TORONTO, ONTARIO – Polestar has been making waves in the electric vehicle market, with two very real, well-engineered models available for sale. Underpinned by the Volvo Group’s “CMA” platform, the Polestar 2 is a five-door liftback available with front or all-wheel-drive, and is fully electric. This year marks a mid-cycle update for this model, and Polestar was gracious enough to invite us to sample a 2022 Polestar 2 Long Range for ourselves.
The model we sampled is the Long Range Single Motor variant, which means power is only sent to the front wheels. Output is 231 horsepower and 243 lb-ft. of torque, with a gear ratio of 10.51:1 through the permanent magnet AC motor. This is down from 408 horsepower and 487 lb-ft. in the Dual Motor model, which is also all-wheel-drive. It’s not blistering levels of fast, but the front-drive Polestar 2 is more than ample power for commuting, and the instant torque delivery makes it quite zippy around town.
It runs out of breath beyond typical highway speeds, and we also observed range depleting fairly quickly when going more than 100km/h, but the Polestar 2 is a very amicable road companion. Remember, if gobs of power is a requirement, the Dual Motor car is the way to go. The slightly raised sedan stance means suspension travel is plentiful, making for a soft, compliant ride over pothole-stricken city roads as well as maintaining composure on the highway. As expected from anything from the Volvo Group, it rides simply beautifully.
The 78-kWh battery can support up to 155-kW DC charging ,which means it can charge from 10 to 80 percent in just over a half hour. Using a standard 11-kW Level 2 charger, a full charge takes roughly eight hours. Range is estimated at 435 kilometers for the Long Range model tested here, which is more than the 400-km estimate for the Dual Motor. It’s more than enough, and the front-drive setup with a good set of winter tires is plenty capable for what most Canadians have to face.
An update to the 2022 model that is especially relevant to our climate is the addition of a mechanical heat pump, which comes as part of the Plus Pack. This uses residual heat from the drivetrain and also ambient heat to warm the vehicle’s components up and extend driving range by up to 10%. From our observation, operating electric vehicles in our harsh Canadian winters can result in serious range loss, so this is a must-have option for those in cold weather areas.
Inside, the Polestar 2 uses the minimalist design that we’ve grown to love, something the Swedes do very well. Materials are eco-friendly, fully vegan and Polestar claims the interior is 99% free of plasticizers. The WeaveTech fabric on the seats is comfortable to sit in and nice to look at, but it’s too early to tell how it will wear with age. The console and center stack make use of some piano black plastic, which is prone to dust and scratches – a matte setup would work much better here.
Safety features are centered around Polestar’s Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS). This suite can also be updated over the air, and houses City Safety with steering support, lane keep assist, collision avoidance, and cross-traffic alert. This system also uses real-time data acquired through the cloud, to ensure that it’s providing drivers with the most reliable information possible.
A large portrait-oriented touchscreen flanks the console area and houses the latest version of Android Automotive OS, which is Google-based and has a series of Google apps built in. Apple CarPlay is not available, though is rumoured to be very shortly. This system is fairly easy to use if you’re an Android user, and offers over-the-air updates for everything pertaining to the car.
Canadian Pricing starts at $49,900 for the Long Range Single Motor model, and $56,900 for the Dual Motor variant. A series of options are available including the Plus Pack, Pilot Pack, Performance Pack, Nappa Leather, and a 20-inch wheel package. At under $60,000 well equipped, the Polestar 2 is a bargain in the current EV ballpark. Polestar also includes three years of complimentary service and data, which is a necessity for the infotainment system to work optimally.
While plenty of other EV offerings are on the market right now, the elephant in the room is the Tesla Model 3, which is priced similarly and has aggressive lease offers at the time of this writing. The 2022 Polestar 2 Long Range has significantly better build quality, is backed by an actual company that doesn’t make false claims every fifteen minutes, and actually feels like a premium product. Your money goes a long way with a Polestar – it’s worth giving them a close look.