Crossover-style electric fastback earns solid top-three placing in Australia’s top automotive consumer award
Our judges drove the ground-breaking Polestar 2 just in time for its inclusion in the carsales Car of the Year 2021 award, proudly presented by Bingle. And this first model to arrive in Australia from Volvo’s new all-electric sister brand landed with a bang!
From the moment we first sampled the Polestar 2 in the UK in August we knew it would be a solid 2021 carsales COTY contender if it arrived Down Under in time.
After the announcement of a sharp starting price of under $60,000 when the order book opened on October 1, the crossover-style electric fastback did just that and quickly joined our list of top 10 finalists – even if new orders will take up to six months to fill.
Unique Scandinavian design, a first-class safety and technology suite, competitive electric powertrains, unexpectedly affordable pricing and solid aftersales provisions make the Polestar 2 one of three exciting EVs in carsales COTY this year, including the Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo and Hyundai IONIQ 5, which claimed the top gong.
Indeed, few cars released this year promise as much as the Polestar 2 – an electric car with plenty of Volvo engineering DNA but one that benefits from the lower cost of Chinese manufacturing, enabling it to take on Australia’s top-selling EV, the Tesla Model 3.
But while the Polestar matches the Chinese-made Model 3’s entry pricing and undercuts the cheapest IONIQ 5 by more than $10,000, unlike both models the Swedish-engineered vehicle is front-wheel drive at base level and rides on a pre-existing platform rather than a dedicated EV architecture.
That means it’s not packaged quite as well as the Hyundai. A plus, however, is despite expensive option packs, the Polestar still recorded a good RedBook cost-of-ownership score.
But it was the judges’ scores that lifted the Swedish/Chinese EV into 2021 COTY contention, following high praise for its large and intuitive portrait-style infotainment system, ergonomic cabin layout and exemplary interior componentry and build quality.
Given its first-class refinement and solid driving range, perhaps the only aspects of the Polestar 2 that prevented it climbing to the top of the rostrum was noticeable road noise, a too-firm ride and less sporty dynamics than the IONIQ 5.
For $59,900 plus on-road costs, the entry-level front-drive Polestar 2 Standard-Range Single-Motor variant offers a 165kW/330Nm electric motor powered by a 69kWh lithium-ion battery delivering a 440km range at an efficiency rate of 17.1kWh/100km.
Another $5000 brings the price up to $64,900 plus ORCs for the Polestar 2 Long-Range Single-Motor variant – the specification chosen to compete for this year’s Car of the Year award. It ups power to 170kW (torque remains 330Nm), while a bigger 78kWh battery increases range to a handy 540km.
Topping the range is the Polestar 2 Long-Range Dual-Motor all-wheel drive flagship with the same 78kWh battery, but range drops back to 480km at an energy efficiency rate of 19.4kWh/100km.
On the upside, the combined output from the two motors is 300kW/600Nm – enough for a sub-5.0sec 0-100km/h acceleration time.
Equipment highlights for the entry-level Polestar 2 include 19-inch alloy wheels, vegan upholstery, an 11.0-inch touch-screen and over-the-air (OTA) software updates.
Standard safety features extend to eight airbags, autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with vehicle, pedestrian and cyclist detection, lane keeping with road edge detection, reversing camera and front/rear parking sensors.
We noted while the Polestar 2 has been awarded a five-star Euro NCAP safety rating, it’s yet to be rated by ANCAP locally and you have to pay extra for key safety features.
An optional $5000 ‘Pilot Pack’ adds Pixel LED headlights, LED front fog lights, adaptive cruise control, Pilot Assist 360-degree surround view camera, Blind Spot Information System (BLIS) with steering support, cross traffic alert with brake support, and rear collision warning.
Other option packs for the Polestar 2 include the $6000 Plus Pack, which brings extras like heated seats all round a full-length panoramic glass roof, a 13-speaker Harman Kardon audio system and a new heat pump-based climate-control system, while the $8000 Performance Pack is reserved for the dual-motor flagship only.
The Polestar 2 is covered by a five-year/unlimited-kilometre factory vehicle warranty, plus eight years or 160,000km for the battery, and backed by a five-year roadside assistance package and free servicing for the first five years or 100,000km.
All of this makes the Polestar 2 a highly compelling premium mid-size electric car, a thoroughly legitimate alternative to the Model 3 and a solid podium place winner in the 2021 carsales Car of the Year award, proudly presented by Bingle.
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Related: Polestar 2 2021 Review
Keyword: Polestar 2: 2021 carsales Car of the Year Highly Commended