Polestar 2 Review & Prices

The Polestar 2 may be the Swedish brand’s smallest car, but it has the road presence of a much larger set of wheels thanks to its seriously sleek styling. Combined with its impressive electric range and posh cabin, the Polestar 2 is a highly desirable bit of kit - though the back seats are cramped and it could do with some softer suspension.

It’s a bit like a Bang & Olufsen sound system, then. It looks great with clean, minimalist design and it’s definitely posh - but it’s still not as convenient or easy to live with as a setup from a more popular brand.

The Polestar’s arch nemesis comes in the form of the Tesla Model 3, which is even more minimalistic (but far less cool). The BMW i4 and upcoming i3, Hyundai Ioniq 6 and BYD Seal are all options to consider, too, as is the Mercedes CLA Electric.

Though none are quite as easy on the eye as the Polestar. It’s a bit of a hodgepodge with massive wheels, SUV-esque ground clearance, a hatchback boot and a saloon body shape, but its sharp lines and pretty lights make the Polestar 2 a properly handsome piece of kit.

Polestar 2: electric range, battery and charging data

Range: 322-406 miles
Efficiency: 3.6-4.2 miles per kWh
Battery size: 67kWh / 79kWh
Max charge speed: 135kW / 205kW
Charge time AC: 7hrs, 0-100% at 11kW / 8hrs, 0-100% at 11kW
Charge time DC: 34 mins, 10-80% at 135kW / 28 mins, 10-80% at 205kW
Charge port location: Left rear
Power outputs: 268hp / 295hp / 416hp / 469hp

It’s just as pleasant to look at inside, too, with a minimalist cabin that’s certainly more interesting than the boring, clinical fare you get in a Tesla. The 11.2-inch touchscreen features crisp graphics and the driver display is easy to read, but the Polestar 2 is starting to feel its age a little compared to the newer Polestar 3, 4 and 5.

You can feel it most in the ergonomic quirks. The single cup holder is irritatingly placed by the armrest, the small cubbies on either side of the centre console aren’t useful for much, you’ll be butting elbows with your passenger unless they sit with their hands on their knees and the handle-less door pulls are just…weird.

It isn’t very spacious in the back, either. Legroom is tight, and you don’t need to be very tall to feel your head butting up against the roof. The 405-litre boot is also massively down on the capacity of a BMW i4 and Tesla Model 3, though the Polestar’s 41-litre front boot is handy for charging cable storage.

Range varies from 344 miles in the entry-level model to 409 miles in the Long range Single motor. Dual motor and Performance models split the difference, and we saw about 83% of the Single motor’s claimed figure in real world testing.

Around town the Polestar 2 is a mixed bag. The steering is very light and the high seating position affords good forward visibility, but the wheel itself is massive and feels like it takes ages to go from lock to lock. It’s not very comfortable, either, shaking you about on bad roads.

It’s more comfortable on the motorway, settling down at higher speeds, but the Polestar fares best on a twisty road. The stiff suspension makes for little body lean, while the sharp brakes fill you with confidence when scrubbing off speed.

Verdict

The Polestar 2 is a capable car, but it’s getting hard to recommend over the newer alternatives. A Tesla Model 3 is far more spacious, a BMW i4 is better to drive and a Mercedes CLA Electric offers more range - but the Polestar is still the most stylish of the lot.

Check out the latest Polestar 2 deals here on Carwow. We’ve got Polestar 2 lease deals too, or you can browse used Polestar 2s available through our trusted network of dealers. Other used Polestars are available if the 2 isn’t quite big enough for your needs, and you can sell your current car through Carwow when the time comes.

The Polestar 2 is either too expensive or a bit of a bargain, depending on which direction you look. Compared to a Tesla Model 3, it’s around £4,000 pricier at the basic level, but the Polestar does offer a bit more range at that price, and better overall quality too.

The Polestar is much more affordable than a BMW i4 — by almost £10,000 in its cheapest form — and has much better real-world range too. A Hyundai Ioniq 6 beats the Polestar for real-world range, and is much roomier inside, and is about the same price as the long-range version of the Polestar. A Volkswagen ID.7 is considerably pricier than the Polestar, but offers much more range in its basic form, and way more space in the boot and the cabin. 

Being a more performance-oriented family car the Polestar 2 is excellent to drive, but it feels a bit too firm where it ought to be comfortable

In town

The Polestar 2 is very configurable with plenty of driver settings; the main ones you’ll end up fiddling with are the steering weight and brake regeneration. Putting the car in its lightest steering setting and most aggressive regenerative modes makes the Polestar 2 excellent on urban roads; for minimal effort one pedal driving with easy manoeuvrability from the steering.

