In many ways, it’s hard to believe that the Polestar 2 arrived on sale in 2020. Effectively the first mainstream model of an entirely new brand (discounting the limited edition 1, the 2 married the familiar umbrella of the Volvo brand with a element of understated scandi-cool and elegance that immediately dated the premium German brands.
Things have moved on since then of course, they’ve been forced to, but so has Polestar. We’ve now got the 3 and 4 on sale in its retail ‘spaces’ and there’s the 5 on its way and yet the 2 continues to be popular, especially so among fleet and business buyers – where an incredible 80% of them are sold.
Two versions are available, a standard range car with a 70kWh battery and this long-range model with an 82kWh battery. So despite its age, how does the 2 hold up?
POLESTAR 2 – DESIGN
If there’s one area where the Polestar 2 has a few age lines, it’s here with its design.
The good news is that it has almost remained timeless, but the three box design with a defined bonnet, cabin and boot (despite actually being a hatchback) had a classical look when it arrived. At a time when many modern EVs are favouring anonymous blobs, the 2 does at least stand out. In fact, it’s not entirely hard to see where Ford’s designers got the side profile of the new Capri…
Yes it possibly could do with a proper update (beyond the mild facelift that it has gone through) and that shows with the likes of the stick-out door handles and the frustrating lack of a rear wiper (more on which later), but overall it remains a clean design, even alongside the sleeker 3 and 4.
POLESTAR 2 – POWER AND RANGE
This long-range, single motor version of the Polestar 2 gets an 82kWh battery driving the rear wheels. That’s enough to get it from 0 to 60mph in just 5.9 seconds with a 127mph top speed, with a claimed 379 mile range and a 3.63mls/kWh average efficiency. In the real world, we saw a maximum of 330 miles (still plenty enough) and a 3.4ml/kWh average without even trying.
POLESTAR 2 – ON THE ROAD
Not much has changed about the way the Polestar 2 drives since it was originally introduced and, by and large, that’s fine by us.
The 2’s steering is sharp and direct, there’s little body roll and while there could be some more feedback through the steering wheel, when you’re in the mood for a spirited drive the Polestar delivers belying its size and not-insignificant two tonne kerb weight.
While the ride quality is good though possibly slightly on the over-firm side on rougher roads (even on the 19in wheels of our test car), the main drawback though is one of sound-insulation. Things are highlighted in an EV, obviously with the lack of combustion engine up front, but there’s more road and suspension noise coming into the cabin – especially from the rear wheels – than is ideal in what is a car with a premium badge. A little more sound-deadening material wouldn’t go amiss.
That’s a shame as we love the ability to tailor the Polestar 2’s other driving characteristics to your personal preferences. The weight of the steering can be adjusted between light, standard and firm, the regenerative braking has a choice of three settings – off, low or standard (which sounds like not enough choice, but standard was aggressive enough for us) and you can even choose whether you want it to creep in Drive like a standard automatic or not.
Of course, the reality is that you set it to your own preferences and then rarely visit those menus again, but if you’re sharing the car between yourself and your partner, it’s a welcome way to tailor the car to yourself.
POLESTAR 2 – INTERIOR
Very little of the Polestar 2’s interior has changed from its original launch, but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t been untouched. For starters, the main portrait touchscreen in the centre of the dash has a new processor and it’s better than ever and easier to operate too.
Yes, Apple Carplay and Android Auto has to be hard-wire connected via the USB rather than via Bluetooth, but it proved very reliable working every time and for us that was a small price to pay.
There’s also a new optional Bowers and Wilkins 14 speaker system with a cute cone-shaped Tweeter on top of the dash, which is a superb addition. If you’re remotely into your music and, more importantly how it sounds, it’s well worth the cost.
Perhaps what’s more important though is that the Polestar’s infotainment system just works. As ridiculous as that sounds, the menus are intuitive, there’s no unnecessary fussiness and even the design and how it looks is clean and functional. Better yet, there’s even a search function for the digital manual, meaning you don’t have to go searching through numerous indexes for whatever you need.]
Allied to that are comfortable seats, a decent amount of head and legroom in the back and a boot that at 405 litres (1097 with the seats folded) which is good but could be a little larger. There is however a good box for cables under the bonnet
Downsides? Well the reversing camera is mounted low down just above the rear number plate and gets dirty easily, not great when reversing. And talking of reversing, the same goes for the lack of a rear wiper – a constant annoyance for us in many EVs. In the grubby months of winter, it’s a pain to constantly keep the rear windscreen and camera remotely clean.
SUMMARY
It would be easy to dismiss the Polestar 2 for its age compared to some of the latest generation of EVs, the reality is though that it remains just as relevant as ever.
Sometimes, car manufacturers can produce a car that feels inherently right straight out of the box – and the Polestar 2 is just that car. The things that made it such a good car when it first arrived remain and, arguably, are now even better with larger batter choices and further range. Put simply, class never gets old.
FACT BOX
Model: Polestar 2 82kWh
Price: from £49,160
Power: Battery – 82kWh
Range: Up to 379miles
Average efficiency: 3.63mls/kWh
Average charge time on a domestic wallbox: 9hrs
CO2 emissions: 0g/km
Rating: 9/10