Polestar 2 2023 review: Long range Single motor

The design of the Polestar 2, like a lot of EVs, has that futuristic look, but it’s not over-the-top. Will it age gracefully? Maybe not, but for right now, it looks really cool.

I like the way the interior isn’t finished with your standard leather or hard plastics, and that the combination of different textured materials compliment each other, adding to the modern look of the entire car.

I especially like the 3D etched deco material and the hexagon shaped gear shifter. But, although the gear shifter looks good, it tends to get in your way when reaching for the home button on the multimedia screen.

Another thing that gets in the way is the floor in the driver’s footwell. It is unusually high which feels a bit odd when resting your left foot away from the foot rest.

Although the hexagon-shaped gear shifter looks good, it tends to get in your way when reaching for the home button of the multimedia screen. (Image: Tom White)

I guess you get used to these kinds of things over time and maybe I just haven’t experienced enough EVs with big batteries under the floor, but personally I didn't find the cabin particularly comfortable.

It comes with 19-inch alloy wheels, which are standard, and the test car's 'Jupiter' colour will cost you an extra $1500! There are six colours to choose from, while 'Magnesium', a silver shade, comes at no extra cost.

If you look up, you'll see the fixed panoramic sunroof (no, it doesn’t open). Surprisingly, the cabin didn't get any hotter being parked in the sun compared to other cars, but it does let in a lot of light which was great until I needed to get my baby to sleep or keep the sun off his face.

The only option to darken the cabin is to purchase a separate roof sunshade that attaches with clips. 

Standard features of the Polestar 2 include 19-inch alloy wheels. (Image: Tom White)

Let’s talk about the head restraints. They look odd and aren’t comfortable when your seat is in a more upright position.

For us, with the rear facing capsule installed behind the passenger seat, the front seat needed to go further forward in order to get a comfortable enough recline to avoid our heads being pushed forward.

A quick browse of Polestar internet forums will reveal this is a common complaint, even for owners without baby seats installed.

One last thing. Up in the roof (on the inside) there is a small cut out that reflects the Polestar logo. This looks cool, but surely a flip down sunglass holder would be a more practical alternative.

The cabin space is just too small for a family using child seats. But if your kids are older and no longer in child seats, the space is livable.

The boot is a decent size. I could fit our standard sized pram in lengthways with three very full grocery bags.

A handy lid which divides the boot space comes extra with the Plus Pack, and it’s great for stopping groceries sliding around, among other things.

The liftback tailgate makes it easier when lifting heavy things in and out of it. (Image: Tom White)

You get 405-litre boot capacity, including 41L in a floor compartment with the back seats in use.

With the seats folded down, you get 1095L, including the 41L in the floor. But, bear in mind that includes space all the way up to the roof. The front storage space under the bonnet is also 41L.

Overall, it’s not a huge space when comparing it to a medium-sized SUV, but it is definitely enough for my day-to-day mum life, and with the liftback tailgate it's easy to lift heavy things in and out of. The electric tailgate has a soft close, which is a nice touch, too.  

The front storage space under the bonnet is 41L. (Image: Tom White)

I must also mention, the Polestar, like Tesla and Hyundai EVs, saves weight and space by having a tyre repair/inflator kit instead of a spare or space saver.

At first I thought it was a silly idea. But when you think about an EV, you’re not often doing long country drives, far away from civilisation, mainly because there just aren't enough charging stations around yet.

If you're unlucky enough to be dealing with a puncture, you can use the repair/inflator kit, which will be enough to get you to a nearby tyre shop.

Do bear in mind I'm reviewing this sedan specifically to see if it can work for a young family. I’ve got a seven-month old and three-and-a-half year old.

So, was the Polestar 2 practical for us? Well, no. It is massively lacking in storage.

In the front row, you get an averaged sized glove box, two little cubbies either side of the centre pillar, which is where we stored our sunglasses. And there are two cupholders.

But weirdly, one is in the centre console bin deeming the space useless as a permanent storage compartment.

