We ‘bought’ a Polestar 2 – follow our ownership journey

Welcome to our new long-term review format. We don't actually buy these cars, but do try to replicate as much of the purchase experience as we can so that you get the full picture.

We’ve welcomed a 2023 Polestar 2 Long Range Single Motor into our garage for eight weeks. 

The Polestar 2 landed in Australia in February 2022 as the first local offering from Volvo’s new all-electric, performance-focussed spin-off brand. 

As one of Australia’s newest all-electric vehicle offerings, we’re keen to see how the Polestar – a medium-sized liftback sedan – functions as an only car for inner-city dwellers (many of them without off-street parking).

As such, we’re hoping to condense the full ownership experience into only eight weeks.  

We’re going to use this car as a daily driver, commuting to and from work, running errands on the weekends, driving it both solo and loaded up with family and friends, and charging it when and where we can in the process. 

Our coverage will kick off with the Polestar handover experience – mirroring what real-life buyers will encounter when collecting their car. 

From there, we will explore everything this new car has to offer and detail it in granular detail, from daily gripes to memorable highlights, plus all the mundane things in between. 

If you’d like to know something about this car, or want to see us doing something specific with it, tell us! We will do our best to answer your questions and carry out any specific activities or tests you’d like to see – on camera, where possible.

Shoot us an email at askdrive@drive.com.au.

Although it only arrived in Australia fairly recently, in February 2022, we’re already pretty familiar with the Polestar 2. 

We first tested the all-electric new arrival at its local launch in late 2021, before finally welcoming it into our Melbourne garage for the first time in May 2022.

Since then, we’ve tested it in both single motor and dual-motor form, and included it in comparisons with competitors like Tesla and Hyundai.  

If you’d like to learn more about the Polestar 2 range, its features and equipment, check out our Polestar 2 showroom. 

On a fairly nondescript side street in Port Melbourne, among apartment buildings, office blocks, and shipping containers, sits the unassuming yet subtly stylish Polestar collection site.

There’s no giant logo, just a muted brown building with a roller door, a small, subtle black sign and a white shipping container that reads “Polestar 2 test drive”.

It’s Scandinavian minimalism at its best – and a welcome departure from garish dealership forecourts with their flailing inflatable noodle men and bright yellow discount signs. 

That’s likely because Polestar doesn’t really need dealerships in the traditional sense – not according to the staff at the handover site, who say the drive home is often the first time new Polestar owners will set foot in their car. 

Inside, gleaming examples of the liftback sedan – all in Scandi-approved muted shades of white, grey and blue – sit against a background of concrete flooring and high-definition screens displaying the model’s various configurations. 

I’m greeted by Mary, my positively delightful Polestar host, who will be conducting my vehicle walk-through, with all Polestar buyers treated to a roughly 60-minute tour of their new car. 

Mary starts the tour by talking me through the three main options for Polestar buyers: the Standard Range Single Motor, the Long Range Single Motor, and the flagship Long Range Dual Motor. 

My car is the Long Range Single Motor variant, which sits in the middle of the range and starts at $68,400 before on-road costs and options – roughly $4500 than the base Standard Range variant. 

That extra spend buys you a larger 78kWh battery offering an estimated range of up to 540km (WLTP) – roughly 60km more than the entry-level model. 

It’s front-wheel drive, and can complete the 0–100km/h sprint in 7.4 seconds.

Those craving added performance can opt for the Long Range Dual Motor variant, which offers all-wheel drive and can reach 100km/h from a standstill in 4.7 seconds. 

My particular Polestar 2 is finished in the eminently appealing shade of Magnesium – an iridescent pale grey that can look white or blue depending on the lighting. 

It’s also kitted out with two of three available options packs – the $3400 Pilot Lite Pack, and the $6000 Plus Pack, bringing the total as-tested price to $84,006 drive-away.

The Pilot Lite Pack adds a host of active safety features, while the Plus Pack adds mostly aesthetic and comfort updates. You can also opt for the $8000 Performance Pack, which adds bigger wheels, a dynamic chassis, Brembo brakes and Swedish gold seatbelts. 

