- Polestar introduces a new, less-powerful, more-fun version of its Polestar 2 lineup: a rear-wheel drive model rolling on hard-compound 19s.
- The model makes 295 hp and 361 lb-ft of torque and gets to 60 mph in 5.9 seconds.
- Somehow it’s more fun to drive than its more powerful siblings.
There are now three models of the all-electric, funky-bodied Polestar 2 you can get here in America: a 416-hp dual-motor with all-wheel drive; a 449-hp dual-motor with AWD, and the new “Long Range Single Motor” model with just 295 hp.* (*Polestar lists higher output figures, but also lists kW, which converts to the figure I listed.) I say, get the Single Motor.
Why?
For one thing it’s lighter, for another it’s cheaper, and for a third, it’s more fun to drive. It even gets 320 miles of EPA range from an 82-kWh battery.
Even though the dual-motor Polestar 2s have more than 25% more power, the single permanent-magnet synchronous motor of the single-motor model is mounted in the rear, driving the rear wheels. That not only shifts weight rearward over the driven axle, but inherently makes it more fun behind the wheel. And fun is good.
I just spent a day driving rear- and all-wheel-drive Polestars 2 through the Colorado Rockies on the twisty two-lanes west of Denver, and I had what you would call “a good time.” It was not thrilling.
The original Polestar Coupe, which some call the Polestar 1, was more fun. But the Polestar 1 was also carbon fiber and cost $155,000 back when you could get it in 2021. The new Polestar 2 Single Motor starts at a “mere” $49,900, which is almost affordable for a lot of people.
No Incentives
Unfortunately, since the Polestar 2 is owned by Geely and made in China, it doesn’t qualify for the latest round of $7500 Federal ZEV incentives, so you’re not going to get a break there. But Polestar considers itself something of a luxury marque, so paying closer to a luxury price might be expected.
Actually, according to Gregor Hembrough, Polestar’s U.S. head, Polestar stands for: Technology, Design, Innovation, and Sustainability. In the new Polestar 2 you get all four.
Design
Let’s start with design. That exterior has been praised by some and confounded others. The shape is predictable enough all the way back till the C-Pillar and the deck lid, then it gets a little… awkward. At least in some eyes. Maybe not yours.
You could argue that the trailing edge of the roof is shaped like it is in order to accommodate rear headroom, but a 5’10” colleague was scraping dome in the rear seats, and I’m only six-feet tall and I was touching my pompadour back there. But rear seats are for the kids, and you can line up three of them in the rear in comfort and full legality.
Up front you’ll be comfy, with an array of infotainment and switchgear you’ll surely find to your liking. Compare the 11.2-inch main screen and the data and connectivity it offers to any competitor and chances are you’ll prefer the Polestar.
You even have limited adjustability of the car’s performance, or at least the steering feel, the amount of regenerative braking, and whether or not the car creeps forward when you let off the brakes.
With the optional Performance Pack you can get adjustable shocks, but those require physically twisting the knob on top of each shock, which I didn’t try all day.
Ride and Drive
Left in default, the ride at first felt firmer than I expected it to feel. Note I said “firm” and not “harsh.” The suspension travel is very nicely controlled, just tighter than I’d expect in a luxury car, especially if you’re riding in the back seat.
Of course, the word “luxury” wasn’t on the four-word list Polestar head honcho Hembrough had spouted. I will say that by the end of the day it didn’t feel too firm at all. In fact, after about an hour I had quit my whining entirely.
Now as to whether it felt sporty, well, it did not, at least on the fast, wide-open curves of our prescribed driving route. I asked if they had considered letting us drive on a racetrack and the Polestar personnel said they had, but then rejected the idea. No reason was given.
I think the Single Motor model would have done much better on a track with tight, fun turns where it could hang out its transitional handling as it allowed minimal roll from turn to turn. If you buy one, go to a track day and freak everyone out. It’ll be fun!
As it was, with 245/45 Michelin Primacy all-season tires mounted on 19-inch rims, it was fun enough.
Are Polestar buyers looking for handling? Or are they like terrified Volvo buyers who believe their only hope for survival on today’s dangerous roads is in a tank of solidity? Maybe they’re cross-shopping Teslas and Hyundai Ioniq 6s, the latter of which has such bulbous balloon fenders that they can surely float should they go off the road into a nearby lake?
I also got to drive a Dual Motor model with Performance Pack and Pilot Pack, rolling on Continental SportContact 6 245/40R-20 Ultra-High-Performance summer tires, a setup you’d think would have been more fun, especially with its 449 hp grabbing pavement at all four wheels.
And yet… and yet I preferred the lighter, cheaper, two-wheel drive model. Am I crazy? How do you say “Add lightness” in Swedish? Or Chinese?
Does it make sense that the cheapest model is the most fun? Sound off below!
Mark Vaughn grew up in a Ford family and spent many hours holding a trouble light over a straight-six miraculously fed by a single-barrel carburetor while his father cursed Ford, all its products and everyone who ever worked there. This was his introduction to objective automotive criticism. He started writing for City News Service in Los Angeles, then moved to Europe and became editor of a car magazine called, creatively, Auto. He decided Auto should cover Formula 1, sports prototypes and touring cars—no one stopped him! From there he interviewed with Autoweek at the 1989 Frankfurt motor show and has been with us ever since.
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