POLESTAR 2 IS A STUNNER
Launch Edition handles like a sports car and masters the refined elegance of design
As I write this, news of another EV startup flameout is crawling across the ticker. Nikola's shares plunged on reports its once-robust relationship with GM was off, at least the most important parts: the General's equity stake in Nikola, and GM scuttling plans to build it's Badger all-electric pickup truck. All that remains intact is a small agreement surrounding a fuel cell partnership.
This is just the latest evidence that no global EV startup is anywhere near finding its footing, save for the 800-pound gorilla that started it all. But even mighty and omnipotent Tesla is beginning to show a few fault lines, with suspect build quality and reliability issues starting to crowd out headlines about stock price and valuation.
It's all not very surprising for veteran auto industry watchers, who understand the two foundational principals of producing vehicles: it takes a lot of capital and it takes a lot of experience. Simply put, building cars is hard. It's complex.
Which brings us to the subject of this road test, the Polestar 2 Launch Edition. Yes, Polestar is, by definition, an EV startup. But no, the company does not lack capital nor do the engineers and designers behind it lack experience. The company is part of the giant multinational Geely Auto Group, and many of the brains behind the vehicle are former Volvo employees who jumped at the chance to work for the new EV company while staying under the same auto group umbrella.
The result is a stunning all-electric vehicle, and one that immediately puts Polestar on the shopping list of anyone looking to buy a luxury sport EV in the coming years. It compares more than favourably to the Tesla Y, and while I haven't had seat time in either the Volvo XC40 Recharge or Ford Mach-e, spec sheet comparisons suggest the Polestar 2 will compete very nicely with both of those EVs, which are coming soon to North America.
As readers might recall, my carof-the-year drive in 2019 was the Polestar 1, the wildly expensive, plug-in hybrid, limited-edition debut model for the brand that hinted at what was to come once Polestar pivoted to all-electric vehicles. And that was excellence in performance and handling characteristics, a Swedish-influenced cabin design and the kind of refined elegance that sister company Volvo has achieved with its latest generation of sedans and SUVs.
The first Polestar 2 to be available in Canada is called, fittingly, the Launch Edition, and it comes loaded with standard features, making the list of options short. These include 20-inch diamond-cut wheels ($1,200), a Nappa leather interior option ($5,000) and a Performance Pack ($6,000) that adds adjustable Ohlins dampers, gold four-piston Brembo front brake calipers, 20-inch lightweight forged aluminum wheels, bespoke Continental SportContact 6 tires, upgraded spring and stabilizer bar rates, a high-gloss black roof panel, along with gold seatbelts and tire valve caps.
My tester came with the Performance Pack, and I can't see buying this vehicle without it because, for the price, it really delivers in terms of driving dynamics and style.
There are also a couple of industry firsts in the Polestar 2: an inner-side airbag and the world's first usage of Android Automotive, a native operating system that features built-in Google apps and services. Volvo and GM have also secured rights to the system and expect to see it roll out in many vehicles in the coming years. The stand-alone system does not require your smartphone to operate apps, as things like navigation, music and voice recognition are embedded in the Google system. You still need to connect your phone via Bluetooth to use the phone function however, and a Google account is also necessary to get the most out of Android Automotive.
That unique operating system, as with most every other driver function, is accessed through the 11.5-inch centre display. It's intuitive and, in my mind, has the best drive mode and regenerative braking interface of any EV, and does away with pretty much every switch and control in the cabin, leaving a clean and minimalistic design.
Now to the true strength of the Polestar 2: driving. Despite testing almost every new EV on the market, I still get a thrill when I first hit the accelerator and, in silence, zoom away.
The Polestar 2 might not boast the off-the-line acceleration of some EVs out there, but a sub-five-second 0-to-100-km/ h sprint more than suffices.
Where it really rises to the occasion is in its handling, those Ohlins dampers and Brembo brakes providing the kind of performance you'd find in a sports car. The low centre of gravity adds to cornering appeal, and the aerodynamic body shape results in very little wind noise at highway speeds. By the numbers, horsepower rating is 408 (or 00 kW), torque is 487 lb.-ft (660 Nm) and full charge range from the 78 kWh is estimated to be just over 400 kilometres.
My only complaint about the driving experience is there is no regen shifter/paddle to use on the fly. Instead, you select which regen setting you want — either Off, Low or Standard under the
guise of “one-pedal drive” on the centre display — and stay in that setting until you change it. Living in hilly Vancouver, I've come to enjoy the ability of manually either increasing or decreasing brake regen while driving, and this system is not as user-friendly in that regard.
One last bit of cool tech, while not an industry first, still puts the Polestar 2 on track to be one of the top EVs of the year.
Over the Air (or OTA) updates come standard with the vehi
cle and provide upgrades to the Android system and other onboard software. For instance, OTAs will soon include a digital key, a connected safety system and Apple CarPlay. You just get a prompt about an incoming OTA on the display screen, and you choose to accept or decline the upgrade. The 2021 Polestar 2 signals the next, and ongoing, evolution of electric vehicles, and certainly puts other automakers on notice that this startup is no inexperienced upstart.