Review: The 2024 Polestar 2 Is Now A Faster Dark Horse In The EV Segment

Mid-cycle refreshes sometimes see stylistic modifications to the outside of a mannequin, just a few tech updates, and little else. The 2024 Polestar 2 kicks sand into the face of that conference with a severe set of updates and upgrades that may enhance the bottom mannequin greater than every other. Gone is the front-wheel drive model of the two in favor of a rear-drive format. 

Dynamically, that guarantees fairly a bit however as well as, the two Single motor will get extra vary, extra energy, and quicker charging speeds too. The Twin motor advantages from comparable enhancements in vary, charging pace, and torque. To search out out if these modifications make the Polestar 2 worthy of extra consideration we took it from downtown Denver, Colorado to Estes Park, a city sitting at over 7,500 toes of elevation. 

Elements In The Entrance

Polestar followers themselves may discover it troublesome to inform the 2024 mannequin from those who got here earlier than. The largest giveaway is the brand new SmartZone which takes the place of the house that used to appear like an open grille in the midst of the bumper. 

Now, a flat panel fills nearly all of that house in an effort to consolidate vital tech into one central place. Polestar calls this a transition from how ICE vehicles wanted to “breathe” to the way in which that EVs must “see”.

Within the Polestar 2, the SmartZone features a forward-facing digicam together with mid-range radar sensors. Future Polestar fashions will even function the SmartZone although we anticipate the tech package deal to vary as wanted. Past that, the two appears to be like practically similar save for brand spanking new out there wheel designs. 

Enterprise In The Again

In truth, it’s below the pores and skin and cabin of the Polestar 2 the place the most important modifications lie. Till now, the bottom model of the two got here with a single motor on the entrance of the automobile and as much as 228 hp (170 kW) and 243 lb-ft (329 Nm) of torque. It began at $49,800 and supplied as much as 270 miles (435 km) of vary. 

Now, for 2024, pricing begins at $49,900 however consumers get a extra environment friendly and highly effective motor that’s arrange within the rear. It gives 299 hp (220 kW) and 361 lb-ft (490 Nm) of torque together with as much as 320 miles (515 km) of vary from its new-to-Polestar 82 kWh battery pack. As well as, the utmost charging pace has been bumped as much as 205 kW. These figures alone make the brand new Polestar 2 way more enticing each by way of practicality and efficiency. 

The Twin motor model will get some upgrades too. It sticks with the identical 78 kWh battery pack from 2023 (and costs on the similar 150 kW max) however improves because of extra torque, at 546 lb-ft (740 Nm), up from final yr’s 502 lb-ft (679 Nm). It additionally will get a extra rear-drive-biased torque cut up for higher driving dynamics. Apparently, most energy is definitely down from 469 hp (349 kW) to 455 hp (339 kW). Regardless of that, Polestar says that this automobile is quicker. 

Based on the automaker, it’ll do 0-60 mph in simply 4.1 seconds when geared up with the non-compulsory Efficiency Pack. We get the sensation that these figures are seemingly conservative. For a extra detailed breakdown of the packages out there on the Polestar 2 see our breakdown right here. 

Nordic Inside Design

Slipping into the Polestar 2’s entrance seats is simple and gives a transparent view. The facility-adjustable entrance seats are supportive and have a manually adjustable thigh bolster too. As is the case with most Scandinavian designs, the cabin could be very clear and easy. The sprint is totally asymmetrical with a big digital show forward of the driving force that teardrops down towards the far passenger aspect. 

Some Polestar 2s function actual wooden trim that feels nice to the contact. No matter trim one will get on the sprint will even discover its means into the middle console space the place a big portrait-oriented infotainment system options prominently. It leverages Google’s Android Automotive person interface and proved to be quick and straightforward to navigate in observe.

It additionally has intelligent little options like a pane that enables the person to regulate completely different volumes for various options in a single place. Integration with Android and Apple units is wi-fi and a wi-fi charging pad that sits beneath the display is commonplace together with a pair of USB-C energy ports. 

That house sits within an virtually equally distinguished v-shaped divider that homes a cheap-feeling piano-black plastic house for the gear shift, quantity management, hazards, and defrosters. 

Extra: We’re Driving The Refreshed 2024 Polestar 2, What Do You Need To Know About It?

It’s the one little bit of the inside that feels prefer it deserved extra consideration within the design part. The piano-black plastic is just a part of the issue. The world seems to drift above the trim beneath it which calls into query simply how straightforward it’ll be to clear ought to somebody spill a drink into the realm. On high of that, the realm across the gearshift might seemingly home extra controls to cut back the variety of touchscreen button presses required for primary capabilities. 

Behind the gearshift house, you’ll discover one open cupholder after which a second hidden below a sliding armrest. Considerably surprisingly, when that armrest is flipped up and again into the second-row house it has no objective. That additionally appears like a missed alternative to maybe provide a enjoyable little one thing for the back-seat passengers. 

The oldsters within the again don’t really want any leisure although we suppose. The seats are comfy sufficient. Headroom and legroom are completely enough for many passengers although taller of us might want to bend their neck or slouch to suit. The rear seat house additionally gives local weather management vents, heated rear seats, and a pair of USB-C energy ports. 

Cargo room is excellent even though the Polestar 2 doesn’t have a huge frunk. Underneath the hood, there’s house for a charging cable, a tire inflation equipment, a jack, and never an excessive amount of else, although a small bag or two would match. The trunk is the place issues change for the higher. 

Polestar, like its accomplice Volvo, gives a lot of intelligent options in the case of sensible storage. That features a passthrough from the trunk space to the principle passenger compartment, a cargo cowl, a trunk divider, a number of cargo tie-downs, anchor factors, and a considerably hidden under-trunk compartment with sufficient house to suit at the least two full backpacks. 

