Page 1: What is Polestar, and what’s a Polestar 2?

So how does it drive? Tesla killer or BMW beater?

The Tesla comparisons are inevitable, for obvious reasons, so we might as well get them out of the way. Compared to a Model 3 Performance, the Polestar 2 as we drove it doesn’t feel particularly quick.

But that shouldn’t matter, because it’s a mighty speedy car in its own right. Bury the accelerator, and the Polestar shoots forward with the magical, instant, seemingly endless thrust that only electrons are able to deliver.

Sounds like a low-flying UFO of sorts…

It’s capable of mustering up that torquey oomph which will take EV newbies by surprise, and could still bring a smile a driver’s face long after you’re used to it. What also keeps drivers happy is the handling, since it feels like a balanced, agile machine and that low, low centre of gravity means the car feels planted throughout most handling shenanigans.

The huge Brembo brakes of the Performance pack also provide excellent, feelsome stopping power – no underbraked, overweight feeling here when it comes time to drop anchor.

As long as you’re on smooth tarmac, the Polestar 2 absolutely glides along in near-silence regardless of your speed, the car feeling very well sorted, if perhaps in the typical EV way. You only really start to notice the weight when the road gets tricky and you push quite hard – but it’s far better than an electric SUV for this sort of thing.

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But it’s 2.1-tonnes with 20-inch wheels, right?

Yes, rough road surfaces do throw the huge wheels and sporty suspension into the spotlight, as it can get jiggly over the bad stuff.

We expect the regular car to ride more comfortably than the optional Performance Pack but the latter does have a trick: The Ohlins dampers are adjustable, which means you could presumably tune them for more comfort and less sportiness.

This process requires a jack and removal of the wheel lining housing, which ensures that almost nobody will bother – take it from motorcycle riders who have manually-adjustable suspension that’s easily accessible.

What do you think about the car’s looks?

Right now it draws attention through novelty. The car’s design language is unique enough that, combined with the unfamiliar star emblem, means people will be rubbernecking the car as it glides by.

Theoretically the Polestar 2 is a recipe for boredom: A mid/executive-sized fastback sedan with a sloping roofline for better aerodynamics, a rear light bar, and clever styling to hide the height added by the battery pack. There, we’ve just described the Tesla Model 3, and half of the EVs on the market, respectively.

Plus, Polestar has some recognisably Volvo parts – like the ‘Thor’s Hammer’ LED lights – but it’s not just restyled Volvo for sure. Polestar goes for an angular, almost clinically-clean design language that’s successful in that it doesn’t quite look like anything else out there, and a big contrast to Tesla’s curvy lines.

The Polestar 2 itself has a rather athletic stance thanks to the 20-inch wheels, enhanced by the clever application of blacked-out body parts: See the darkened lower section of the car (hides the height) and the blacked out A-pillars. The tail section also seems to blend into the roof – yes that’s a panoramic roof but the middle section (with the GPS antenna) is blacked out. Finally, that rear lightbar is different and thin-lined enough to look fresh.

What about the inside?

In short, it’s Volvo-like, but different. There’s the welcome, pared-down Scandinavian aesthetic, good build quality – and minor ergonomic irritations.

Dark soft-touch panels, denim-like trim inserts, unfinished dark wood and soft ambient lighting set the stage for the Scandi-min feel, plus most of what you touch does feel pleasingly premium. Naturally most of this material – example the ‘denim’ –  is recycled and vegan.

The centre section rises up to frame the screen and gearshifter. You can stow your smartphone in the wireless charge bay there, plus the key, which is far better than dunking it in a cup holder. But in traditional Volvo fashion the rib sticks far enough that it’ll jab your left  knee occasionally.

Yet overall, like a Volvo the Polestar 2’s interior is a Zen-like place to be, more so considering the silence of the electric drive. However, electronics also mar that a little, which leads us to…

… is it fiddly to operate?

Polestar makes a big deal out of the fact that the infotainment system is powered by Android Automotive, meaning its OS is from Google – this debuted earlier in the Volvo XC90. That has its pluses — your car is another 4G device, so it can run apps natively, including the ones we all know and love, like Google Maps, Spotify, Podcasts and so on.

Sign in with your Google account and presumably your entire life is now in your Polestar, as everything syncs up, plus you can download apps from the Play store.

But (for now at least), you can’t connect with Apple CarPlay, which will annoy a large block of customers, and WhatsApp isn’t available for Android Automotive yet, so you can’t dictate texts or have them read to you. That wouldn’t be such a bummer if that sort of thing wasn’t widely available now, but you can do it in a Kia, so you should be able to do it in a Polestar. Reps from Wearnes say the system will get better with updates, so it’s a matter of waiting.

Sounds a bit half-finished, honestly.

It does, doesn’t it? There’s no companion app with the car, so you can’t remotely switch on the air-con with your phone ahead of your journey, for instance. That’s apparently coming next year.

The Google Assistant works well as Google Assistant, but it feels separate from the car. You can open a window in your Mercedes or tell your BMW that you’re feeling warm, and both know what to do, but the Polestar doesn’t.

Still, in the tech era, it’s a mistake to think that something that isn’t great now won’t become brilliant later. Polestar says over-the-air updates will add features regularly and keep the car feeling fresh. That’s not idle talk. In Europe, customers have been able to buy an extra 68 horsepower for roughly 1,000 Euros. You’d sign up for that, no?

One way we think Polestar might have missed a trick is to have surrendered its digital relationship with you and turned it over to Google. To wake the assistant you say, “Hey, Google,” instead of “Hey, Polestar.” That makes for a seamless experience if you’re a Google Home user, but it also means anyone could jump from this to another Android Automotive car in the future and feel right at home. We wonder how many Audi drivers stick to Audis because they don’t want to learn how to use, say, BMW OS 8.0.

Page 3: Where the Polestar stumbles a little is high tech

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