RELATED: Read our comprehensive breakdown of Polestar's Australian service network

The Polestar 2 receives some basic safety equipment as standard – like front and rear parking sensors and lane-keeping assistance – but the Pilot Lite Pack was made an optional extra to lower the starting price of the car, making it accessible to more buyers and likely sneaking it under the price limit for certain state government incentives.

It was tested by ANCAP in 2021 and received a five-star safety rating, scoring 92 per cent for adult occupant protection, 87 per cent for child occupant protection, 80 per cent for vulnerable road user protection and 82 per cent for the safety assist category.

According to Mary, the safety enhancement pack is proving a popular extra – with most buyers opting to add features like a rear cross-traffic alert, adaptive cruise control and blind-spot monitoring at an additional cost. 

As part of my tour, Mary highlights thoughtful inclusions like the SOS button, which can alert emergency services when required, or the call connect button, which connects Polestar owners with a call centre in Ballarat, where they can take advantage of their five years of roadside assistance coverage – a complimentary inclusion on all new Polestar cars.

There’s no sense of urgency and Mary doesn’t brush over anything – intent on making sure I truly understand how the various systems operate and pausing for any and all questions. 

In fact, it’s a soothing and immersive experience, free from the typical negotiations and paperwork associated with buying a car given the buying process takes place entirely online. 

I'd describe the overall vibe as a combination of Apple Genius bar, high-end spa and minimalist hotel lobby.

Despite the comprehensive nature of the tour, I feel the need to ask for more information on the charging process, which I typically find the most daunting part of electric car ownership.

The Polestar receives a seven-metre AC charging cord as standard in the purchase price, and the charging process appears simple enough, with the ability to pre-set your maximum charging current (so as not to blow a fuse in your home) and ideal battery charge percentage through a straightforward screen on the central display.

The longest part of the process is setting up the Polestar app, which requires me to create a Polestar user account and pair the app with my car – which I’ve affectionately nicknamed ‘Polly’. 

The process is fairly simple, but I was glad to have Mary there guiding me through it.

Similarly, setting up the car’s in-built Android-powered operating system and coupling it with my personal Google profile takes more than a few steps. 

It’s a unique set-up, but one that appeals to me as someone who uses a Google Home and Google doorbell. It allows you to access voice commands by saying “Hey Google”, and replaces a typical satellite navigation system with Google Maps, so it’s familiar to anyone who uses an Android device. 

My “Hey Google” assistant isn’t cooperative during the tour, but it doesn’t bother me too much, as I’m able to bypass it by saying “Hey Siri” to my phone via the wired Apple CarPlay (possibly defeating the purpose somewhat, but it’s good to know you have options). 

By the time I leave the collection centre, however, it's back to being responsive.

The interior of the car is visually striking, and feels more substantial than some other electric cars I’ve driven. More like a car than an iPad on wheels. 

My first impression is that the roof line feels lower than I’m used to in my usual SUV, and the car feels dark despite the panoramic glass roof, but otherwise it’s a reasonably comfortable space with premium leanings – plus that eye-catching Volvo-esque 11.5-inch centre touch display. 

The sheer amount of technology at hand is a little overwhelming, and I briefly consider the fact I’m glad I have eight weeks to get to know Polly, because she’s as layered as an onion. 

With my app, keys, Google profile and car all paired (I think), my tour comes to a close – and my inane questions have seen it run well over the one-hour mark. Mary’s patience and enthusiasm didn’t falter once. 

Before driving out of the delivery location, I have an embarrassing pause where I attempt to find the ‘start’ button before remembering the car turns on automatically upon getting in. D’oh. 

I think I covered well enough, though, and I silently slink out of the delivery centre and into the big wide world, but not before a word of warning from the centre manager, only partly in jest: “This car will get you a speeding ticket if you let it, so please be careful”.

Ah, Polly. This should be interesting. 

If you're anything like me, having a soundtrack to your daily drive is key to your overall enjoyment of a car.

