmission/AWD operation.
How can we control it since there are no drive modes and no “sport” transmission mode? Does it mean that after the tune the car always have quicker throttle response and faster gear changes? Maybe the Polestar tune for MY2023 does not do anything more than a quick 20sec. overboost?

 

[Endurunner]

Hi all. Some time passed by and I wonder if anyone decided to upgrade a MY2023 AAOS car with a Polestar tune? Volvo claims the tune is not only affecting the engine operation but also changes the throttle response and transmission/AWD operation.
How can we control it since there are no drive modes and no “sport” transmission mode? Does it mean that after the tune the car always have quicker throttle response and faster gear changes? Maybe the Polestar tune for MY2023 does not do anything more than a quick 20sec. overboost?

I've had Polestar installed from day 1, so I guess I can speak to how it feels, although I don't have a before/after experience to use as a basis for a full-fledged comparison (I'd certainly be interested to see one, though).

When the default "Comfort" driving mode is engaged, the car surely is snappy, but overall I'd say it behaves similarly to what I'd experienced using "Comfort" mode in Sensus-equipped vehicles I had tested. It still promotes a calm, steady driving style while maximizing fuel efficiency.

As far as I know the consensus on this forum is that Polestar tune affects all driving modes, not only the P* mode, so I'd imagine AAOS mild hybrid cars without P* tune would lean toward the Sensus-era "Eco" driving mode when it comes to throttle response / gear shifts, but that's just my conjecture.

To you question - no other controls related to transmission/suspension are added after the tune is installed.

Having said that, I found the addition of a dedicated Polestar mode a real game changer. My car is still in the break-in period so I've been careful no to put too much stress on the engine and can't really comment on the 'overboost', but I can certainly say it's night and day compared to the default drive mode. Most importantly, there's virtually no delay when operating the accelerator pedal, so much that it made the experience akin to the 'instant torque' feeling of EVs.
In fact, I happened to drive an XC40 pure electric last week and, to me, a Polestar-tuned B5 feels very similar in terms of how zippy it is in the low-/mid-range.

The engine sound changes a bit too, as the car is trying to stay at the optimal (i.e. low) gear - a lgrowl that I could care less for, but which still is a nice touch to differentiate from the regular mode.

No material impact on fuel efficiency observed, but, again, I haven't really pushed it yet. I'm quite sure that mileage will take a hit simply because the P* mode affects my driving style, making hard accelerations so enjoyable 😅 .

 

[kadu]

Thanks for a detailed information and sharing your impressions. Please correct me if I'm wrong - as I understood, a MY2023 V60CC with a Polestar tune has a separate "Polestar mode"? So in this case there are two special modes: Polestar and Off Road? Seems like I will have to make an upgrade at local dealer after I get the car, since I have ordered it without a tune.

 

[Endurunner]

Thanks for a detailed information and sharing your impressions. Please correct me if I'm wrong - as I understood, a MY2023 V60CC with a Polestar tune has a separate "Polestar mode"? So in this case there are two special modes: Polestar and Off Road? Seems like I will have to make an upgrade at local dealer after I get the car, since I have ordered it without a tune.

That’s right - with the tune you get an additional drive mode in the „Driving” submenu. The layout of the menu changes too, so you no longer have an on/off toggle for the offroad mode - that is replaced by three tiles, one for each of the modes (comfort, offroad, polestar engineered).

Part of the reason why I found the tune appealing - it gives the car actual drive modes.

Hope you enjoy yours when you get it; P* was well worth it IMHO.