First Drive Review: Polestar 2
Friday, 3 December 2021
POLESTAR 2
Price range: $69,900 to $93,900
Powertrains: Synchronous permanent magnet motor and 69kWh lithium-ion battery with 170kW/330Nm, 16.7kWh/100km, 470km range, FWD (Standard Range), Synchronous permanent magnet motor and 78kWh lithium-ion battery with 170kW/330Nm, 17.1kWh/100km, 540km range, FWD (Long Range), Synchronous permanent magnet motor and 78kWh lithium-ion battery with 300kW/660Nm, 19.4kWh/100km, 480km range, AWD (Long Range dual motor).
Body style: Four-door fastback
On sale: Now
As Volvo and Geely’s all-electric performance brand love child, Polestar has been making the most of its dad’s wealth (privately-owned Geely sold more than 2.4 million cars globally last year) and the good looks inherited from its mum (Polestar’s boss was formerly the design head at Volvo) to make a rapid expansion around the globe. And now it is here, with the Polestar 2 landing with quite the splash.
Make me an instant expert: what do I need to know?
Polestar makes no secret of the fact that the Polestar 2 wouldn’t exist without the Tesla Model 3. In fact, the company insists it doesn’t see the Model 3 as a competitor, saying the two are, in fact, complementary, with the main aim being to simply get more electric cars on the roads.
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Marketing toss? Almost certainly, but clever marketing toss as it smartly pre-empts the inevitable hardcore Tesla fanboy bile by effectively saying “but Elon’s right!” before they can.
Regardless, the Polestar 2 is every bit a direct competitor for the Tesla Model 3, coming with single and dual motor variants, standard and long range batteries, and comparable pricing with New Zealand’s best-selling electric vehicle. Hell, it’s even more or less the same size, and both are built in China for our market too.
The Polestar 2 lands in New Zealand in three forms – Standard range single motor, Long range single motor, and Long range dual motor, with the two single motor variants slipping in under the $80k cutoff for the $8625 Clean Car rebate.
The Standard range single motor variant kicks off the range at $69,900 (including on-road costs and before the rebate) and comes with the smaller 69kWh battery pack and a range of up to 470km. Standard kit is healthy and includes 19-inch alloy wheels, a 12.3-inch digital driver display, a 15-inch touchscreen infotainment system powered by Android Automotive OS and online connectivity for three years, an electric tailgate, keyless entry, dual-zone climate control, heated, partially-electric front seats, LED headlights, tyre pressure monitoring, and a full safety assistance package that includes collision avoidance and mitigation, forward collision warning, lane keep assist, road sign recognition, driver alert monitoring, post-impact braking, as well as eight airbags.
The Long range single motor variant lands here at $78,900 and adds the larger 78kWh battery, as well as the ‘Pilot Pack’ (a $4000 option on the Standard range) that includes blind-spot monitoring, cross-traffic alert, rear collision warning and mitigation, a 360 degree surround camera, pixel LED headlights with adaptive high beam and active cornering, and adaptive cruise control with Volvo’s ‘Pilot Assist’ Level 2 semi-autonomous assist.
The Long range dual motor tops the range at $93,900 and also includes the Pilot pack as standard, as well as including the ‘Plus Pack’ (a $5500 option on both single motor models) that adds a heat pump, heated rear seats, a heated steering wheel and heated windscreen washer nozzles, ‘Weave Tech’ vegan upholstery, high-level interior illumination, a panoramic sunroof, fully-electric front seats, a wireless phone charger and rear privacy glass.
It also scores a second electric motor on the front axle, pumping its total output up to an impressive 300kW and 660Nm.
A $9000 ‘Performance Pack’ option is only available on the dual motor variant and adds 20-inch alloy wheels, 4-piston Brembo brakes with ventilated front discs, Ohlins dual flow valve manually-adjustable dampers and a matte gold finish for the brake callipers, valve caps and seat belts.
Where did you drive it?
It was a socially-distanced launch at Polestar’s temporary HQ in the basement of the Giltrap Group’s offices in Auckland, with an initial presentation where we were given the facts, asked a few questions and then were handed the keys and told to go wherever we wanted for the rest of the day.
So, of course, it was up to some of our favourite roads north of Auckland (you don’t need to know where…) for a few hours of fun.
The majority of our time was in a top-spec dual motor, complete with the Performance Pack option, making it the most expensive version of the Polestar 2, clocking in at $102,900. However, it is also the absolute pick for handling and performance.
While its 0 to 100kmh time of 4.7 seconds isn’t up there with a $97,700 (including ORCs) top-spec Model 3’s 3.3, it would literally run rings around the Tesla on a winding road (and the Tesla is very good indeed…), and is a delightfully sharp thing, with deeply impressive weight distribution for a car that tips the scales at 2113kg.
The steering is delightfully precise with a nicely communicative feel, while the pricey Brembo brakes are ruthlessly effective at pulling things up. They do lack feel, however.
Ride quality is firm, but impressively refined, and could be improved even further by softening up the manually-adjustable dampers. Yes, really – manually-adjustable – but unlike the similar system on a Polestar Engineered Volvo XC60 we drove a while back, these require jacking the car up to adjust.
How many owners will actually do that? Probably not many, but then if you are of a mind to drop an extra $9k on the performance pack, you probably are likely to have a play around until you find a setting you like. And then probably just leave it at that…
We then had a brief go in the long range single motor model that is predicted to be the biggest seller in the line up.
It has a far more predictably FWD feel and a more relaxed sprint to the legal speed limit of 7.4 seconds, but is also a beautifully composed and agile thing on New Zealand’s less than perfect roads.
Both packed similarly impressive high-quality interiors, with material and build quality that shades that “not a competitor” car in every single way. The sustainable surfaces in the Polestar are beautifully tactile, and the Google operating system is a true delight to use as well.
What’s the pick of the range?
It really does depend on what you want from your car. Strong performance and razor-sharp handling? That’ll be your dual motor with the optional Performance Pack then.
However, if you “merely” want a beautifully built, comfortable and classy car with more than adequate performance, then either of the single motor cars effortlessly ticks that box.
You have to keep in mind that adding any options to the long range version will drag you out of the Clean Car rebate zone, however.
Why would I buy it?
You want an EV that is different, but not needlessly weird and classy Nordic minimalism appeals to you. Or you feel that the Tesla Model 3 has become a victim of its success and is now a bit too common for your liking, and you want something truly different.
Or you just want a very cool car at a sharp price, that also happens to be electric.
Why wouldn’t I buy it?
It’s a little bit too similar to a Volvo for your tastes, or you like lots of cupholders – weirdly, the Polestar 2 only has one that is easily accessible and one that is hidden away.
Or you really just want a Model 3. Which a lot of people do, and that is apparently just fine by Polestar.