The good news is that the Polestar 2's Harman Kardon premium soundsystem (part of the $6000 Plus Pack) encompasses you in a silky bubble of sound and the lack of engine noise only serves to amplify the crispness.

One of theother cool things about the Polestar 2 is that it has its own SIM card, meaning you can directly download apps from the world wide web onto your car's infotainment system.

My first priority, in lieu of Apple CarPlay (which I still haven't connected because I don't own a USB-C cord and there are no old-school USB ports in Polly), was to download the Spotify app.

Turns out it's a remarkably easy process. You simply hit the Google Play icon (the rainbow arrow on the bottom of the home screen), search for the app you want and click 'Install' (there's a handy how-to video here).

Once installed, my car flashed up a QR code that I scanned with my phone, allowing me to log in to my account immediately and have all my playlists pre-load.

I particularly love how impactful the album cover art looks when it appears on the Polestar 2's 11.15-inch vertical central display.

Also, while I initially hesitated to upload these photos of my incredibly dirty screen, this review is meant to show you the real-life ownership experience and, in the interests of transparency, this is how fingerprint-covered your glossy touchscreen is likely to get in a matter of days. Sorry.

Houston, we have a problem. My lovely colleague Emma Notarfrancesco borrowed Polly for the evening and got into the car in the morning to find she had a blank screen instead of the 360-degree surround view camera (part of the $3400 Pilot Lite Pack).

She hadn't done anything differently or changed any settings – it just vanished. Emma checked to see there was nothing obscuring the camera and scrolled through all of the car's settings to no avail.

While the parking sensors were still functioning as normal, we were in the dark in terms of any kind of camera view.

That proved pretty challenging in a car that has limited rearward visibility and a fairly long body (4.6m to be precise), making it already tricky to park.

Enter: James Ward, our fearless Director of Content.

James' quick tour through Polestar 2 owner forums revealed this was a somewhat common conundrum – and the fix was resetting the infotainment system.

To do this, James held down the 'Home' button at the bottom of the screen for a solid 30 seconds.

This will make the central screen blank and remove the Google-powered map from the driver display, but leave the rest of your driver display functions visible.

And voila! We're back in action.

While we're on the topic, however, I do have couple of complaints about the camera.

Firstly, it provides a warped perspective that makes it look like your car is sitting at the bottom of a swimming pool.

Secondly, the camera view shows your car perpetually surrounded by a grey rectangle – corresponding to the area the cameras can't map – which makes the view look unfinished and prevents you from achieving true precision when parking close to a kerb.

One of the perks of the Polestar 2's built-in Google system is that you can sign in with your Google profile and access all linked devices, including any Google Home units you might have in your house.

I have a Google Home in my son's room, which is linked to a light with a smart light bulb, meaning I can turn the light on and off with voice control.

As it turns out, I can also control this light via the Polestar's Google assistant – enabling me to turn on my house lights from my car before I get home at night, to ensure I'm not stumbling around in the dark.

I was skeptical as to whether or not this would actually work, but after conducting a test with my husband in the house monitoring the light, I can confirm it was a success!

Because I'm young and trendy (or, at least, desperately trying to be), I documented my test in a TikTok video, which I've included below. Feel free to comment on it and tell me how cool and trendy I am.

In terms of humiliating experiences, I'd put accidentally calling someone from your past fairly high on the list.

With that in mind, I think the Polestar 2's voice-activated Google Assistant is trying to ruin my life.

When I ask her to call someone from my contacts, not only does she misinterpret their name to a comical degree, but she immediately dials the person in my contacts list whose name bears the closest resemblance to this misinterpretation.

I am left flustered and hurriedly attempting to hang up before the other person registers my call.

Ted Airey, Drive's photographer, becomes 'Tad Errie' or 'Terry', while trying to call my own Mum inevitably leads to me calling the mum of a primary school friend I no longer speak to. Great.

Don't even start me on my attempts to call Emma Notarfrancesco. Madame Google absolutely cannot comprehend Emma's first name or surname and, instead, attempts to call my teenage neighbour, whose name bears no resemblance to Emma's.

