Polestar 2 review: Taken for a spin

Remember the Polestar 1, the near-600bhp hybrid quasi- supercar with which Volvo and Geely launched its new performance brand? Good. Now forget it. That vehicle has gone and this, the Polestar 2, is the company’s first properly representative product. It’s a medium-sized all-electric hatchback aimed directly at providing the Tesla Model 3 with some long-awaited competition.

It is beautifully built and its interior crafted with far more environmentally aware materials than those of many models. Like the Tesla, information is provided via a large central tablet display, but unlike the Model 3 you also get basic information on a screen in front of you – thank goodness.

Like most electric cars, its straight-line performance from rest is startlingly strong and devoid of occasion. It just gathers speed. It is also rather heavy, though this car had the £5000 performance pack, which comes with massive Brembo brakes, adjustable Öhlins dampers and stiff springs. It handles quite well given its two-tonne mass, but the price is paid with a somewhat lumpen ride quality. My bet is you’d be better off without.

Otherwise there’s little not to like. To me, electric cars still feel too much like white goods in automotive form but that’s the fault of the format and this is one of the better ones: if it were a washing machine, it would be a Miele.

Polestar 2 statistics

• Price £51,900 (including performance pack)
• Engine front and rear synchronous electric motors
• Power 402bhp
• Weight 2048kg
• Power to weight 196bhp per tonne
• Transmission single-speed direct drive, four-wheel drive
• 0-60mph 4.7sec
• Top speed 127mph
• Economy 3.2 miles per kWh
• Range 292 miles (WLTP)
• Verdict High-end white goods