Directly inspired by the Tesla Model 3, the best-selling electric vehicle in North America, the Polestar 2 is a worthy alternative. Doug DeMuro had the chance of testing the Sino-Swedish car, which is made in China, although Polestar is headquartered in Volvo’s home country.
Priced from $59,900 before options, the five-door liftback is a little smaller than a BMW 3 Series. As opposed to the most popular sedan in this segment, the newcomer is a lot quirkier, starting with the backlit logo in the sunroof. Polestar lettering is visible only in the taillights, which goes to show how much the company believes in the power of the Polestar badge.
The 2 also takes a different approach from Tesla and the Bavarian automaker in terms of infotainment. Not only does it feature a portrait-oriented display, but it runs Android OS instead of a homebrew operating system. Typical of a forward-looking vehicle with all-electric propulsion, Polestar couldn’t help itself but make the controls for the A/C and heated seats digital.
All versions feature a high-resolution screen instead of traditional gauges in the instrument cluster, which is understandable for a vehicle that relies on over-the-air updates for new firmware. Rather unusual for a sedan, especially a compact executive with premium ambitions, Doug can’t believe that you get a single cupholder instead of a pair. There is a second cupholder in the center console’s storage area, which isn’t the kind of place where I or anyone in their right mind would place a hot cup of Starbucks.
With the front passenger seatback pushed very far up front, DeMuro doesn’t have enough legroom in the rear seat. “My head is almost right up on the ceiling. This is not a huge car,” he reports. Doug also shows us the trunk area, where you’ll notice there’s no spare wheel. Instead, owners will have to work their magic with the rather useless tire repair kit.
For all the wrongs of the Polestar 2, the six-foot and four-inch car vlogger (make that 1.93 meters in European currency) loves the technology. “Tesla doesn’t hold a distinct advantage anymore,” said Doug. “It clearly looks better than a Model 3, and - of course - the performance is here as well.”
Be that as it may, the Model 3 Performance scored higher on the Dougscore board with 67 points to its name as opposed to 62 points for the Polestar 2. The biggest problem of the Sino-Swedish interloper is value, which simply isn’t up there with the sedan from Fremont, California.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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