I'll just leave you with this message, which is becoming something of a regular occurrence for me:

"How are you charging it?" my neighbour asked me yesterday when gesturing to my Polestar 2, which was parked on our small, crowded, one-way inner-city street.

"With great difficulty," I answered.

That's the truth. As previously mentioned, I don't have off-street parking, so I've relied mostly on our office's carpark to charge the Polestar 2.

There's a 240-volt, 10-amp powerpoint in our work carpark, so I tend to plug the car into that during my working day, and it adds around 150km of range and 30 per cent battery capacity over around eight or nine hours. Enough to keep me comfortably topped up for a day of driving.

However, after taking a recent trip to Phillip Island for a video about the car (stay tuned to see me answer all of your excellent questions), I was running particularly low on charge, with only 85km of range and 19 per cent battery capacity left.

The problem was that none of the public charging locations near me fit into my day – which included breakfast with friends, birthday celebrations for a family member and my son's afternoon nap.

Instead, I headed to my parents' place (they are blessed with off-street parking) and plugged into a powerpoint for a top-up. In five hours, it added a measly 10 per cent battery charge and only 65km of range – just enough for me to not have to think about it for another 12 hours.

Unfortunately, with a bit more driving planned for this week, I had to find another solution today. So we decided to centre our family supermarket shopping trip around a nearby Chargefox AC charger.

I have visited this charger plenty of times before – including only a few days prior. It's not fast, but it's always quiet, it's reliable and it's not a particularly long distance from my house, plus it's near a fantastic fresh food market.

Alas, when we arrived at the charger today – located in a multilevel carpark – both spaces were occupied. Not only were they occupied, but they were occupied by Teslas.

This wouldn't be an issue, ladies and gentlemen, if it weren't for two things:

Now, let me tell you, if you've dragged your toddler and husband out of the way to an inconvenient location on a hot day, you will do just about anything to make your trouble worthwhile.

That was how I found myself re-parking the car so it was as close as possible to the Chargefox port, then snaking my charging cable under the tailgate of one of the Teslas in an effort to make it reach.

The whole process took 15 minutes that, quite frankly, we didn't have, given my son was already wriggling and whining.

Still, it was all finally looking like it would pay off when I plugged in and went to initialize the charging through the Chargefox app – only to find the charging session couldn't be started.

I stood around for 10 minutes waiting for loading status to clear and it never did.

A warning message on the Chargefox app declared: "Due to low power supply from the building some owners have had trouble charging."

And yet, this was the same charging station that had worked a charm mere days earlier (mind you, it took one hour to add 20km of range and it cost me $1).

Exasperated and exhausted, I unplugged my cable, re-parked my car and gave up.

Of course, I could have driven on to the next closest DC fast charger – an Evie station at Malvern Central – but that was an extra 20 minutes I didn't have handy. Plus, the supermarket there is a Woolworths... we're a Coles family.

#FirstWorldEVOwnerProblems.

I've had quite a few questions about whether or not the 'fixed panoramic sunroof' included on my car as part of the optional $6000 Plus Pack allows too much heat or sunlight into the cabin.

While an optional cover is available as an after-purchase accessory through the Polestar dealership, there's no in-built or automatic blind to cover the roof.

The thinking behind this was that not having to accommodate a blind or cover would remove bulk and maintain headroom in the cabin.

In my personal experience, this has been a tricky question to answer given my time in the Polestar 2 has been plagued by heavy rain and grey skies.

For the most part, however, I'd say that I didn't notice any more heat or glare in the cabin than I would with a car with a regular roof.

The glass roof does an excellent job of taking the edge out of a blazing sun, and while you're aware of the light it's bringing into the cabin, you won't have to wear sunglasses or feel like you're squinting.

Heat is a little harder to qualify. On the few days I've experienced temperatures consistently above the 25-degree mark, I did find the car's interior warm, but I don't think the roof was especially to blame.

Rather, the Weave Tech heats don't seem to breathe as well as other seat materials, and the car's dark interior is a magnet for extra warmth.

For the most part, the roof feels cool to the touch even in direct sunlight, but will begin to warm up after an hour or more.