You can also choose whether the car continues to creep forward or not when you’re at slower speeds depending on your preference. An 11.5m turning circle across all versions of the Polestar 2 means that you can make tighter turns in car parks or narrow streets than in most cars of this size.

The visibility out of the rear window is a little poor, so it’s a good thing Polestar includes 360-degree cameras as standard across the line-up to help with that. The frameless side mirrors also look excellent while providing a good view behind you.

The hit-or-miss point to the Polestar 2 is its comfort around town. Although it certainly isn’t uncomfortable, the suspension is on the firmer side and although shallower bumps are rounded off nicely, you may find sharp dips and potholes can send a loud shudder through the cabin which shows up more at slower speeds.

On the motorway

Out on the open road you’ll find the Polestar 2 to be a capable long-distance vehicle. The 2023 update brought with it adaptive cruise control as standard, and the once-optional Pilot Pack is also now standard, and includes a lane-keeping aid and blind-spot monitoring.

Getting up to speed in the Single Motor versions is easy, with the instant torque giving plenty of kick, but it’s the Dual-Motor versions that have real pin-you-in-your-seat levels of acceleration.

There’s some tyre roar from the 19-inch wheels (20-inch alloys are an option) as well as some wind flutter from the wing mirrors at cruising speeds, but it won’t drive you bonkers.

Changing the drive settings so the car will coast helps with motorway efficiency too, as although there aren’t different drive modes per se, disabling brake regeneration will make the most of your momentum and reduce battery usage. It’s a bit fiddly to have to go through each driving mode option and change it, though — a one-touch system for pre-set ‘Eco’ and ‘Sport’ modes would be much handier.

On a twisty road

By altering the steering weight to ‘Performance’ and putting the regenerative braking in the middle setting, the electric-powered 2 weirdly feels like a combustion engined sports car.

With some slight regeneration in lieu of engine braking you’re able to lift off the accelerator, feel some resistance and then steer through the corner without unsettling the car. It’s quite surreal (and nerdy) but it really works.

With the weighty steering setup the Polestar feels agile, and you don’t feel like you’re leaning over in faster corners. The Polestar 2 is certainly one of the better EVs to drive, especially in the mental dual-motor Performance version, though it’s still not as fun as its petrol-powered alternatives such as the BMW 3 Series.

Tall people may find the rear seats a bit of a squeeze, but the Polestar 2 is otherwise very practical

There’s plenty of adjustment in the front seats and steering column to find a comfortable driving position, while – even with the now-standard panoramic sunroof in place – you have plenty of headroom. Having the sunroof as standard also helps make the cabin feel brighter, especially with a dark interior choice.

You get two cupholders in the rather narrow centre console – one’s hidden under the armrest – while you also get a wireless charging pad as standard under the large portrait touchscreen. The door bins are large enough for a bottle and other odds and sods, and as they’re felt lined things won’t rattle about. The glovebox is a decent size, and you can even fit a child seat to the front passenger seat thanks to standard-fit ISOFIX points in addition to the two in the back.

Space in the back seats

Compared to some other EVs, the Polestar 2’s rear bench isn’t the most spacious for adults. If you’ve got a tall individual sitting up front, rear legroom is severely limited; people over six feet tall will be squeezed for headroom too – especially with the optional sunroof bulking up the headliner.

The rear bench itself is comfortable though, with especially good thigh support. The door bins are of a good size here as well, while you get two sets of ISOFIX points on the outer seats. The covers snap off, so make sure you don’t lose them, but the doors open wide enough for easy fitting of bulky child seats.

Boot space

The Polestar 2 has a 407-litre boot which is pretty square, while you get some nets and hooks as well. You also get a 41-litre space under the bonnet to store the charge cables.

Compared to its alternatives, the Polestar 2 is a little down on rear space. The Tesla Model 3 offers 425 litres, while the BMW i4 has 470 litres. Hyundai’s Ioniq 6 has 401 litres, so is a touch down on the Polestar 2, but it’s barely noticeable. The massive VW ID.7 has 532 litres, and more if you go for the optional estate model. Where the Polestar claws back space is under the bonnet, where the ‘froot’ (front-boot) can hold up to 41 litres, whereas the likes of BMW and VW don’t offer a storage space in the nose at all.

The rear seats fold down very easily and provide a usefully flat space with 1,054 litres up to the backs of the front seats. Weirdly though, if you want to through-load some skis for example, you need to open the hatch from the boot and not the rear seats.

