Everything you need to know: The Polestar 2

In a nutshell - Polestar 2:

• Electric performance fastback set to take on the Tesla 3.
• First customer vehicles have landed in Europe, with deliveries on the continent due in August.
• 408 hp, 0-60mph in 4.7 seconds.
• Range of 292 miles on a full charge.
• Simplicity is key - with the digital interface system entirely Google.
• Priced from £46,900 and on the road in 2020.

Blistering performance meets the electric revolution with the groundbreaking Polestar 2.

And with the first vehicles hitting European roads within weeks, this ‘electric performance fastback’ has got the similarly-priced Tesla 3 in its sights.

First thing’s first: who is Polestar, exactly, and why should you be interested in buying a car from them? 

Polestar is an electric car brand jointly owned by Sweden’s Volvo Car Group and China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding.

Geely, in case you’re unfamiliar, acquired a majority stake in British sports brand Lotus Cars in 2017, so they’re not unfamiliar with road-rockets that put a grin on your face.

And since 2017, Polestar has been slowly making every other car manufacturer on the face of the planet sit up and take notice as they get their elbows into the electric car market.

The firm’s first effort, the Polestar, was something of a dry run, and limited to just 1,500 models.

The sleek ‘1’ was a Hybrid GT with 609 hp on tap, 1,000 Nm of torque, and a range of 77 miles in electric-only mode.  

The Polestar 2, however, is a different beast entirely, where Polestar appear to be putting into practice everything they learned with their debut vehicle.

What you get is a fully-electric, higher volume premium fastback that boasts power of 300 kW (408 hp), 660 Nm of torque, all-wheel drive, a 78 kWh battery pack and a range of 292 miles on the WLTP cycle.

Those are impressive stats - and Polestar has rightly got the bit between its teeth.  

A spokesperson says: “Polestar is a company that breaks with tradition. We feel that a car should stand out because every part of it has been thoroughly thought out.  

“As a result, we’ve designed the Polestar 2 down to a level where even the tiniest detail has a purpose. Stripping away the inessential to leave pure, progressive performance.”

As with all electric cars, charging times vary depending on how much energy is left in the battery and what kind of power outlet you are using.

Use a 11 kW wallbox and the Polestar 2 takes around 8 hours to charge fully from flat.

But using a 150 kW fast-charger means you can fill the ‘tank’ to 80 per cent in just 40 minutes.

True to form for a company with roots in Sweden, Polestar are passionate about safety as well as getting you from A-B as rapidly as possible.

There’s a new Acoustic Vehicle Alert system, front-inner-side airbags, and the battery pack is protected in a collision thanks to the fact it’s fully housed in a solid aluminium block within the floor structure of the chassis.

Thomas Ingenlath, Chief Executive Officer of Polestar, comments: “Safety is of paramount importance for Polestar. We are directly linked to Volvo Cars and with that comes their famous reputation for outstanding safety technology. So of course, Polestar cars are designed to be amongst the safest in the world and we are really proud of that.”

Simplicity is also paramount - with a fully-Google interface that’s highly controllable by your voice and which should be as simple to use as operating any Tablet.

While the base model costs £46,900 - roughly £7,000 more expensive than Tesla’s Model 3 - you can crank things up a notch with the ‘Performance Pack’, which adds Brembo brakes and adjustable Öhlins dampers.

And don’t forget, there’s a ‘Polestar 3’ due to drop next year. Watch this space.