You Are What You Drive – A Bottom Line Review
The Bottom Line: Who is Polestar? Polestar is the electric car brand from Volvo Cars and Geely Holding, established in 2017, and located in Gothenburg, Sweden. The current production model is the Polestar 2. Their first battery electric vehicle, and the first volume vehicle for the brand.
Polestar has a digital retail platform at Polestar.com, that is supplemented with retail showrooms, called Spaces, that host non-commissioned Polestar Specialists to assist customers with product information and test drives. Initial Spaces are now open in New York City, Los Angeles, and the San Francisco Bay Area.
This week Polestar sent me a 2021 Polestar 2 Fastback Sedan to test drive and review. The base window sticker price for this Launch Edition model is $59,900. The only option on the press car is: Metallic Paint for $1,200. The total MSRP manufactures suggested retail price, including the $1,300 destination charge, came to: $62,400.
The Polestar 2 is a premium edition 5 door fastback sedan, and the world’s first car to feature an infotainment system powered by Android, with Google apps and services built in at the factory. You do not have to download them, they are already there, ready to use, every time you start the car.
Power comes from two electric motors and a 78 kWh battery. Together they produce 408 hp and 487 lb.-ft. of torque, capable of 0-60 mph in 4.5 seconds, 0-100 mph in 10.7 seconds, and it does the ¼ mile in 12.76 seconds.
The Polestar 2 qualifies for the $7,500 federal electric vehicle tax credit, along with additional tax rebates in states such as New York and California. The Launch Edition is a premium level electric car, with several option packages included as standard equipment.
Launch Edition cars have the Plus Package with: front power seats, a fixed panoramic glass roof, LED headlights, fog lamps and cornering lamps, heated wiper blades, heated steering wheel, heated front and rear seats, a wireless charging pad and a Harman Kardon Premium sound system.
The Pilot Package adds: driver and adaptive cruise control assist, blind spot information with steering wheel assist, cross traffic alert with automatic braking assist, rear collision warning, lane keeping assist, and a 360 degree surround view camera system to monitor everything that is going on all around the car, all the time.
The Launch Edition Polestar 2 features two electric motors, one front and one rear, for AWD all wheel drive, and a 78 kilowatt hour battery. This dual motor driveline delivers great performance, while still retaining considerable range. The Polestar 2 is EPA rated at 92 MPGe in combined driving, and gets 233 miles on a full charge.
Charging rates for a DC fast charging outlet is 40 minutes to 80% capacity at 150 kilowatts, or 8 hours to 100% capacity with a 11 kilowatt level 2 wall box, and 22 hours via a standard 110 volt power outlet.
The Polestar 2 has several unique features, like: One pedal drive capabilities with three drive modes for regenerative braking, off, low and standard, along with, on or off creep mode. The Polestar 2 also receives OTA over-the-air updates, and has full vehicle connectivity, and a digital key. Polestar’s do not have a start button, you just sit down with the key and go, and stop, hit park and walk away, to shut off the car.
Polestar 2 is a unique 5 door fastback design, combining the best of a sedan with additional rear storage space. The car is built on the Volvo Cars CMA platform and has a modern and minimalistic exterior, incorporating top rated safety and performance packages. Inside you’ll find sustainable materials, like a fully vegan interior with new Weave Tech fabric, and reconstructed wood.
People ask is Polestar better than Tesla? In terms of a premium level, compact BEV with decent range, the Tesla Model 3 and the Polestar 2 are pretty much evenly matched. Both offer five seats, all electric driving, and quick acceleration, and both are fighting for the same clientele. But if I had to choose one, I’d go with the Polestar, it just looks like the nicer car to me, inside and out, plus the car is eligible for the $7,500 federal tax credit.When your ready to buy a new electric car, the 2021 Polestar 2 should be at the very top of your ride and drive list, as it is one of the nicest, and newest, all electric cars on the market today. So call, click or visit your local Polestar Space for a test drive, and a Bottom Line price review, on the all new 2021 Polestar 2 Fastback Sedan.
A word to the wise is sufficient: Be Smart, Stay Safe, and Just Breathe. Remember, “You Are What You Drive ©” And maybe, just for those reasons alone, you should “Drive one, Buy one, Today ©”.
This Bottom Line Review is provided by: Tony Leopardo © AutoWire.Net.
“Tony the Car Guy” is an automotive writer, editor and publisher in the San Francisco Bay Area. If you have a question, or comment for Tony, send it to tonyleo@pacbell.net or visit AutoWire.Net at www.autowire.net