Polestar 2 Electric Car Review
Colour me surprised as the Polestar 2 is dropped off at my garage. It is actually a good-looking animal. A solid, relatively low SUV come hatchback with sharp, carved haunches. It has a certain presence.
We toured around Surrey to fully appreciate its capabilities, taking in a very fine Gastro pub along the way, the Victoria Oxshott.
Polestar 2 comes in various flavours, there’s the 69 kWh single front motor with 228 bhp and a range of 295 miles, the 78 kWh single motor with 228 bhp that does 335 miles and then the 400 bhp dual motor over the front and rear axle. Add the performance pack and you can bump this up to 350 kW and 469 bhp, zooming from 0-62 mph in 4.4 seconds, plus gold Brembo brakes. Top speed is 127 mph, while energy consumption is 274 Wh/Mile.
Polestar also offers a Plus Pack which gives you a full-length panoramic roof, tinted, laminated rear window, high-level interior illumination, 4-way lumbar seat support, vegan weave upholstery on the doors seats and dash, heated front and rear seats and steering wheel, an air quality app that filters out pollution and pollen, Harman Kardon premium sound system plus wireless mobile charging shelf.
The standard single motor gives you 0-62 mph in 7.4 seconds, but that belies the torque you have at your disposal. Torque is linearly available and ready to surge forward and change lanes with gay abandon.
As mentioned the Polestar 2 is attractive, with a touch of muscle car influence. Not a head turner, but a sensible design with excellent build quality. The front grill on this four-door presents an interesting array of 3-dimensional rectangles and the side lights have their own Lego-like character. The rear lights join together for a Knight Rider talking car kind of vibe. I particularly like the frameless wing mirrors, with their clean hi-tech ergonomic design and the rain just slides off the glass.
Along with some other manufacturers, no attention has been spent on the key fob, it is the ugliest thing I’ve ever seen. A representation of the brand that people carry everywhere. Make it beautiful. I still miss the “Superman” style crystal key from the Aston Martin DB9.
Interior-wise, well, yes it’s all plastic, but they have made clever use of the textured vegan weave and contrasting grey/black diamond patterns so it’s akin to slipping into a finely tailored Savile Row suit. The swooping lines, sculpted centre column and faceted surfaces create a pleasant iand welcoming cabin.
Simplicity with purpose, not just for the sake of it. The internal layout is excellent, you get the usual info touch screen and a driver’s console so you can concentrate on the road. There’s more thought here than in the Teslas. The 11.2-inch infotainment screen uses Android Automotive OS which works flawlessly with my iPhone and uses Google Maps to plan your journey via all the charging points along the way if needed. You control pretty much everything from the screen, which is one of the easiest to use. Google voice control and all the usual Google apps are available.
There’s decent room to sit in the back, even for tall Scandinavians and the 405 litres of boot space is plenty spacious enough. Sensibly the recharge cables are housed in the frunk.
Jump in with keyless entry and the car is ready, no on-off start button, just push the natty gear lever forward for reverse and back for forward… and you’re off. The parking brake is automatic too. It makes the whole driving experience so stress-free. Just get in and drive, no push this, pull that, then release this. You soon get quite annoyed at other cars asking you to do anything. We are going to end up like the passengers on board the spaceship in WALL-E. Jokes aside, it makes the ride a breeze.
Brake regeneration can be set to suit your tastes, on full it delivers flawless one-pedal driving with quite aggressive regenerative braking. Smoothly tuned so the car rolls to a natural lurch-free stop every time. The road grip is good, though there is some roll, but nothing you’d notice short of tearing around a track.
Weirdly enough it boasts an excellent turning circle which can be performed at quite high speeds as the steering is smoothly confident, though not sporty.
There is a tiny discernible whine to the electric motor, like a jet off the horizon, which is charming and adds even more character to a car that is pleasant to drive and spend time in. And the indicator sounds like the pitter patter of rain on glass, quirky, very quirky.
Recharging on the standard range model from a 115 kW charger, its maximum, will give you 10%-80% in 35 minutes, while the Long Range will take 130 kW and charge 10-80% in 30 minutes. It will charge at home overnight in 11 to 12 hours with a 7 kW charger.
Polestar recently launched on Nasdaq so the future looks rosy. The combination of driver-focused engineering, solid build and Swedish interior design makes this a serious contender for your first electric car. The Polestar 2 is great value, endearing, chic, inherently comfortable to drive and a pleasure to tour in.
OTR starts at £43,150
https://www.polestar.com/uk/polestar-2/