Even then, it's not overly hot to the touch, nor did it result in me getting sunburnt (as has occurred to a colleague in another electric vehicle that will remain nameless).

According to Polestar, the cars fitted with a panoramic glass roof will actually perform better on a hot day than the cars with a regular roof.

It is 99.5 per cent UV resistant, which is over SPF50, and can reflect 32.7 per cent of heat directly away, while distributing 67.3 per cent of the heat – something a steel roof is incapable of.

Still, if I lived in a warmer climate, I'd definitely try before you buy and wear sunscreen as an added precaution on particularly hot days.

Polestar's Australian service network is expanding on an almost monthly basis. Here's what you need to know about service centre locations, service intervals, and over-the-air updates.

Read all about Polestar's servicing network here.

Trust me when I tell you, there is no form of vehicle testing more rigorous than a road trip with a toddler in bad traffic.

Read all about consumption, features and the road trip experience here.

No one hears them coming! Seriously, I’ve had at least five people walk right in front of my car this week alone. 

I’ve had to stay extremely vigilant and wipe at least 10km/h off the speed limit no matter where I am, to account for braking distance in the event a hapless pedestrian wanders into my path. 

Last week, an older gentleman was walking down the middle of a quiet side street with me in my Polestar 2 politely tailing him at a safe distance for at least 50 metres (I didn’t want to beep my horn for fear of scaring him senseless).

He looked so alarmed when he eventually turned around and spotted my car that I thought he might have a minor heart attack. 

I think we take for granted how much we rely on audio cues to tell us whether a vehicle is approaching. It’s why crossing the road with headphones in should always be approached with caution. 

I’m aware quite a few electric cars emit beeping, buzzing or whirring noises when reversing and maneuvering at low speeds – the Polestar 2 sounds a subtle beep when reversing and a whirring noise when driving – but it’s possible a stronger sound effect might also be required when in full forward motion. 

Trust me, I’m all for saying goodbye to noisy internal combustion engines, but perhaps we need to find a happy medium so I’m not constantly on edge and driving at 10km/h?

November 23, 2022: Sun, sand and traffic jams: The Polestar 2 tackles a family road trip

During our time with our Polestar 2 long-term review car, we received plenty of questions from curious readers and prospective electric-car buyers.

However, one clear theme emerged in the line of questioning and it had everything to do with how far the Polestar 2 can drive in between charges.

In particular, you wanted to know how to make this range last as long as possible and how to charge the car if you don’t have access to a charger.

To get the answers straight from the source, we asked Matt McCroarey, Customer Service Senior Manager at Polestar Australia – and a few other experts – to give us the lowdown on all things Polestar range and charging.

Read all about charging and range here.

I received an excellent email question from one of our readers who faced a very similar charging conundrum to me and it made me realise I hadn’t fully shared the intricacies of how I’ve charged the Polestar 2 during my long-term loan.

As such, I’m sharing our email exchange in the hopes it will help others!

Hi

We live in a 20 year old Queensland apartment complex and have an enclosed garage areas with 10 amp power point which we requested as part of our off the plan purchase. (Believed to be only one to have own metered power supply in a 141 apartment complex)

It is not possible to upgrade to either 15 amp supply or 415 due to body corporate concerns over the “how to do it” for benefit of few, possible fire issue concerns with relative batteries and that the wiring system is not capable, no specific area where a suitable supply/use area can be created for a resident only short term use point etc etc .

So what I would find interesting as part of your test is restricting your charging process for say 4-6 weeks to a 10 amp supply system to indicate the problems and frustrations with restricted supply.

There is the second issue not related to the car test and that is the barriers in retrofitting supply to apartment complexes but that is for another time in the future when bodies corporate are faced with “revolt” over the issue and take matters to arbitration as per the long term saga issue of pets.

Peter

Hi Peter,

Thanks so much for sending this through. I really relate to this conundrum because I live in a small house in Melbourne's inner-city that has no off-street parking and no easily accessible fast chargers nearby (except for a massive Tesla Supercharger station one block away that's incompatible with anything non-Tesla – sigh).

