2022 Polestar 2

Polestar, the EV-focused brand from the people behind Volvo, is finally in Australia! And the Polestar 2 clearly has the Tesla Model 3 in its sights. So, let’s find out why the Polestar 2 may be the perfect car for you.

Overview

Variants:

Polestar 2 Standard Range Single Motor, Polestar 2 Long Range Single Motor and Polestar 2 Long Range Dual Motor

Range:

SRSM 440km, LRSM 540km and LRDM 480km.

Charging time and ports:

SRSM 7h15m on wallbox (7.7kW), 5h on three-phase (11kW), 1h5m on public (50kW). LRSM 8h4m on wallbox (7.7kW), 5h40m on three-phase (11kW), 1h15m on public (50kW). LRDM 8h5m on wallbox (7.7kW) 5h40m on three-phase (11kW), 1h15m on public (50kW). The cars come with Type 2 charge ports and CSS fastcharge ports.

Battery:

SRSM 69kWh, LRSM 78kWh and LRDM 78kWh

Power:  

SRSM 165kW, LRSM 170kW and LRDM 300kW

Efficiency (Vehicle consumption):

SRSM 17.9kWh/100km, LRSM 17.1kWh/100km and LRDM 19.4kWh/100km.

Acceleration:

SRSM 0-100km/h in 7.4s, LRSM 0-100km/h in 7.4s and LRDM 0-100km/h in 4.7s

Top Speed:  

SRSM 160km/h, LRSM 160 km/h and LRDM 205 km/h

Torque:

SRSM 350 Nm, LRSM 350 Nm and LRDM 660Nm

Weight:

SRSM 1940kg, LRSM 1994kg and LRDM 2113kg

Dimensions:

L 4606mm, W 1859mm, H 1482mm

Design & look

Tesla’s Model 3 had better watch out with the Polestar 2 gunning for its position as the favourite luxe sedan EV on the market. Polestar 2 offers a premium look and feel with long-range battery options while also competitively priced. Polestar is the EV spin-off of Volvo and is jointly owned by Geely, meaning it can utilise Volvo’s design and use Geely’s manufacturing in China, where the EV market is much more developed. So, they’re designed in Sweden and built in China.

The Polestar 2 will look familiar to Volvo fans thanks to its headlights, steering wheel and digital dash cluster. It’s also a sleek, modern car without being outlandish and strange. Polestar has also promised that while it borrows from its Swedish parent company’s design, it will move further away from its roots and change things up in the future. No doubt big things are coming from Polestar.

The Polestar 2’s three models offer you the choice between two-wheel drive and all-wheel drive, with the Standard Range Single Motor and Long Range Single Motor offering front-wheel drive, while the Long Range Dual Motor provides more power and all-wheel drive.

While the Polestar 2 is a sedan, it offers a slightly higher driver height, which is a little different for drivers, but in a good way. The Polestar 2’s drive is balanced, comfortable and fun, making it enjoyable for drivers. The Tesla Model 3, in comparison, is a stiffer ride. While the Polestar 2 is still ridiculously fast, if speed is your thing, the Tesla Model 3 Performance is that bit faster than the Polestar 2 Long Range Dual Motor. Again, though, in all honestly, the Polestar 2 is just fine here.

Noise-wise, things start to pick up when you’re on the highway with a bit more tyre and wind noise, so it may be more closely compared to a combustion vehicle here.

The boot offers 405L with the seats up and 1095L with the seats down. The ‘frunk’ at the front of the car provides 35L of extra space, perfect for your charging cables.

Features and interior

While the car borrows from Volvo’s design on the outside, it makes a more minimalist, Scandinavian statement on the inside. Polestar has also promised to stick with recycled and sustainable materials, so you’ll find much of the interior is vegan and made from all kinds of recycled stuff, like plastic bottles.

You’ll also be pleasantly surprised when sitting in the car at how different it feels from a Volvo or a Tesla Model 3.

The Polestar 2 features a digital dash, and its large portrait infotainment screening is much more user-friendly than its Tesla rivals, with large buttons that are much less distracting.

There’s no Apple CarPlay connectivity, so you’ll be stuck using your phone through Bluetooth only. However, Polestar has promised Apple CarPlay is coming in an update to its operating system. You will, however, get wireless charging, which is always good. The screen uses an Android-based system designed for cars rather than linking your phone to the screen. The Google Maps sat-nav is excellent, and you can also use apps such as Spotify.

Backseat passengers will enjoy decent legroom and headroom as well as heated seats, air conditioning and a power outlet, perfect for those long road trips with the kids! However, the middle passenger will have reduced leg space due to the centre console, so you’ll get four adults comfortably, but that fifth passenger might not be all that comfy.

Performance

As mentioned above, the Polestar 2 is still ridiculously fast, just not as fast as a Tesla 3 with the Polestar 2 Long Range Dual Motor able to go from 0-100km/h in 4.7 seconds, with the base model a little under three seconds slower at 7.4s.

In terms of range, you’re getting the most from the middle model, the Polestar 2 Long Range Single Motor, which gets you 540km. The Polestar 2 Standard Range Single Motor gets you 440km, and the Long Range Dual Motor reaches 480km. So, you could comfortably make it from Canberra to Sydney, for example, on a single charge.

The car’s consumption figures are slightly higher than some rivals, including the Tesla Model 3, but not by too much.

The Polestar 2 uses a European Type 2 CSS charging port, the most popular port in Australia, and on DC, it can charge at a maximum rate of 155kW on the Long Range versions and 130kW on the Standard Range, this can get the car from 10-80% charge in just 35 minutes. If you’re at a supermarket or carpark charger, the car can charge at a maximum rate of 11kW an hour, giving you a full charge in about 7 to 8 hours. So, you can still get a decent charge while getting your shopping done.

Safety, warranty and technology

Unlike Volvo, Polestar hasn’t included all safety features as standard, and you will have to spend a little bit more to get those extra features.

The things you will get as standard are freeway-speed auto emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection, lane keep assist with lane departure warning, traffic sign recognition and driver attention alert.

But for the $5000 Pilot Pack, you will also get blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, rear auto braking, a 360-degree reverse camera and adaptive cruise control.

You’ll also have enhanced structural protection for the battery pack, seven airbags, dual ISOFIX mounts, and the car has also received a 5-star ANCAP safety rating.

Like Volvo, Polestar also offers a five year, unlimited-kilometre warranty with the battery also covered by an eight-year and 160,000km warranty.

When it comes to servicing, you won’t need to go very often, with the intervals at 24 months or 30,0000km, whichever comes first. A servicing plan will also cover you for the first five years or 100,000kms.

Summary

There’s a reason the Polestar 2 is often closely compared with Tesla’s Model 3. However, with competitive pricing, the Polestar 2 could be the winner here, with its top Long Range Dual Motor coming in cheaper than the Tesla Model 3 Performance.

Having the backing of Volvo also means Polestar cars are safe and reliable, making them the perfect family option. There really is very little to say when it comes to the negatives of this car – our advice would be to make sure you add it to your list of test drives!

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