Polestar 2 Long Range RWD 2023 Review | First Drive

It’s been five whole years since Polestar went from the name of a hot Volvo to the name of a car company, and in that time it’s made a decent splash. What is still not a very large company has leveraged its family connections alongside its bright ideas to create high-quality, stylish and innovative cars, sold online, to buyers that by all accounts are very pleased with what they got. Polestar is also waving the banner for CO2 reduction, constantly pushing to clean up its processes on the way to a goal of net-zero carbon by 2030. The factory is already powered by renewables and the production process and supply chain are constantly under review. That’s an ethos even the most well-read of EV sceptics can commend.

The marque’s first proper production car was the Polestar 2, a BMW 3 Series and Tesla Model 3-sized small executive saloon. It launched in 2020 right in the thick of the pandemic but in spite of that, to date, there are now over 17,000 of them on UK roads. It’s been a bit of a period of ramping up, but now Polestars 3, 4, 5 and 6 are all shortly to join it.

Before all that, though, the 2 has received a number of updates to keep it competitive in 2023 and beyond. It’s about this, the 2024 model year Polestar 2, complete with tickled styling and improved efficiency and performance, that you find us talking to you today. Has Polestar done enough to remaster the 2 in the face of an ever-more crowded EV marketplace?

Polestar itself will admit that the 2 has more than a bit of vestigial Volvo in its design – it did on launch in 2020 and it still does. For the 2024 model year, there have been a few updates, including the body-coloured ‘SmartZone’ where the ‘grille’ used to be. Polestar says this is appropriate for a part that now ‘sees’ rather than ‘breathes’, given it’s where the forward radar and camera are mounted and, obviously, it doesn’t take in air anymore. It certainly makes the 2 look a little cleaner and more modern than before without looking blank-faced, given a slim sliver of black remains as a sort of mini grille below.

Apart from a new set of wheels – made using an eco-friendly and innovative laser cutting system that you can only get on the Performance Pack – the Polestar 2 is more or less the same as was visually because the marque says it ‘doesn’t do facelifts’ – this in spite of being a 'design company'.

Polestar wants to see itself and Volvo diverge as the years and releases march on to improve brand awareness and the new 3 and 4 with their new faces wearing Polestar’s own design language are more of a step towards that. The 2 however, remains what it was – Polestar’s first proper production car, keeping the family resemblance. That’s a bit of a shame, not because it looks bad necessarily but because it deserves to be a bit more distinctive given the quality of the product.

Don’t let the familiar looks fool you, though. The Polestar 2 is mechanically very much a leading car of its type for 2024 and beyond, with new electric motors and revised batteries for improved performance and efficiency. The long-range model we sampled most significantly differs from the old car given that the new motor sits in the back, rather than the front, making this the first rear-wheel-drive Polestar 2.

No, it’s not a drift machine but you do feel the benefits. As you lean on the performance out of a corner, it flicks onto your desired line naturally, rather than pushing on under power. The power is decent too, given the new motor packs a healthy 299PS (220kW) and 490Nm (361 lb-ft). It’s not the 6.2-second 0-62mph sprint that impresses in the real world, but rather the 30-60mph jumps during typical UK countryside speed limit changes, or sprints down onramps onto motorways. For the average driver, the Long Range RWD Polestar 2 has all the performance you’ll ever need.

In terms of the handling dynamics, the Polestar 2 is possessed of a sense of polish compared to the likes of the Tesla Model 3. The steering and damping feel developed like someone's really put in the work get it just so. The body control is tight, which you might not expect for its slightly raised stance, but a dash of harshness in the ride is the telltale compromise. It carries itself really rather well for the most part, though will get a bit of flustered across rutted asphalt. While the steering isn’t fizzing with feel, the ratio and weighting are spot on.

The sense of thought being put into this thing continues in less ‘dynamic’ situations. The mid-level regenerative braking setting, for instance, is the first I’ve tried that’s barely noticeable – the equivalent of low-inertia engine braking. This version is WLTP-certified for 406 miles of range and, in the real world, we can hand on heart say you’ll need to give it an extended kicking to see fewer than 300 on a charge, which is really rather impressive. The cherry on top is it’ll now charge a bit quicker too, at 205kW, which will pump it from ten to 80 per cent in 28 minutes.