It’s not the one intelligent cupboard space both. Each the entrance passengers have a small pocket as a part of the middle tunnel. The glovebox encompasses a flip-out hook that may maintain a bag to maintain it from rolling round on the ground. There are enjoyable easter eggs too like a Polestar emblem that displays into the out there panoramic glass roof from a small jut out within the ceiling. The cabin of the Polestar 2 manages to be comfy, sensible, and even somewhat enjoyable. 

Dynamic Driving For All

When Polestar supplied Carscoops the possibility to drive the brand new 2 it known as this the “Dynamic” launch of the automobile. That was a curious solution to put it as, by the point we drove it, some clients already had their 2024 mannequin. Now that we’ve pushed it, now we have a greater understanding of the model’s considering. This yr may solely mark a mid-cycle refresh by most requirements however the fact is that it’s a completely completely different automobile by way of the way in which it drives. 

The Single-motor model gives the obvious shift. The additional 67 hp (49 kW) and 118 lb-ft (160 Nm) of torque shifts the perspective of this sedan however the swap to rear-wheel drive does much more. Now, the Polestar 2 feels prefer it’s verging on the sting of being a severe sports activities sedan. The steering is variable from Consolation to Regular to Sport and we favor the latter because it’s tight, sharp, and makes the two very straightforward to command. 

All through the numerous turns that wound us from Denver to Nederland to Estes Park, the two was flawless in the way in which that it adopted path. The accelerator and brake pedal are each straightforward to modulate and supply suggestions that feels matched to the driving force’s enter. Physique roll is sort of non-existent to the purpose that the seats might use extra bolstering to maintain the driving force in place. 

The Twin-motor model gives the identical tight dealing with and wonderful pedal suggestions however a much more forceful response. With out the Efficiency pack, it’ll make 421 hp (310 kW) and 546 lb-ft (740 Nm) of torque however we didn’t have an opportunity to drive such a 2. As an alternative, we obtained the full-fat Twin-motor Efficiency pack model with 455 hp (335 kW) and the identical quantity of torque. 

It’s correctly quick and gives each little bit of sporting oomph that the typical driver will ask for. Once more, we’ll say that Polestar’s 0-60 estimates for each the only and twin motor really feel conservative although with out the right testing space we couldn’t affirm that.

If there’s something that detracts from the Twin-motor it’s a definite feeling within the turns that it’s heavier (about 220 lbs (100 kg)) than the Single-motor model. Regardless of that, it’s a really sensible automobile with a real one-pedal driving mode and wonderful driver aids which can be clean and confidence-inspiring.

No matter what number of motors any specific instance of the two has, the journey high quality is clean and rewarding. Polestar doesn’t provide drive modes within the 2 and that’s an excellent factor because it implies that modifications one makes are persistent between drives. Did you set the steering to agency? It’ll keep that means. The identical goes for local weather management settings just like the ventilated entrance seats. 

When it comes to effectivity, the Single motor model that we examined averaged 25.2 kWh/100 miles. That’s really lower than Polestar’s personal estimate of 29-32 kWh/100 miles. The Twin-motor automobile noticed a mean of 32.3 kWh/100 miles which can be higher than publicized figures of 35 kWh/100 miles. 

Not like in previous EV exams the place we’ve seen automakers cost up their vehicles on the mid-way level of the day, Polestar didn’t do this. These vehicles all made it from Denver up into Estes Park and again with no need a top-up. On a map, that’s round 175 miles however doesn’t account for visitors or the considerably questionable means that some journalists may deal with a press automobile.

Whereas some EV automakers may be dealing with flack for questionable vary estimates, we get the sensation that the Polestar 2 can attain and possibly beat its revealed numbers as long as the driving force isn’t a complete dolt. Briefly, it’s merely not honest to any Single motor Polestar 2 from 2023 or earlier than to match it to this newest mannequin. These older vehicles can’t maintain a candle to the 2024 version. 

A Quicker Darkish Horse

There aren’t too many all-electric four-door sedans in the marketplace right here within the States so it’s clear what Polestar 2 is up towards, particularly, the Tesla Mannequin 3. The American sedan advantages from much more model presence within the head and coronary heart of most of the people. On the similar time, there are seemingly simply as many individuals on the market prepared to chide Tesla for its CEO’s decision-making. That may make the Polestar 2 a extra enticing darkish horse to some. 

In truth, on paper, the Mannequin 3 has just a few distinct benefits. It’s barely cheaper, beginning at $40,240 (as of this writing). The Efficiency model is roughly $10,000 lower than Polestar’s equal 2. It’s barely quicker too because the RWD model goes from 0-60 mph in 5.8 seconds vs. Polestar’s declare of 5.9. 

The Efficiency mode dispatches the identical feat in 3.1 seconds vs. the Polestar 2 Lengthy Vary Twin Motor Efficiency Pack’s finest time of 4.1 seconds. Then there’s Tesla’s Supercharger community which takes the guesswork out of the charging expertise away from dwelling. 

Regardless of all of those benefits, the case could possibly be made that the Polestar 2 remains to be the higher automobile to personal and drive. The construct high quality is a severe step above the Mannequin 3. The journey high quality is great too and the cabin is tranquil apart from the tire noise that every one electrical automobiles take care of. The styling is way extra refined too. 

There’s a chic simplicity in its nature and that’ll seemingly attraction to those that scoff on the concept of getting a Tesla badge of their storage. The mixture of high quality, sensible efficiency, and craftsmanship make the Polestar 2, to us, a automobile fairly worthy of extra consideration than it will get.