It doesn’t have the longest range and it certainly isn’t the most practical electric vehicle ever built, but if you’re looking for a sophisticated and engaging EV, you can do far worse than the 2024 Polestar 2. In particular, the Dual Motor all-wheel-drive model with the optional Performance Pack flirts with greatness thanks to its strong acceleration and surfeit of thoughtful amenities.
The Polestar 2 has been around for a few years, but the car is aging with grace. This is a handsome vehicle with a clean, modern design. Up front is a new body-colored “SmartZone” grille panel, which houses sensors that enable some advanced driver assistance features. LED headlamps are also fitted, plus this example has LED fog lights that incorporate a cornering function that helps you see around turns at night.
The available $5,500 Performance Pack includes a number of features like beautiful 20-inch wheels with a two-tone finish. This options group also gets you a power boost, but more on this a little later; it includes larger brakes, 14.8-inch front rotors with gold-colored Brembo calipers; and you get an Öhlins manually adjustable suspension system. That last item is an interesting setup because you have to crawl underneath the vehicle to turn the suspension adjustment knobs, and to tweak the rear dampers you actually have to jack the vehicle up. You may be the exception, but I can’t imagine many Polestar 2 owners doing this.
Under the hood is a small front trunk that clocks in at about 1.2 cubic feet, enough to fit the charging cable and perhaps a small takeout order. This storage space will keep your lo mein and wonton soup from getting cold or tipping over on the way home. The Polestar 2’s rear end is just as attractive as its front and flanks, with a super-clean look and bountiful good taste. Pop the liftback, which takes the back glass along for the ride with the trunk lid, and you’re treated to a decently spacious 14.4-cubic-foot trunk. That figure includes the underfloor storage well that clocks in at about 1.5 cubes. Fold the rear backrests down and the overall figure grows to a capacious 38.7 cubic feet.
Not surprisingly, the good taste continues inside. This little four-door’s cabin is beautiful, stylish and well built. The dashboard is clean and simple, and there are lots of familiar Volvo-sourced controls, which is no surprise since Polestar is closely related to the Chinese-owned Swedish automaker. The Weave Tech vegan fabric on the seats looks nice and feels just as good, the so-called “Reconstructed” wood trim is made of reused birch and features an open-pore texture, and the front seats are plenty comfortable. The optional Performance Pack also includes gold-colored seatbelts for some visual pop in our tester’s nearly all gray interior.
The Polestar 2’s cabin tech doesn’t disappoint, either. Ahead of the driver is an easy-to-read 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, while the center of the dashboard is home to an 11.5-inch touchscreen. That second display houses a Google-powered infotainment system that is easily one of the best in the automotive industry. This multimedia array is incredibly responsive, nearly free of any lag or stutters, and the system is incredibly intuitive. There’s almost no learning curve at all, which is exactly how it should be. A bonus, Apple CarPlay is included, too, so you can use that if preferred.
Helping keep your iPhone or Android-powered handset fully charged, this Polestar comes with four USB type-C ports, two up front and two for rear seat passengers. Another interesting bit of tech, if you can call it that, is the lack of a traditional ignition switch. You butt plopping down in the driver’s seat is what turns the vehicle on, which is convenient in most situations.
Bringing a passel of useful features to the table for a not-outrageous price is the available $2,200 Plus Pack. This options group gets you a heat pump in the HVAC system, which helps improve range thanks to increased efficiency. There’s also a heated steering wheel, heated rear seats and heated washer nozzles; this package includes power front bucket chairs with extendable lower cushions; and you get a 13-speaker Harman Kardon sound system as well as a glass roof.
The Polestar 2’s interior is plenty likable, but some things could certainly be improved, like the backseat. It offers decent legroom, but noggin space is a bit tight for 6-footers, the backrest is a touch too upright, and the narrow door openings paired with wide sills make it challenging to get inside. Beyond that, the center console is a waste of space, far too wide, yet it offers very little room to store things. The dashboard’s center air vents are nearly useless, perched behind the top of the tablet-like touchscreen, and the lack of extending sun visors or a shade for the roof is hugely annoying for those sensitive to glare.
