The Polestar 2 line-up will gain a new entry-level variant for 2021, lowering the EV’s starting price to £39,900 and ensuring it undercuts the Tesla Model 3 for the first time. The standard range, single-motor Polestar slots beneath the existing long range single- and dual-motor variants, but it retains respectable on-paper performance, with 224hp available at the front axle, a seven-second 0-60mph time and up to 270 miles possible on one charge of the 64kWh battery. Best of all, it doesn’t look any different despite its lower rank.
That’s key, because the Polestar 2 is purposefully handsome, and as Dan found out on our first drive last year, it handles rather well when equipped with the optional Performance Pack, the most enthusiast-friendly of three available upgrades. For £5,000, the pack adds adjustable Ohlins dampers and big Brembo brakes, among other things, affirming that Polestar wants to engage with buyers who value lateral performance as much as straight line shove. You can also, predictably, add packs for heightened driving assistance and cabin comfort. Suffice it to say that extending the accessibility of a model with a sub-£40k list price should do no harm to the brand’s efforts to get ‘traditionalists’ on board with the EV brigade.
Of course, the focus of this all-electric brand is, obviously, much broader, and that’s always been clear in the Polestar 2’s design. Carried over from the higher-spec models are 19-inch alloys, the same LED lights and the frameless mirrors that add to the design-led theme. Inside, there’s the same ‘WeaveTech’ vegan upholstery available in two colour themes, a powerful eight-speaker sound system and an 11-inch infotainment system with Android Automotive OS software. The tech’s certainly on the money, with Polestar owners soon able to use their phones as Digital Keys, alongside over-the-air updates.
Charging infrastructure remains the biggest sticking point for most buyers in Britain, but Polestar believes 2021 is its year. It has reason to be cheerful, with the 2’s launch in 2020 having seen as many as 2,800 cars sold per month in Europe, and a higher monthly average than the Jaguar I-Pace - with a large proportion of buyers ticking that Ohlins-adding box, apparently. In Polestar’s home market, the 2 even outsold the Model 3, and there’s good reason to believe it was for more than just domestic market support. Polestar’s even got the order-to-delivery time to under 4.5 months. Expect to see plenty more on the road this year.
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