OSV's video: Polestar 2 In-Depth UK Review - Best Luxury Electric Car

BUY, LEASE OR FINANCE A POLESTAR 2 FROM OSV: https://bit.ly/3rxFUS4 The Polestar 2 is this Swedish EV brand's most important model. It's a high quality sporting EV, a rare and rather unique five-door hatch with quality, handling and battery technology all benchmarked against the best that the premium segment competition can offer. TIMESTAMPS 00:00​​​​ Introduction 00:36 Background 03:36 Driving Experience 11:39 Design & Build 25:43 Market & Model Range 42:55 Cost of Ownership 56:47 Summary Background You may vaguely be aware of the Polestar brand as Volvo's luxury platform for uniquely designed sporting electric models. Every premium marque makes an EV these days of course, but many of them merely feel like battery-powered versions of existing cars. For an early adopter to plug-in motoring, there's an undeniable appeal in the clean sheet approach that segment originator Tesla's products bring to the table. Polestar aims to deliver that but combine it with the depth of engineering you'd get from a more established manufacturer. Its first product was the Polestar 1, a beefy luxury GT coupe that was a plug-in hybrid and came with a hefty £140,000 price tag. The model we look at here though, the Polestar 2, is much more like it, a full-EV priced more accessibly from around £40,000 and aimed directly at sportier versions of the Tesla Model 3. Driving Experience We get the Polestar concept: creation of electric cars for the kind of customer who'd normally buy a conventional premium sports saloon. But as such a buyer, you might understandably have a few qualms about choosing such a thing from a subsidiary of the Volvo marque, a maker yet to deliver any sort of enthusiast-orientated product and a brand that has announced its intention to limit the top speed of all its cars to 112mph. But give this Polestar 2 model a chance. The technical spec is, after all, pretty tempting. The top version offers a dual motor AWD drivetrain with 408hp and 660Nm of torque - more than a Nissan GT-R. There's a hefty 78kWh battery with a 300kW electric motor and a WLTP-rated driving range of up to 298 miles. In this form, the '2' can take off from rest like a scalded cat (62mph occupies just 4.7s) and you'll be flat out all the way to 140mph. If you can't stretch to that, two front-mounted single motor variants are more affordably available. The mid-range 231hp model has the same long-range 78kWh battery as the top model, paired with a 170kW motor, and can go up to 335 miles. Finally, the base 224hp variant has a smaller, standard-range battery (64 kWh in size) paired with a 165kW motor and offering a range of up to 273 miles. Whatever your choice of derivative, you might be surprised to find just how good the Polestar 2 is to drive. Massive efforts have been made to imbue this car with levels of steering feel and body control that are about as far from your perception of Volvo as it's possible to get. And an optional 'Performance Pack' on the top variant includes a unique set of Ohlins dampers that can be formatted with a choice of 22 options to deliver suspension feel to suit your exact preference. Design and Build You'd recognise the Polestar 2 as a car from the Volvo family of brands (especially from the rear) but it also has a chunky, purposeful sporty and distinctively Swedish feel of its own. Looks probably aren't going to be the primary reason you choose this contender (and they won't immediately advertise the fact that you've probably spent £40,000-£50,000 on it) but if you're OK with something a little more conservatively premium, then there's plenty to like here. Under the skin lies the same CMA platform that's used by a Volvo XC40 but it's had to be updated with a unique front subframe for extra crash protection (electric motors are less absorbent in an impact than an engine), plus there are modifications at the rear to support the heavy lithium-ion battery pack. **CAR REVIEW PLAYLISTS** ► New Car Reviews: https://bit.ly/3myaZiV ► Behind the Wheel: https://bit.ly/35JuUo7 ► Highlight Car Reviews: https://bit.ly/35N1Wnx ► Electric Car Reviews: https://bit.ly/2TAqjPK ► Short Car Reviews: https://bit.ly/2HHlJMS ► Hatchback Reviews: https://bit.ly/3mKNAen ► SUV & 4X4 Reviews: https://bit.ly/37Verjt ► Saloon Reviews: https://bit.ly/37QrbrD ► City Car Reviews: https://bit.ly/3jDzBVI ► Estate Car Reviews: https://bit.ly/3kDflog ► Sports Car and Coupe Reviews: https://bit.ly/2TwkzXb ► MPV Reviews: https://bit.ly/3e7114S ► Van Reviews: https://bit.ly/31QWcb4 ► Business Car Reviews: https://bit.ly/3kGZncN ► Family Car Reviews: https://bit.ly/3myLaiy **FOLLOW OSV ON** ► Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OSVLtd/ ► Twitter: https://twitter.com/osvmotoringnews ► Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/osvltd/