My Polestar 2 goes today, to be replaced by a long awaited BMW i4, so figured it was time to do a write up.
I was offered this as an interim company car back in December, taking delivery on January 5th with 60,011miles on the clock. It belonged to someone who had recently left the company which I had just joined.
The car is a 'poverty spec' P2, albeit with the long range 78KWh battery. No optional extras, and even has the free paint. Clearly, no expense spared here. There's a number of these in the fleet, so I'm assuming these were the 'benchmark' car a few years back.
I've had many Volvo's over the years, so was quite keen to see what this was like. I had high expectations, and truthfully, the P2 didn't fully live up to them.
I think the P2 is a handsome looking at first glance, but stare a little longer and it's confused. They've given this car some SUV quirks which complicate it. It's a little too tall, the rear wheels are a little too 'tucked in' and the lower black valance that runs around the car, up and over the wheel arches also makes it look like it's on stilts. It's like it was designed by a committee that couldn't decide if they were making a car or an SUV, so they compromised. If they'd lowered it a little, removed the black wheel arches and installed some better fitting rear wheels, I think I'd be feeling very different about it. Something more like the Polestar 1...
The interior was generally a nice place to be. I like to sit low and feel cocooned and the P2 does this very well with it's high centre console. Build quality and the general fit, finish and feel of everything you interact with was excellent. The piano black trim around the gear selector which does need constant polishing and the buttons on it are haptic and I hate haptics. Talking of buttons, the steering wheel was a bit of a love/hate relationship for me. I liked that it was round and didn't have a flat bottom, or even be totally oblong like the Vauxhall Mokka I had back in December. It was a nice nice thickness and generally nice to look at. However, the buttons were marked poorly against their functions, and also some of the buttons were redundant. Why install all the hardware and buttons for adaptive cruise control and then make it an option extra?
The infotainment system is superb. It's Android Automotive based and other than a few crashes, I have nothing bad to say about it. The in-built Google Maps made long distance drives a doddle. Simply tell it your preferred charging suppliers (i.e. I pay a monthly subscription for Tesla and Ionity charging networks) and put your destination in and it tells you exactly where to stop and for how long. It also pre-conditions the battery for fast charge times.
I do need to say though that interior space was a little disappointing. The P2 is significantly bigger than my previous Cupra Born and yet the cabin of the Born was bigger. The interior of the P2 felt cramped in comparison. The P2 does have a bigger boot and a frunk, but I'd have given up a either for a little more interior space.
I was excited to have a frunk, but struggled to think of anything to put in there. And, despite being seemingly well sealed, always filled up with leaves?
And to drive? Well nothing was horrendously bad. But a little like the looks, it was confused. The whole car feels very heavy and lethargic. With 230bhp, it can move. But, it doesn't feel like it wants to. Power builds slowly, it's not instant like most EV's. It makes for a less than exciting experience. It seems like it wants to waft. And that's fine, I quite enjoy wafting about. The thing is, the suspension is firm, the steering heavy and the driving position all give you the impression that it's going to be an absolute blast to drive. Just, the fun never actually arrives.
I'm fine with it being a relaxed, comfortable, motorway munching, outside lane tourer. I'm happy with it being sharp, stiff, interactive, responsive and sporty. But it's trying to be both and falling short.
It's also an earlier FWD model, and the inverter and motor noise surprisingly intrusive. It's got a noisy front driveshaft too, which I think is unacceptable for a car that's mainly sat on the motorway all it's life and only done 70k.
I've managed 180-230miles from a full charge. 180miles in the depths of winter where temperatures didn't get much above freezing and ~230miles whenever the temperatures are above 10 degrees Celsius or so. If you use the Google Maps app, then the battery will precondition itself for charging and you can top up 160-200miles in around 15 minutes. It usually works out 2-2.5hours driving to 15minutes charging which I think is a nice cycle and about when I'm ready to stretch my legs anyway. And despite the very confused persona, it is comfortable for munching miles in and has been perfectly fine for the 5 months and 11,000miles I've put on it.
