Polestar 2

The Polestar 2 is a sleek, high performance, all-electric hatchback, disguised as a saloon

Overview

The Polestar 2 is the first all-electric car from Geely-Volvo-Polestar, a Chinese-Swedish motor group, and it has just had a refresh (2024 model). In case you’re wondering , their second pure EV is the Polestar 3 – no originality here in naming convention.

It’s a direct challenge to the dominance of the Tesla Model 3. The two cars have many similarities, but the 2 has the advantage of a more practical hatchback boot to the Model 3’s saloon format (see the Model Y for Tesla’s hatchback option).

The Polestar 2 comes in either rear-wheel-drive or all-wheel-drive configuration.

You also have two battery options to choose from; the larger one offering tons of range.

As you’ll see below, there are various trims available which can be combined with the different battery sizes and drivetrains, providing plenty of choice.

In the front, the Polestar 2 feels a bit like a cockpit – you nestle snugly into your seats ready for action. It’s plush and classy. There’s a large central touchscreen in portrait which controls nearly all of the car’s features. Alternatively, you can use your voice via Google Assistant to issue commands.

Two rear passengers fit in fine, left and right, but there is a hump on the floor in the centre which would annoy a middle passenger.

How does it perform on the road? It drives really well. Acceleration is powerful and instant. Roll is minimal due to a low centre of gravity (heavy batteries help, too). Suspension can feel quite hard, but if you fancy yourself as a ‘driver’, you’ll love the ride.

Storage? Pretty good boot size and cargo volume with the seats down – full specs below.

In summary, the Polestar 2 is an accomplished, stylish, quick, desirable, saloon-shaped hatchback that you will love.

Polestar 2 Price, Trims & Variants

The price of the Polestar 2 starts at £44,950 for the base Standard Range Single Motor trim, and goes up to £57,950 for the top spec Long Range Dual Motor Performance trim. Here are all the variants:

Trim / Variant	Price	Drivetrain
Standard Range Single Motor	£44,950	Rear-wheel-drive
Long Range Single Motor	£48,950	Rear-wheel-drive
Long Range Dual Motor	£52,950	All-wheel-drive
Long Range Dual Motor Performance	£57,950	All-wheel-drive

Polestar 2 Range & Batteries

How far can you drive on a full charge of the battery in the Polestar 2? In ideal conditions, you should be able to achieve the official ‘WLTP’ range in miles. However in winter, for example, electric car batteries don’t perform as well, and actual range will be lower.

This table shows both the more optimistic WLTP range, and a rough, more likely ‘average’ range for the various versions of the Polestar 2:

Trim / Variant	Battery (useable)	Average Range	WLTP Range
Standard Range Single Motor	67 kWh	263 miles	321 miles
Long Range Single Motor	78 kWh	323 miles	394 miles
Long Range Dual Motor	78 kWh	301 miles	367 miles
Long Range Dual Motor Performance	78 kWh	301 miles	367 miles

Efficiency

We are all used to ‘miles per gallon’ of petrol or diesel when thinking about efficiency in traditional cars. With EVs, you need to replace ‘gallon’ with ‘kWh’. 1 kWh = 1 unit of electricity. So the ‘miles per kWh’ measure tells you how many miles you can go on 1 kWh of electricity – the higher the number the better.

Here’s data for the Polestar 2, together with an equivalent in miles per gallon (yes, electric cars really are that efficient!):

Trim / Variant	Efficiency (electric)	Efficiency ('MPG')
Standard Range Single Motor	3.93 miles per kWh	157 miles per gallon
Long Range Single Motor	4.14 miles per kWh	166 miles per gallon
Long Range Dual Motor	3.86 miles per kWh	154 miles per gallon
Long Range Dual Motor Performance	3.86 miles per kWh	154 miles per gallon

Charging Times & Costs

If you have off-street parking, the best and cheapest place to charge your Polestar 2 is at home. Depending on your home energy tariff, you’ll either charge at a standard flat rate or at a lower off-peak rate. The 0-100% charge times below are a ‘worst case’ scenario – typically you will charge 1-2 hours a day, or maybe go for a longer charge on just a couple of days a week.