It does have a small cut out, big enough to store the key fob or your garage remote, and next to the wireless charging pad is another spot for your passenger’s phone or your wallet.

You have some space in the doors, but annoyingly, they don’t keep drink bottles standing upright.

In the front row, you get an averaged sized glove box, two little cubbies and two cupholders. (Image: Tom White)

Then, the rear row is so impractical for a family. If your kids were no longer in child seats, this car might work. But the sunk-down, almost sports car style bucket seats just don't work for family life.

We needed to shove a towel under one end of our baby capsule to keep it within the recommended recline range.

The outboard seats have ISOFIX restraints and all three have top tether harness restraints, not that you would fit three child seats back here. You probably wouldn’t even get two side-by-side. Something to consider for your family.

Installing our car seats was a big pain. You definitely wouldn’t want to be interchanging your child seats regularly.

The rear head restraints don’t move up and down, or at least I couldn’t get them to move. You need to squeeze the anchor through a tiny slot gap to feed the strap through to the anchor point.

Then it’s nigh on impossible to tighten a capsule tether without contorting your wrist. It became a sweaty job and I’ll be glad to never fit a child seat in this car again.

In the rear, you have two cupholders in the centre armrest, space in each door for small water bottles, and map pockets behind the front seats. (Image: Tom White)

After a few negatives, I did find something that was great for parent life. The hard plastic on the back of the front seats. Perfect for toddlers with over-active legs!

The storage in the back seat isn’t too bad. You have two cupholders in the centre armrest, space in each door for small water bottles, and map pockets behind the front seats which strangely only come with the ‘Plus’ option pack.

There’s a reading light, two coat hooks on each side and directional air vents. The doors open nice and wide, and although not quite to 90 degrees, they were easy to wrangle the kids in and out through. 

One thing my toddler didn’t enjoy was how high the window sill is. He struggled to see out and on a long drive when he was already grumpy, it made it hard to distract him with things to look at outside. I know other parents will understand this as being something to deduct points over.

Overall, it gets the job done, but for my family, I want more than this. I want ease, convenience, effortlessness and well thought-out designs to minimise the list of things I need to think about every day, even just by a little, and I didn't get that with the Polestar 2.

I mentioned earlier that this car has the Pilot Lite Pack for an extra $3400, and you may be asking, what is that? Well, it’s a bunch of the active safety features I couldn’t live without and that a lot of new cars come standard with these days.

I would absolutely add this pack on, but I'd feel pretty dirty having to pay extra for what is now becoming standard. Some of these optional safety features are blind-spot information with steering support, rear cross-traffic alert with brake support, rear collision warning and mitigation, adaptive cruise control and 360-degree camera view.

Keep in mind, though, its main competitor, the Tesla Model 3 doesn't come with these safety features, either.

The Polestar 2 received the full five-star ANCAP safety rating, as tested in 2021. (Image: Tom White)

The adaptive cruise control isn’t as reactive as I’ve become used to and I didn’t feel comfortable relying on it to brake quickly enough whenever a leading car slowed abruptly.

Sure, I know in reality it would keep me safe (it’s designed by Volvo, after all) but for some reason I just didn’t feel as confident with this system as with others.

Standard are eight airbags, collision avoidance and mitigation with braking and steering support (with vehicle, cyclist and pedestrian detection) and forward collision warning, just to name a few. It also received the full five-star ANCAP safety rating, as tested in 2021.

Polestars come with a five-year, unlimited kilometre vehicle warranty. The battery has an eight-year or 160,000km warranty, whichever comes first.

If the battery capacity reduces below 70 per cent within the first eight years, it will be replaced free of charge. The battery also has a 12-year corrosion warranty, if corrosion is due to faulty materials.

Polestar has a five-year or 100,000km complimentary service plan with five-year roadside assist included. Service is every 24 months or 30,000km, whichever occurs first.

Polestars come with a five-year, unlimited kilometre vehicle warranty. (Image: Tom White)