“I can’t get the Polestar off my mind,” is an odd thing to text a friend and quite dangerous if taken out of context. So let me back up. Polestar, once a performance sub-brand under safety-minded Swedish Volvo is now its own label focused on electrified performance. It’s first model, dubbed Polestar 1, was an ultra-exclusive (read: pricey at over $150,000) plug-in hybrid luxury performance coupe. That is… NOT the one we brought home.
Fresh off our love of the Audi e-tron electric SUV, we’ve been wanting to keep at least one full EV in our garage. And there are now a growing number of vehicles available from an assortment of brands. The e-tron was delightful and feature packed, but there was a heft and electron-hog element to it as well, and while smooth, it didn’t quite have the punch of some other EVs.
Why the Polestar?
Enter, the Polestar 2. The Polestar 2 (P2 as we call him) is a tidy little sedan, and unlike the Polestar 1 and its PHEV-ness, the Polestar 2 is all electric all the time. Polestar was running at-home test drive programs in the D.C. area and so we thought why not? The service was terrific, we set up a time and an agent brought the car to our home and let us take a 30+ minute drive as we pleased. P2 is nimble, and seemingly light on its feet. No, not Miata light, and at over 4,500 pounds the Polestar 2 is still hefty (unavoidable with batteries), but he wears it well. Driving enjoyment: check!
The interior blends the modern, clean and simple Volvo design language with a deeper focus on sustainable materials, although a leather interior is still optional. Seats, as with many Volvos, are super supportive and comfortable. The rear trunk is actually a liftback, so hatchback versatility, always a winner in my book. Also inside we see another piece that intrigued us, as P2 is the first car to come equipped with the native Android Automotive operating system. It also supports functions like a digital, phone as a key. Polestar also promises that Apple CarPlay will be available sometime in early 2022 via the trendy over-the-air update process.
Another key element that had us consider and ultimately take the plunge on Polestar was its new retail process with its fairly fixed pricing, and currently without any added dealer market adjustments. You start the process online, you can either configure your own vehicle and wait for it to be built and delivered, or, Polestar has a number of “pre-configured” units that are available via what seems to be a central inventory pool. They also had some incentives on the pre-configured units, that resulted in lower lease prices. Polestar will also deliver the car to your home if you so choose. We found a pre-configured unit that matched our build specs and so we were able to go from order to home delivery within a few weeks. When we ordered our car, the D.C. area “Space” wasn’t up and running yet, so our vehicle was actually delivered through their Princeton, New Jersey store, who then delivered the vehicle on a truck to our front steps. Having been part of hundreds of vehicle leases and purchases (directly and with friends, family and clients), this was possibly the most straightforward and easiest we’ve been through so far.
Options and Packages
Their configurations and option packaging are fairly straight forward and minimal. You can now opt between single motor (front wheel drive) or dual motor (all-wheel drive). While there aren’t really many individual options, Polestar groups them into 4 large packages.
The Plus Package adds $4,000 and things like a heat pump (more efficient heating), fixed panoramic sunroof, Harman Kardon sound system, full power front seats, WeaveTech seats with thigh extensions, heated rear seats, wireless phone charger, additional ambient lighting inside, and a grocery bag holder. I really think the full power seats should be standard, along with possibly the wireless phone charger and heat pump, especially for a premium brand.
The Pilot Package costs $3,200 and adds Pixel LED headlights with lighting sequences front and rear, LED front fog lights, 360-degree parking camera, adaptive cruise control, blind spot detection, rear cross traffic alert and reverse automatic braking. I think blind spot detection should be standard, but could see how the additional items are optional.
A Performance Package is available for $5,000 with special Öhlins shock absorbers, gold painted Brembo front brake calipers, 20″ wheels and some gold seatbelts and a blackout section on the roof.
Nappa Leather Interior including ventilated front seats and reconstructed wood trim is also available for another $4,000.
We chose just the Plus and Pilot packages. While the Performance Package always sounds enticing, the shock absorbers require a fairly laborious manual process to make any settings adjustments. This is intriguing to me, given than the 2004 era Volvo S60R came with an electronically adjustable suspension system. The leather interior package also looks nice, and definitely lightens up the interior color scheme, but we opted to stick with the more sustainable vibe of the Plus package and its WeaveTech interior. Also, we were really smitten with the Thunder exterior paint, which is not combinable with the barley colored Nappa leather.
Initial 1,000 Mile Impressions
The fun to drive is there. It’s an absolute smooth rocket and the handling is terrific. The weight helps it feel planted, and being a sedan, it never feels tippy. Most people don’t know what the Polestar is, and it’s a fairly unassuming little shape, but I can rocket down the highway onramp or to zip through a merge point before people (even unsuspecting Porsche owners) know what happened. I don’t recall ever taking the Audi e-tron out for a drive “just because” but find myself frequently taking the P2 out for a spin on twisty roads and often choose it first for any errands. Selectable electric driving modes around one-pedal regenerative braking are nice to have here, as is the “creep” function that mimics automatic transmission gas cars. Certain driving I like to have minimal regeneration (spirited driving), but also like having the one-pedal system for others like traffic.
We’ve undergone one OTA update for the vehicle operating system. We haven’t noted too many bugs. There was a day or two where the vehicle’s infotainment system didn’t seem to get its own data connection up and running quickly, but it hasn’t happened again recently.
Speaking of the operating system, the Google integration is pretty awesome. I can look up directions to a place on Google Maps on my phone and when I get in my car, the native Google maps, linked to my core Google account, has it right there. App for Spotify also largely negates the two main things that I use CarPlay for. Will be interesting how much I use CarPlay once it is available. The main center screen can’t do a good multi-task view, apparently limited by its processor. This seems like a miss given what the Android Auto app and CarPlay can both have showing simultaneously. I’d guess the hardware is carryover from parent Volvo and is thus a few years older than it should be.
Similarly, the main gauge cluster really only has two views, one super simplistic driving information display and then one map view. The map view is appreciated, but really would like to see more customization/widgets and other menus and information available. Also would like to see a larger representation of the advanced driver assistance system visualization. It’s currently only a couple icons and status illuminations rather than a projected road view that is more typical in cars today.
As far as problems or issues. we did have one paint defect that the dealer didn’t notice before delivery. Luckily this was handled under warranty through our DC Space that recently opened. The visit was painless as they send a porter with a loaner car down to our house and took our car away for the repair. Our largest issue is the sensitivity of the reverse automatic braking. The car uses the reverse sensors, and if it thinks you’re going to hit something, it can intervene with the brakes, but it’s pretty jarring when it happens. And after our OTA update, the sensitivity seems to have gone a little over the edge. We now have to purposely park more inward from our garage door frame so that it doesn’t slam the brakes when we back out. Our driveway also has a bit of a decline to the road and if we back down, it can trigger there as well, sometimes twice! Not great for when a car might be barreling down around the curve. You can switch the reverse braking off, but you have to do it each time you get into the car. Polestar has commented that they’re working on recalibrating this, again.