Charging at Home on an Off-peak rate of 10p per kWh

Trim / Variant	Charge Time 0-100%	Cost per mile
Standard Range Single Motor	9 hours 3 minutes	2.6p
Long Range Single Motor	10 hours 32 minutes	2.4p
Long Range Dual Motor	10 hours 32 minutes	2.6p
Long Range Dual Motor Performance	10 hours 32 minutes	2.6p

Charging at Home on a Peak rate of 34p per kWh

Trim / Variant	Charge Time 0-100%	Cost per mile
Standard Range Single Motor	9 hours 3 minutes	8.7p
Long Range Single Motor	10 hours 32 minutes	8.2p
Long Range Dual Motor	10 hours 32 minutes	8.8p
Long Range Dual Motor Performance	10 hours 32 minutes	8.8p

When you’re on a trip, you can get a quick boost at a rapid charger. These vary in terms of charging speed and you are also limited by the Polestar 2’s maximum charging rate. Take the 10-80% charging times with a pinch of salt – the charging rate will gradually decrease and times are often longer.

Charging in Public at a 50 kW Rapid Charger at a rate of 50p per kWh

Trim / Variant	Max DC charge	Charge Time 10-80%	Cost per mile
Standard Range Single Motor	135 kW	56 minutes	12.7p
Long Range Single Motor	205 kW	1 hour 5 minutes	12.1p
Long Range Dual Motor	205 kW	1 hour 5 minutes	13.0p
Long Range Dual Motor Performance	205 kW	1 hour 5 minutes	13.0p

Charging in Public at a 150 kW Rapid Charger at a rate of 60p per kWh

Trim / Variant	Max DC charge	Charge Time 10-80%	Cost per mile
Standard Range Single Motor	135 kW	21 minutes	15.3p
Long Range Single Motor	205 kW	22 minutes	14.5p
Long Range Dual Motor	205 kW	22 minutes	15.6p
Long Range Dual Motor Performance	205 kW	22 minutes	15.6p

Charging in Public at a 350 kW Rapid Charger at a rate of 70p per kWh

Trim / Variant	Max DC charge	Charge Time 10-80%	Cost per mile
Standard Range Single Motor	135 kW	21 minutes	17.8p
Long Range Single Motor	205 kW	16 minutes	16.9p
Long Range Dual Motor	205 kW	16 minutes	18.1p
Long Range Dual Motor Performance	205 kW	16 minutes	18.1p

Performance

The Polestar 2, like all pure electric cars, has its wheels turned by one or more electric motors. The motors themselves are powered by a lithium-ion battery. Battery + electric motor is a great combination, giving you instant torque with no gears to change.

You’ll find the Polestar 2 eerily quiet after an internal combustion engine. Here are the performance stats:

Trim / Variant	Top Speed	0-62 mph
Standard Range Single Motor	127 mph	6.2 seconds
Long Range Single Motor	127 mph	5.9 seconds
Long Range Dual Motor	127 mph	4.3 seconds
Long Range Dual Motor Performance	127 mph	4 seconds

Polestar 2 Boot Space & Dimensions

The Polestar 2 is a hatchback, and its boot space can be further increased by folding the rear seats down. Here are all the boot and dimensions measurements:

Boot Space & Cargo Volume

Trim / Variant	Boot Space	Cargo Volume (seats down)
Standard Range Single Motor	405 litres	1,095 litres
Long Range Single Motor	405 litres	1,095 litres
Long Range Dual Motor	405 litres	1,095 litres
Long Range Dual Motor Performance	405 litres	1,095 litres

Dimensions

Trim / Variant	Length	Width	Height
Standard Range Single Motor	4606 mm	1859 mm	1479 mm
Long Range Single Motor	4606 mm	1859 mm	1479 mm
Long Range Dual Motor	4606 mm	1859 mm	1479 mm
Long Range Dual Motor Performance	4606 mm	1859 mm	1473 mm

Next Steps

We hope you’ve enjoyed this brief analysis of the Polestar 2. We’ve focussed mainly on potentially unfamiliar electric car related items, such as batteries, range and charging.

Where to next?

1. Narrow down your EV search in a systematic way using our Car Selector tool
2. Read more about the Polestar 2 at Polestar’s UK website
3. If you’re ready to go, consider leasing the Polestar 2 from a low-cost broker