Polestar 2
GOODBYE
£40,130 OTR/£46,850 as tested/£595pcm
WHY IT’S HERE
Is it the thoughtful and better alternative to a Tesla Model 3?
DRIVER
Tom Ford
SIX MONTHS AND NEARLY 15,000 MILES AFTER IT FIRST ARRIVED, and the Polestar has turned out to be all that we hoped it might be reliable serene good looking and a properly useful daily electric car Less flash than a Tesla certainly not quite as good to drive as a BMW i not as imposing as a whopping great big electric SUV but nestling comfortably in the sweet spot where the car doesn’t particularly say anything about the owner’s insecurities This is good This is where Polestar needs to be
Everything seems to have stood up to the moderate abuse of daily life without too many troubles With the regular software updates nothing feels like it’s fallen through the cracks of progress you’d be surprised how quickly things like maps can feel a bit crusty and physically there are no worries even after a near mile stint
It’s not been the most efficient electric car I’ve ever driven but it’s also by no means been the worst although it’s also fair to point out that we probably don’t appreciate how much of a drain some systems on modern cars really can be set the P up properly with eco settings for the aircon for instance and you’ll see per cent better range I got miles of real world range in the depths of winter up to in summer and while more would be better I only felt hard done by when it was really cold and I needed to get somewhere far away and back quickly
I’d go so far as to say that the Polestar is still my pick of the electric saloon bunch Yes I’d like a bit more range and efficiency for absolute comfort and I’d like the Google multimedia system to be tweaked so that you don’t have to move quite so many menu screens around to complete certain functions but there is genuinely nothing that puts me off the car After a long day’s work it always seemed like a welcome safe haven And it doesn’t get much better than that