The Google-based infotainment setup is simple to use, but the lack of physical buttons does make some things tricky to use when driving

The different materials and textures make for an interesting cabin. With the upgraded interior finish in a light shade of Nappa leather and ash wood it’s especially posh, but the quality of the finish is consistent on the other trim options – all of which come with a mostly black finish.

The simple Scandinavian styling is very easy on the eye, with the monolith-like portrait touchscreen being the literal centrepiece. It does have a rather thick bezel around the edge which looks a bit dated, but the system itself is a breeze to use.

Running a Google-based system, the 11.2-inch unit gets maps and a full app store as you would on an Android phone and in most cases, you won’t need to connect your smartphone because it’s so easy to use. The graphics can be a little dark, but Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are available as standard-fit alternatives.

The quality of materials throughout is excellent, with all the major touch-points being of a high quality. You will find some scratchy plastics low down, but the cheap surfaces themselves are few and far between. Nice touches include the skeletal gear selector and the Polestar compass logo projected onto the front of the glass roof at night.

There are limited accessory options to add to your 2. But you can choose to fit roof bars, rubber floor mats, a boot floor cover and an electronically deployable tow bar – with which you can tow up to 1,500kg on all versions.

The standard-fit ‘Plus pack’ means you get a Harmon Kardon sound system, fully electric seats, tinted glass, an uprated air quality system, a full-length panoramic roof and bag hooks on the adjustable boot floor, as well as recycled materials for the seat trim.

You get four motor and battery options, with a combination of single- or dual-motors and two battery packs available from the 2023 update.

The line-up kicks off with the Standard Range version that has a 70kWh battery pack and rear-mounted motor that develops 272hp and 490Nm of torque. This combination allows for up to 344 miles on a full charge and can charge at up to 180kW – meaning a 10-80% top-up at full speed takes around 26 minutes.

For the rest of the range, you get a 82kWh battery which can charge at up to 205kW on a DC charge point. That means a 10-80% charge takes 28 minutes. All versions can only charge at up to 11kW on an AC current, with a full charge taking seven hours for the smaller battery and eight hours for the larger pack, although that will be more like nine hours on a home charger for the small pack, and 11 hours for the bigger battery.

The Long Range model gets an uprated version of the rear motor with 299hp and 490Nm of torque. This offers the best range of 408 miles, and when we tested it (with some vigorous driving thrown in) we easily achieved over 300 miles on a full charge.

The Long Range Dual-Motor has 421hp, 740Nm and 370 miles of range, but it’s the Performance Pack for the Long Range Dual-Motor that really stands out. It ups the power output to 476hp with the same 740Nm of torque, but range is reduced slightly to 352 miles. With that though, you get the quickest 0-60mph time of 4.0 seconds.

You’ll pay £10 on your first year of Vehicle Excise Duty in a Polestar 2, increasing to £195 per year from the second year onwards, although all Polestar 2 models will also have to pay the extra £425 in VED motor tax for years two-to-six, because they all cost more than £40,000. However, company car drivers will be pleased to know you’ll be in the lowest Benefit in Kind tax band regardless of model and monthly BIK costs start from as little as £23 if you’re a 20% tax payer.

Polestar 2 Euro NCAP score (2021): 5/5

Adult occupant: 93%
Child occupant: 89%
Vulnerable road users: 80%
Safety assist: 83%

The Polestar 2 was awarded a maximum five-star rating by crash experts Euro NCAP in 2021, though it’s worth noting the test became stricter in 2022. Across all areas of the testing, the 2 scored 80% and upwards, showing an excellent level of safety.

As standard, all versions come with collision avoidance and mitigation with pedestrian and cyclist detection, forward collision warning, lane keep assist, driver alert assist and adaptive cruise control.

You also get blind spot assist and cross traffic alert, all-round airbags, three sets of ISOFIX points and an immobiliser on all models of the 2.

Polestar is too niche a brand to have featured on the most recent Driver Power reliability survey, but mechanically-similar Volvo came 14th out of the 30 brands featured. A middling result, but not too concerning either.

The Polestar 2 has had three recalls in the UK. The tin plating on part of the battery pack could cause a short circuit and high voltage connectors to the battery could disconnect while driving to stall the motors. A front suspension joint could come loose too, as well as a rear-facing camera failure, and a potential loss of braking performance in one-pedal mode, but all of the issues should have been resolved by visiting a Volvo dealership.

Each new Polestar 2 comes with three years or 30,000 miles worth of scheduled maintenance for free, whichever comes first, while all get three years/60,000 miles of warranty. You can extend that warranty out to six years for an extra cost.

The battery packs get an eight-year/100,000-mile warranty, and if the battery health drops below 70% in those first eight years, Polestar will replace it for free.