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Polestar 2 review

3 years ago

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Writer:

Dan Prosser | Ti co-founder

Date:

11 August 2021

I rather liked the last Polestar 2 I drove, but it had more than 400bhp, fancy Öhlins dampers and a price tag the far side of £50,000, so perhaps that’s no surprise. But what of this most basic Polestar 2, which has only 221bhp, no trick suspension and an asking price the right side of 40 grand?

Its single electric motor drives the front axle and it has a smaller battery than the dual motor model, giving a WLTP range of 273 miles.

If I’m being super critical I think there’s something odd about the car’s not-quite-a-hatch, not-quite-a-three-box-saloon silhouette, but that aside I love the way the Polestar looks. I also adore the interior with its high-grade materials, the attention to detail that’s evident throughout and the superb Google-based infotainment system. I would gladly while away a long commute in this cabin, feeling as relaxed as I would in my living room. 

Without the adjustable Öhlins, which bring abundant body control but also a tense ride, the Polestar 2 is very comfortable indeed. I assumed pillowy cornering behaviour would be the trade-off for that smooth ride, but despite its hefty mass the car is composed and well-controlled in bends with strong grip and decent agility. It’s unusual to drive a front-driven car with near [50:50] weight distribution and you do feel that balance in corners. 

Performance is sprightly but nothing like as potent as that of the range topping model, which is to be expected. However, anyone stepping out of a mid-range Golf, for instance, will find even this Polestar 2 surprisingly swift below 50mph and not too tardy above it. A real-world range of little more than 200 miles won’t work for all and £39,900 isn’t buttons for a car this size, but those two points aside I found the cheapest Polestar 2 hard to fault. 

Polestar 2 
Powertrain: Single motor, 64kWh battery
Transmission: Single-speed auto, FWD
Power: 221bhp
Torque: 243lb ft
Range: 273 miles
Weight: 1940kg
Power-to-weight: 114bhp/tonne
0-62mph: 7.4 seconds
Top speed: 99mph
Price: £39,900
Ti rating 8/10
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