While many electric car manufacturers focus on eye-catching designs, the Polestar 2 hammers this home, with its rather minimalistic style, yet still retaining its attractive looks and sportiness. All of which, isn´t particularly noticeable at first glance, as the Swedes focus primarily on style and aesthetics.
Swedish elegance and sportiness
The technical know-how and visual similarities of the Polestar 2 come from parent company Volvo, which can also be seen in its design. On the outside, the Polestar is based on the classic sedan shape and is positioned in the mid-size class.
We tested the "Long Range Dual Motor" version which is equipped with a 78-kWh battery and has a range of 455 - 487 km (WLTP). We´ll touch on more of the technical aspects later.
Sustainable comfort: Polestar combines both vegan materials and smart features
The interior of the Polestar 2 is 100% vegan which makes it environmentally friendly. Take the seats, for example, made from what they call WeaveTech - a high-tech plastic, a material also used in diving suits. A thoroughly comfortable alternative and consciously designed with a focus on sustainability.
However, if you are more of a traditionalist and prefer to be hugged by real leather, it´s also available as an option.
Although the Polestar is actually a sedan, it boasts a generous amount of space and sufficient comfort in the interior. The boot can accommodate up to 405 litres of storage space, plus a so-called frunk (front trunk), which holds an additional 35 litres. This is perfect for stowing, what would otherwise be, loose charging cables taking up unnecessary space. A panoramic glass roof and a Harman/Kardon sound system, comes as standard, providing additional well-being. The sporty look of the interior is further enhanced by yellow seat belts in so-called "Swedish Gold".
The infotainment system can be accessed via a large touchscreen above the centre console which is quite simple to operate, very much like your tablet/smartphone. The Android operating system offers access to various familiar functions such as Google Maps and Google Assistant. For example, destinations can be entered by voice control and in addition, apps that can be downloaded directly from the Google Play Store, while on the move.
The only small snag is that the Polestar 2 doesn´t have a head-up display, and none is planned at this time.
Sporty handling and powerful all-wheel drive
Thanks to a powerful all-wheel drive, equipped with the Performance Package, the Polestar 2 sprints from 0-100 km/h in an impressive 4.4 seconds. The 650 Nm of torque are clearly noticeable at the press of the pedal, but thanks to the exceptionally well-tuned ESP, safety is guaranteed. With a maximum output of 476 hp or 300 kW, the Polestar 2 is clearly one of the sportier electric cars in its class. The taut suspension does reduce the driving comfort a little. But it offers all the better driving stability and handles the road well, with precise steering making it easy to control.
Here you notice that the roots of the Polestar brand actually lie in racing, but more about that later. Equipped with the optional Performance Package, the Polestar 2 even comes with Brembo brakes and Öhlins dampers. (well-known in the racing industry)
The 78-kWh battery allows a range of up to 487 km, although the average consumption of 20.9 kWh/100 km is slightly higher compared to its competitors.
Charging the battery from 0 - 80 %, only takes the Polestar about 30 minutes, thanks to a maximum charging power of up to 155 kW.
When we take all of this into account and a base price of just under CHF 54´000, this makes for a competitive purchase, or you could upgrade to CHF 70´000 for the additional extras we mentioned in our test car.
Completely climate-neutral by 2035
As previously mentioned, the roots of the Polestar brand actually come from racing, as they were mainly responsible for Volvo's in-house tuning years before.
The Polestar 2 owes its technical knowledge and design to the parent brand Volvo, but production takes place in China. As the brand's first fully electric model, the sporty four-door car represents an important milestone. However, Polestar itself has already announced another model, which will be launched at the end of 2023 and is intended to dominate the SUV market.
Final thoughts:
The Polestar 2 presents itself as sporty with a discreet yet attractive design. The interior has a modern feel and easy to operate controls, plus the vegan interior trim makes the Polestar even more environmentally friendly. Powerful all-wheel drive and precise handling ensure plenty of fun behind the wheel even on winding roads.
The Polestar proves to be an extremely safe vehicle, thanks to a multitude of standard safety features. All of this makes for suitable everyday use, with an extra spice of fun.
22.03.2023
Author: Levin Salzmann, Martin Edwards
Pictures: EcarGenius Team
Comments