2021 Polestar 2

The Polestar 2 all-electric hatchback is the first mass-market EV from Polestar, a company spun off in 2017 from Volvo’s in-house performance arm. It is co-owned by Volvo and the Swedish automaker’s parent company Geely, one of China’s largest automakers. It follows the 2019 debut of the Polestar 1 GT, an exotic, hand-made coupe, and presages Polestar’s next model, the Polestar 3 SUV.

The Polestar 1 and 2 are built in China and sold globally, though the 1 is slated to be discontinued this year. The 3 will be built at Volvo’s South Carolina factory for 2023. 

While Polestar may be a new brand for many consumers, the 2 retains some distinctly Volvo-like elements and shares a platform with the XC40 crossover. It’s meant to have broad appeal and compete directly with other EVs, primarily the Tesla Model 3, but also with smallish luxury sedans like the Audi A3, BMW 3 Series and Lexus IS. U.S. sales numbers haven’t been released, but the Polestar 2 is doing quite well elsewhere, outselling Tesla in EV-loving Sweden and Norway.  

It debuted in just one trim, the $61,200 Launch Edition in mid-2020. The 2021 model year drops that and brings in two new trims, Polestar 2 Single and Polestar 2 Dual, with reduced levels of standard equipment but much lower base prices. The Single-motor version won’t be in showrooms until late 2021, but Forbes Wheels has sampled both.

While it can approach luxury car territory when fully loaded, the Polestar 2 stops short of true luxury with an interior design theme that’s more minimalist than plush and a ride that’s sporty, not posh. It uses a fully vegan interior with cloth upholstery and soft plastics made from recycled material, though Nappa leather is optional.

The new single-motor trim starts at $47,200 before incentives (including a $1,300 destination fee), in the same price range as the single-motor Volkswagen ID.4 Pro S and Mustang Mach-E Premium Standard Range. Federal tax credits can reduce the price to under $40,000, and some state and local incentives can drop it even further.

It uses a 231-horsepower electric traction motor on the front axle that can deliver up to 265 pound-feet of torque. The factory claims a leisurely 7.4-second elapsed time for a 0 to 60 dash in the Polestar 2 Single. That’s slower than the Nissan Leaf.

At a starting price of $51,200, the all-wheel drive (AWD) 2021 Polestar 2 dual-motor trim is $10,000 cheaper than the Launch Edition but is functionally similar. A $7,200 pair of option packages can bring the Dual up to Launch Edition specs. 

Incentives can cut the base Polestar 2 Dual’s acquisition cost to $43,800 or less, well below the cars it was specifically designed to go up against—the dual-motor Mustang Mach-E Premium with AWD and the Tesla Model 3 Long Range and Model 3 Performance. The Model 3 Long Range looks less expensive on paper, but Tesla cars don’t qualify for federal tax credits.

The Polestar 2 Dual boasts 408 horsepower and 487 pound-feet of torque for quick launches and plenty of power for climbing and passing. A single-speed transmission feeds power to the wheels in both versions. 

Polestar claims a 4.5 second elapsed time for a 0-60 mph sprint in the Dual, but several independent tests have found the car to be quicker than claimed—in the range of 4.1 to 4.3 seconds. Only the sub-4 second Tesla Model 3 Performance and Mustang Mach-E GT are quicker among similarly-priced EVs. In gasoline car terms, its pace is similar to a Mercedes-AMG C43. Both Single and Dual top out at 127 mph.

On the road, the Polestar 2 is responsive, road-hugging and fun while remaining comfortable to ride in. We preferred it to the Tesla Model 3. There are no driving modes, but a trio of settings for steering wheel resistance range from a soft, relaxed mode to a tight and quick “sports car” level that ramps up the overall driving experience.

Injudicious use of the Dual’s speed can be the enemy of efficiency, but in real world observation, we found that it met or beat the estimated range in city driving and lost 10% to 15% on hills and in high-speed driving. In over 600 miles of travel, cumulative real range was within 10 percent of EPA estimates.

Both Polestar 2 variants have 78-kilowatt-hour battery packs (75 kWh is usable). The on-board charger is rated at up to 11 kilowatts, permitting a depleted battery to be recharged in just under 7 hours on a properly sized 240-volt home system. Standard 150-kilowatt DC fast charging enables relatively quick 20 to 40-minute battery top-ups on road trips. 

The Polestar 2 is roomy up front with more headroom than any competitor and legroom second only to the Tesla Model 3. Things tighten up considerably in the rear seating area, though.

Instead of the underbody battery pack favored by most other EV makers, Polestar placed the batteries in a tunnel that bisects the car and passes under the back seats, which results in the least rear legroom in the segment and pinched headroom for folks over six feet.

Polestar quotes only 14.3 cubic-feet of cargo space behind the rear seats, which is a decent trunk for a sedan of this size, but that doesn’t include the space opened up by folding down the rear seats or the sizable storage well under the cargo area floor. For a sedan just 181 inches long, there’s quite a bit of storage space on hand.

All Polestar 2s come with 19-inch wheels, LED headlights, a hands-free rear hatch, a vegan interior with power-adjustable heated front seats, a digital key system, navigation, Google Android-based infotainment, four USB-C ports, Apple CarPlay compatibility, over-the-air software updates and Polestar’s standard suite of active safety tech. That includes forward collision warnings and automatic emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection, lane departure warnings and lane keep assist. 

A $3,200 Pilot package adds LED fog lights with cornering lights, blind spot monitoring with steering assist, cross traffic alert with automatic braking, rear collision mitigation, a 360-degree camera system, adaptive cruise control with full stop-and-go function and Pilot Assist, a hands-on, semi-autonomous system for maintaining lane centering and following distance. 

Luxury features come in the $4,000 Plus package, which adds a panoramic glass roof, 13-speaker Harman Kardon audio system, heated rear seats, wireless smartphone charging, an upgraded vegan interior featuring recycled wood and woven fabrics.

A $5,000 Performance package, available only with the Polestar 2 Dual, adds manually adjustable high performance shock absorbers, Brembo front bakes and 20-inch alloy wheels with performance tires. Stand-alone options include that Nappa leather ($4,000) and, for $1,200 each, a set of 20-inch alloys with performance tires and an electrically deploying trailer hitch. (The Dual can tow up to 2,000 pounds).