Overall Polestar says the range, efficiency and charging have been improved by 22, nine and 34 per cent respectively. A BMW i4 eDrive40 for comparison, will give you around 40 fewer miles and needs to be driven much more carefully to do so, with the same battery size and drive configuration. That’s not to mention the extra four figures it costs over the long-range RWD Polestar at base.

The positives continue on the inside. Yes there’s a big screen for most of the controls but it’s one of the best out there in terms of ease-of-use and smoothness. Somehow the screen doesn’t dominate the look of the cabin either, unlike in the somewhat dystopian-looking Tesla. There’s sculpture to the design and interesting high-quality materials. The high centre console gives you a cockpit-like feel, though some might find their inside leg rubs against it. It’s all been nailed and glued together very nicely indeed, with nary a squeak or rattle to be heard. It’s tough (but not impossible) to find any harsh edges or dodgy plastics, too.

Like on the outside, there is a bit of Volvo carryover. The steering wheel, flanking vents, seats, stalks and door switches are all quite familiar but they don’t exactly betray the more ‘premium’ vibe Polestar is going for. Could there be a bit more perceived brand separation in the cabin? Yes. Is it a deal breaker? No. 

The driving position is pretty good for a battery-under-bum EV and the view out is reasonably good, though that sloping rear end doesn’t give the tallest of views rearwards. Speaking of views out, the small frameless mirrors remain a delight.

For taller passengers the rear seats might not be great – a three-hour drive four-up with six-footers might get tense, but there’s room enough for kids. Likewise family buyers will be pleased to find a hatch opening for their shopping and luggage, with the decent-sized boot accessible via an enormous aperture once the lid is up.

If you’re in and out of lots of new cars, you’ll know that most in-car operating systems still range from ‘passable but i’ll still take CarPlay’, to any combination of ugly, inoperable and glitchy. The Polestar 2’s on the other hand is a revelation, not once prompting the temptation to plug in for some smartphone integration – a big improvement for a system that, on launch three years ago, had its share of bugs. The 11.5-inch portrait screen as above is large enough to contain everything you need, without being obnoxious, though the thick bezel around the screen is a bit ‘iPad 1’.

The operating system is a Google collaboration – Android Automotive OS – and is very intuitive and easy to navigate. Four main tiles will send you to navigation, phone connections, your media or the range assistant. above those are ‘buttons’ for the camera system, car settings (regen etc) and more. At the bottom, pleasant and easy-to-use climate controls moving inwards from seat ventilation to cabin ventilation mode and temperature. Likewise, the digital instrument cluster is equally intuitive and easy to navigate, showing you your efficiency and your map as well as your speed should you want it.

In terms of features, our car was fairly chock with options, so the £48,950 starting price was inflated by Polestar’s ‘Plus Pack’, which costs £4,000 and adds a Harman Pardon premium sound system, the panoramic roof, ambient lighting, fully electric cooled (with the Nappa leather option) and heated seats, a heated steering wheel, heated rear seats, a power tailgate, a digital key and air quality monitoring. Polestar likes to offer chunky option packages rather than a slew of individual options to simplify manufacturing. 

The end result is that you do get a lot for ticking the box but, of course, the price does jump significantly. Even with the Plus Pack, it comes out below the starting price for the BMW i4. The Pilot Pack will get you on par, adding Pixel LED headlights, LED fogs, Adaptive Cruise Control and Pilot Assist (a semi-autonomous drive system). Credit where it’s due to the Model 3, it comes in cheaper than the Polestar and especially the BMW, at almost every spec point.

All in all the Polestar 2 is a car we can wholeheartedly recommend, even to those who are getting into an electric car for the first time. It’s an EV with a real depth of thought in its conception, with range and technology you can depend on and quality that is right up there.

Even though it does still look good, the hand-me-down Volvo aesthetics somewhat betray just how big of a statement of intent this thing still is for Polestar’s mission to be seen as a marque that stands on its own. A move towards the Polestar 4’s more distinctive facia would have gone a long way towards that. Even so, we’re glad the money has been spent on the oily bits rather than an expensive nip ‘n tuck – they really take it to the next level, from early adopter tonic to a car we’d recommend to almost anyone.