Polestar 2 gunning for big name EV brands

By Jack McKeown

November 9 2022, 5:00 pm

The Polestar 2 is a handsome and practical electric car that has a strong range and is easy to drive.

A rival to the Tesla Model 3, the Polestar 2 costs from around £43,000 and has a range of up to 340 miles.

Although a company in its own right, Polestar is owned by Volvo and shares some of the same parts. It also benefits from Volvo’s peerless safety technology, making it one of the best electric cars to have a crash in.

It’s a handsome car with a satisfying chunky appearance that’s nicely understated.

Proof that EVs can last the distance

I’m fortunate enough to have enjoyed a lot of time in the Polestar 2. Last year my partner and I drove 750 miles in one as part of the Electric Vehicle Rally of Scotland (EVROS) to coincide with COP26 in Glasgow.

Over the course of three days we headed up the northwest coast, around the top of Scotland, down the east coast to Dundee and over to Glasgow. Apart from one of Ullapool’s two sets of chargers being broken we had no issues topping off the battery.

That proved electric cars can be used for long journeys, provided they have a decent range. But what would it be like to live with one day-to-day?

I’ve just spent a week doing exactly that with the Polestar 2.

A true jack-of-all-trades

Entry level Standard Range Single Motor models have a 69kWh battery coupled to a 228bhp electric motor producing 228bhp. These front-wheel drive models will do 0-62mph in a brisk 7.0 seconds and have a 297 mile range.

For around £46,000 you can go for the Long Range Single Motor with a 78kWh battery and a range of up to 341 miles. Finally, there’s the top spec Long Range Dual Motor version.

This has electric motors to the front and rear, giving it four-wheel drive and a 301 mile range. It also has 400bhp and a 0-62mph time of just 4.6 seconds.

Motorway driving made comfortable

My car was the Long Range Single Motor version. It may not have the warp speed of the Dual Motor version but its 7.0 second 0-62mph time felt more than pacey enough.

The Polestar 2 is a real Jack of all trades. It will sit nicely on the motorway for hours at a time. It’s nimble enough around town. And it handles very well indeed considering it weighs 2.1 tonnes.

A slightly twitchy ride is the only small fly in the ointment, but that’s a common issue with electric cars, which weigh much more than their ICE counterparts.

Inside, the cabin has clean lines and an uncluttered layout. Tall adults will be as comfortable in the rear as they are in the front thanks to plentiful legroom.

The boot is a hatchback, making the Polestar 2 more practical than the Tesla Model 3, which has a saloon opening.

It even understands postcodes uttered in a Scottish accent, as long as you speak relatively clearly

Boot space is a decent 446 litres, or 1,095 with the rear seats folded. There’s also a small front boot that’s perfect for stashing the charge cables.

Virtually all systems are operated via a large portrait-oriented central touchscreen. I’m old fashioned and like buttons but this is one of the easier touchscreens to use.

A superb voice control system

Instead of designing its own user interface system Polestar bought a licence from Google. This means the car has one of the best voice controlled systems in the world.

Two of my days with the car were spent travelling around a number of locations in Scotland as one of the judges for the Dundee Institute of Architects Awards.

For each destination I simply said: “Hey Google, take us to Loch Tummel” or another location, and each time it did so flawlessly. It even understands postcodes uttered in a Scottish accent, as long as you speak relatively clearly.

Scandinavian style speaks volumes

The Polestar 2’s range was up to the job as well. Our first day took us from the east coast to Loch Tummel then back again.

After more than 14 hours on the road and around 220 miles covered the battery was at 10% with another 40 miles left in it. It takes eight hours to charge on a home wall box or 32 minutes on a 150kW charger.

I thoroughly enjoyed the Polestar 2. It’s comfortable, practical, high tech and has a good range. And it comes with a nice big dollop of Scandinavian style.