So yeah, the Polestar 2. It's okay.
I was offered this as an interim company car back in December, taking delivery on January 5th with 60,011miles on the clock. It belonged to someone who had recently left the company which I had just joined.
The car is a 'poverty spec' P2, albeit with the long range 78KWh battery. No optional extras, and even has the free paint. Clearly, no expense spared here. There's a number of these in the fleet, so I'm assuming these were the 'benchmark' car a few years back.
I've had many Volvo's over the years, so was quite keen to see what this was like. I had high expectations, and truthfully, the P2 didn't fully live up to them.
I think the P2 is a handsome looking at first glance, but stare a little longer and it's confused. They've given this car some SUV quirks which complicate it. It's a little too tall, the rear wheels are a little too 'tucked in' and the lower black valance that runs around the car, up and over the wheel arches also makes it look like it's on stilts. It's like it was designed by a committee that couldn't decide if they were making a car or an SUV, so they compromised. If they'd lowered it a little, removed the black wheel arches and installed some better fitting rear wheels, I think I'd be feeling very different about it. Something more like the Polestar 1...
The interior was generally a nice place to be. I like to sit low and feel cocooned and the P2 does this very well with it's high centre console. Build quality and the general fit, finish and feel of everything you interact with was excellent. The piano black trim around the gear selector which does need constant polishing and the buttons on it are haptic and I hate haptics. Talking of buttons, the steering wheel was a bit of a love/hate relationship for me. I liked that it was round and didn't have a flat bottom, or even be totally oblong like the Vauxhall Mokka I had back in December. It was a nice nice thickness and generally nice to look at. However, the buttons were marked poorly against their functions, and also some of the buttons were redundant. Why install all the hardware and buttons for adaptive cruise control and then make it an option extra?
The infotainment system is superb. It's Android Automotive based and other than a few crashes, I have nothing bad to say about it. The in-built Google Maps made long distance drives a doddle. Simply tell it your preferred charging suppliers (i.e. I pay a monthly subscription for Tesla and Ionity charging networks) and put your destination in and it tells you exactly where to stop and for how long. It also pre-conditions the battery for fast charge times.
I do need to say though that interior space was a little disappointing. The P2 is significantly bigger than my previous Cupra Born and yet the cabin of the Born was bigger. The interior of the P2 felt cramped in comparison. The P2 does have a bigger boot and a frunk, but I'd have given up a either for a little more interior space.
I was excited to have a frunk, but struggled to think of anything to put in there. And, despite being seemingly well sealed, always filled up with leaves?
And to drive? Well nothing was horrendously bad. But a little like the looks, it was confused. The whole car feels very heavy and lethargic. With 230bhp, it can move. But, it doesn't feel like it wants to. Power builds slowly, it's not instant like most EV's. It makes for a less than exciting experience. It seems like it wants to waft. And that's fine, I quite enjoy wafting about. The thing is, the suspension is firm, the steering heavy and the driving position all give you the impression that it's going to be an absolute blast to drive. Just, the fun never actually arrives.
I'm fine with it being a relaxed, comfortable, motorway munching, outside lane tourer. I'm happy with it being sharp, stiff, interactive, responsive and sporty. But it's trying to be both and falling short.
It's also an earlier FWD model, and the inverter and motor noise surprisingly intrusive. It's got a noisy front driveshaft too, which I think is unacceptable for a car that's mainly sat on the motorway all it's life and only done 70k.
I've managed 180-230miles from a full charge. 180miles in the depths of winter where temperatures didn't get much above freezing and ~230miles whenever the temperatures are above 10 degrees Celsius or so. If you use the Google Maps app, then the battery will precondition itself for charging and you can top up 160-200miles in around 15 minutes. It usually works out 2-2.5hours driving to 15minutes charging which I think is a nice cycle and about when I'm ready to stretch my legs anyway. And despite the very confused persona, it is comfortable for munching miles in and has been perfectly fine for the 5 months and 11,000miles I've put on it.
So yeah, the Polestar 2. It's okay.
