This is vehicle we had all looked forward to for some time. Those of you familiar with the Polestar brand will know it acted as the performance arm of Volvo with a highly intelligent batch of boffin’s making fast Volvo’s even faster! Now a standalone brand, Polestar have been tasked with leading the electric car transition with a range of exciting machinery now filtering around the world. Polestar 2 is the first model to reach Irish shores and as expected, it retains the high quality, premium components and solid driving experience that Volvo are already famed for. With futuristic vegan upholstery, Android Automotive OS-powered infotainment system with Google built-in, along with a striking interior and exterior design, the Polestar 2 has rocked the EV market with a strong first Irish offering. Polestar are committed to constant development also meaning that improvements and new features can be deployed via over-the-air updates, without the need to visit a garage. This means the car you buy today could be even better in the coming year as the software updates progress!
Features
So what choices do Irish punters have when they log on to make a purchase? Yes you read that right there will be no large showrooms with pushy sales people down your throat at the point of entry! Instead you will spec your car online and it will be delivered to you door. Can you take a test drive prior? Certainly but you must book a slot online with the test drive centre based in Sandyford Dublin 18. Entry into Polestar 2 ownership starts with the 231hp single motor standard range car, which will allow you to do up to 478km on a full charge. A long range variant of the same single motor 231hp car is also available allowing you to cover up to 551km of range. The 408hp Long Range Dual Motor variant is also an option, which actually drops range back down to 487km but gives you all wheel drive and supercar performance with a 0 to 100km time of just 4.7 seconds.
Our test car was the Dual Motor that had actually been fitted with the Performance Pack. This software upgrade gives you 476hp and 680 Nm of torque, which is quiet simply staggering! The 100km sprint comes up in just 4.4 seconds and it can stop on a dime thanks to Gold Brembo four piston aluminium front calipers with oversized drilled and ventilated discs. The fully adjustable Öhlins Dual Flow Valve shock absorbers make the ride a little firmer but by no means teeth shattering. In fact it disguises its 2188kg of weight better through the twisties with minimal body roll. Inside you get high-level premium equipment like the full-length panoramic glass roof, premium Harman Kardon audio system with 13 speakers, WeaveTech upholstery, Black Ash deco panels, fully-electric heated front seats with memory, heated rear seats, heated steering wheel and heated wiper nozzles. It really is a nice place to do some decent mileage in.
Power
Our press car once again was fitted with the dual electric motors with performance pack software upgrade to 476 bhp. The 78 kWh Lithium-ion battery has 27 modules and charging times vary from 35 minutes (public fast charger, DC, 10-80%) to 8 hours (home wallbox, AC, 3-phase, 16A) You can also tow up 1500kg with the Polestar 2.
Safety
Thanks to Volvo DNA, the Polestar 2 was always going to fair out well in the safety stakes. Our test car had the Pilot Pack which includes enhanced safety and driver assistance features, like Pixel LED headlights with LED front fog lights, Driver Assistance with Adaptive Cruise Control, a 360-degree surround view camera, all-round parking sensors, and Driver Awareness including Blind Spot Information System with steering support, Cross Traffic Alert with brake support, and Rear Collision Warning. With a 5-star safety rating received back in 2021 the Polestar 2 was the best-performing EV ever tested by the Euro NCAP organisation according to the latest protocols. Since then, it has only been marginally surpassed by the much larger and more expensive Mercedes-Benz EQS. Further software updates have since been sent to all Polestar cars to aid the ADAS functionality. It’s a vehicle that will continue to get safer as the technology improves annually!
Costs
At the time of writing the standard range single motor Polestar 2 is coming in at €51,135. The Long range is priced at €59,990 and the dual motor is €63,850. Our Performance Pack variant adds and additional €6420 to the overall price. Various finance and PCP options are available from as little as €449 per month,
Summary
Well what can we say really, after spending a week with the Polestar 2 it was everything that we expected. Good quality throughout, refined, decent looking and comfortable to live with. Do you need the all singing, all dancing Performance Pack variant? Probably not, if truth were told. As cool as the forged 20-inch alloy wheels and signature ‘Swedish gold’ details inside and out are, the smart money would probably be spent on a long range single motor version which will still out perform 80% of machinery on Irish roads. The tech works decent also with a built-in Android-powered operating system, making life much easier on the road. Using Google Automotive Services you can ask for directions and the navigation will kick in to not only give you the directions, but also plan your journey based on the most efficient route with access to chargers should you need. It’s all very clever stuff and hard not to enjoy when you are behind the wheel. During my time with the car I was naturally asked what is it? who makes it etc? Which are all standard and to be expected questions but one particular gent asked when the Polestar 3 will be out? It turns out that he has been following progress of the brand, and is currently driving an XC60 with the ambition to own Polestars first performance based SUV. The good news is that the 3 is officially destined for Ireland in the not so distant future. Watch this space!
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Center console a little big!