Putting all this in motion, Dual Motor Polestar 2s with the Performance Pack are properly quick. Their 455 horsepower – 34 more than models without this options group – and 546 pound-feet of torque can get you to 60 mph in just 4.1 seconds. Pounce on the accelerator, and this car responds quicker than an incel to a Tinder match. It’s instantaneous!
All-wheel-drive Polestar 2s, come with a battery that has a gross capacity of 78 kilowatt-hours, a little less than what the updated rear-drive model offers. In our tester, this pack provides an estimated (and decidedly middling) 247 miles of range. The battery DC fast charges at up to 155 kilowatts, enough to go from 10 to 80% in 34 minutes.
In comparison, the rear-drive, Single Motor model has a new 82-kWh battery pack. It provides up to 320 miles of range and charges at a max of 205 kW, a very nice upgrade. More range and faster charging are always appreciated.
Out and about, this Polestar’s ride quality is firm, but the car is still very refined over bumps and rough surfaces. You don’t really feel any grittiness or vibration coming up from the road surface, even with 20-inch wheels.
This car’s steering is easily adjustable from the infotainment screen. Several “weights” are offered, though they all feel quite similar. Regardless of your preference, the Polestar 2 is agile, though I would not describe its responses as telepathic or immediate.
Those big Brembo brakes mentioned earlier can slow this stylish liftback down in a jiffy, and the pedal feels great – neither grabby nor mushy. But driven normally, you never need the friction brakes if the one-pedal drive mode is turned on to its more aggressive setting.
Grab the Polestar 2’s available $2,000 Pilot Pack (it’s standard on Dual Motor models) and you get several helpful features, but the most impactful are adaptive cruise control and lane centering. Together, these aids work well, turning, accelerating and stopping the car as needed, though the steering assist can sometime cause a bit of wandering, particularly on secondary roads. Also, this is not a hands-free solution like Super Cruise or BlueCruise; you’ve got to keep your meat hooks on the tiller at all times. Other standard driver assistance tech includes a 360-degree camera system, blind spot monitoring with pedestrian detection and even rain-sensing windshield wipers.
Overall, the 2024 Polestar 2 Dual Motor Performance Plus model excels in numerous areas. This liftback four-door’s infotainment system is amazing, the acceleration can practically dropkick you and the technical enhancements made for 2024 are appreciated. Of course, the backseat and rear door opening could be made a little more capacious, that bizarre center console is mostly a waste of space and a bit more range for the top-shelf model would be great.
There is another potential downside, though, one that some drivers will not appreciate: where this car was built. The Polestar 2 is assembled in and 95% of its parts come from, China. This may sound concerning, but the build quality of our tester was excellent top to bottom, inside and out, so there’s really no need to be worried.
So, how much does this all-electric excellence cost? As it sits, the Polestar 2 seen in this review checks out for $65,650 including $1,400 for delivery, which is not a bad price for everything you get, though the vehicle is not eligible for any tax credits, a bummer. Aside from a few curious design choices, this is an enormously likable EV, one that is tantalizingly close to greatness. Hopefully Polestar will continue working to improve this vehicle.
At a glance
- Year: 2024
- Make: Polestar
- Model: 2
- Trim: Dual Motor Performance Plus
- Type: All-electric liftback four-door
- Horsepower: 455
- Torque: 546
- MPGe ratings (city/highway/combined): 112/100/106
- Range: 247 miles
- Pros: Stellar infotainment system, impressive refinement, potent acceleration, beautiful design, significant upgrades for 2024
- Cons: Tight backseat and rear door openings, space-wasting center console, ineffective dashboard air vents, lackluster range with the Performance Pack
- Estimated Base price (rear-drive model): $49,200 including $1,400 in destination fees
- As-tested price: $65,650