As such, for my entire Polestar 2 loan, I relied heavily on the exact charging scenario you're talking about – a 10-amp/250V power point in our office garage. In fact, I never once used a full-blown DC fast charger. I found that plugging it in to charge for a full day of work (8-9 hours) would add between 25% battery capacity and around 110km of range.

That was more than enough to give me peace of mind and, because the Polestar 2's energy consumption is pretty low, it would carry me through about 2-3 days of normal driving.

I actually do think that if this is your only option, you'd be ok as long as you were diligent about plugging it in every night, or even for short periods while you're home. You might just have to budget for the occasional bi-weekly trip to a faster charging station to really get a good chunk of battery charge.

Of course, if you're driving long distances every day – over 50km – you might find this method of charging a little less impactful.

I hope that helps!

Susannah

I’ve been absolutely overwhelmed (in a good way) by the various questions I’ve received about my Polestar 2 long-term loan car.

You’re an inquisitive bunch, and you’ve made me think about things I don’t normally consider in a car review, so thank you!

Rather than systematically typing out my answers to your questions, I thought it would be more fun to take this on the road and respond to your queries while embarking on the four-hour round trip to Phillip Island.

In the process, I also pushed my range anxiety to the limit by travelling 282km in one day, without stopping to charge the car once.

Want to find out whether I made it back? Watch the full video below:

Well, Polly and I have come to the end of the road, so to speak.

It’s with great reluctance, but also a tiny shred of relief, that I return the keys to my Polestar 2 long-term loan car.

Mostly, I’ll miss the smug feeling of knowing I could drive 1km to the supermarket guilt-free and emissions-free.

I’ll also miss the impressed stares, questions and conversations with curious passers-by and Polestar enthusiasts, as well as the epic sound system, fabulous overhead camera and high-tech driver assistance, comfort and convenience features (especially the seat heaters). 

Relinquishing the peace and quiet of a petrol-free existence will also be a sacrifice, and I’m not looking forward to having to reacquaint myself with service stations. 

However, I won’t lie – the mental load of planning my charging sessions in advance because I don’t have access to a power source at home was a bit of a brain drain and I won’t miss it.

I wish I had off-street parking with access to a wallbox or even just a powerpoint, because then my dream of owning an EV would be a more plausible reality. 

Charging aside, here are my closing thoughts on whether you should buy a Polestar 2. I hope you find it useful!

As an electric car, the Polestar 2 is a really enticing proposition.

It’s energy-efficient, with a massive range that served me incredibly well for daily driving and even the occasional longer trip.

Polestar has created a seamless and intuitive electric drive process for EV newcomers. 

The one-pedal driving settings make sense, the range assistant is a handy feature and the charging process is streamlined, with plenty of prompts and information to help you customise it to your specific needs.

As a daily driver, this car rides well on city roads and is comfortable and quiet. 

Out of town, it can feel a little less polished on unfinished rural roads and the back seat experience for passengers isn’t ideal over longer periods.

As a family car, the Polestar 2 wouldn’t be my first pick. 

It’s a sedan, so loading and unloading a toddler is a bit of a strain, and I would crave more boot space for my specific needs. 

Plus, the minimalist interior certainly looks better when kept clean. 

As a value proposition, Polestar has certainly opened doors for buyers craving a premium electric car for under $60,000 (as a starting price) – but there’s a catch.

While the single-motor, long-range variant certainly feels like the pick of the bunch – I’d imagine the dual-motor would be too powerful to Australian roads – the gaps in standard equipment could see you spending substantially more than $60,000.

Some of my favourite elements – like the 360-degree camera, the glass roof, the sound system and some of the active safety features – are all part of option packs. 

As such, my advice to you would be to go into the purchase process expecting to spend closer to $80,000 and up in order to get what you want. If a truly “affordable” electric car is what you’re after, this isn’t it.

Still, the ownership experience is impressively affordable, with free servicing and free roadside assistance for the first five years. 

That’s it from me! Thank you so much for reading and engaging with this review. And thank you, Polly, for all the good times.

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