2024 Polestar 2 review: Single motor Long range – Major updates take the electric vehicle fight to Tesla

July 26, 2023July 26, 2023 Andrew Chesterton 4698 Views australia, polestar 2, review, Tesla Model 3

What’s new in the 2024 Polestar 2?

2024 Polestar 2 review: The bigger question, I think, is what isn’t? Almost everything under the skin has been updated and improved here, from the motor and battery to the driven wheels (shifted from front-drive to rear-drive) and the standard safety equipment.

As midlife updates go, they don’t get much more comprehensive than this.

The idea, says Polestar, is to finally deliver the car this 2 was always supposed to be. Which is why this Polestar 2 Single motor Long range doesn’t just introduce a new, more efficient and more powerful motor — lifting power outputs from 170kW and 330Nm to 220kW and 490Nm — but it also now powers the rear wheels, rather than the front tyres.

Those are big power increases, too, with this mid-tier Polestar 2 now promising a sprint to 100km/h in brisk 6.2 seconds.

There’s also a bigger battery and a better driving range (which we’ll come back to in a moment), and the new-look front end is now home to Polestar’s ‘SmartZone’, which includes a camera and radar, unlocking extra standard safety equipment.

What does the new Polestar 2 cost?

It can’t all be good news, right? There are price rises across the board here — of up to $4k, depending on the model — but in Polestar’s defence, there’s also a lot more bang for those bucks.

The 2024 Polestar 2 lineup is as follows:

Standard range Single motor: $67,400*
Long range Single motor: $71,400*
Long range Dual motor: $76,400*
*All prices MSRP before on-road costs and subsidies
For more information or to configure a vehicle, visit Polestar.

There are all the powertrain and safety upgrades, of course, but the rest of the equipment list is largely unchanged.

Cabin tech is still handled by a 11.2-inch centre screen, which joins the customisable display in the driver’s binnacle. There are also embossed textile seats which are powered up front, and there is dual-zone climate, wireless phone charging and Apple CarPlay, the latter of which will pipe your podcasts through an eight-speaker stereo.

Outside, the Polestar 2 Single motor Long range wears 19-inch alloys, and scores LED lighting and DRLs.

How does the new Polestar 2 drive?

Short answer? Better.

The swap to rear-wheel drive has made a difference that’s immediately noticeable here. Our road test was pretty brief, and took in typically rain-soaked British roads, but even in these less-than-ideal conditions the Polestar 2 felt engaging from behind the wheel, with little in the way of wheel spin no matter how aggressive I got with the accelerator.

But it is when cornering that the driven-wheels swap makes itself best known, with the Polestar 2 now delivering that satisfying feeling of being pushed through a bend, rather than pulled out of one.

The steering is good, too. It’s not super light and sharp, like it can feel in Tesla product, but instead offers up a nice weighting that makes your inputs feel more deliberate, but that also feels confidence-inspiring and natural enough.

The ride, though, is still tuned firm, and you can definitely feel the dodgier road surfaces beneath you. That said, the retuned suspension does feel a little more compliant than the 2023 model, even on the optional 20-inch alloys of our test car.

What is the Polestar 2’s range, battery capacity and charging time?

There’s more power, but also more range, with a new 82kWh, 27-module lithium-ion battery from CATL replacing the 78kWh unit in the 2023 model, lifting driving range to a promised 654kms (WLTP).

The Polestar 2 can also now accept 205kW DC fast charging, which will take the Singe motor Long range from 10-80 percent charged in less than half an hour.

Polestar says three-phase power and a Wallbox will take you from empty to full in eight hours. A 7.0kW wallbox should take more like 12 hours.

How safe is the new Polestar 2?

The Polestar 2 still wears a five-star safety rating, and the brand has moved to address some of the criticisms attached to its old plan of selling you safety in option packs.

This time, blind-spot monitoring with active intervention, cross-traffic alert, rear collision warning and mitigation and a 360-degree camera are all standard, with that ‘SmartZone’ we mentioned earlier now home to the safety brain. That said, adaptive cruise control with lane keep assist still exists as part of a add-on pack.

What is the Polestar 2 ownership experience like?

Expect a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty for the vehicle, and eight-year, 160,000km coverage for the battery (to 70 percent capacity).

Servicing is condition based, but Polestar says, on average, maintenance will fall due every two years or so. Speaking of which, the servicing for the first five years (up to 100,000kms) is gratis.

Polestar 2 verdict

Score: 8/10

Better in almost every way, the 2024 Polestar 2 is an entirely different beast to the model it replaces. And it might just be one of better driving electric vehicles in the country.

Andrew Chesterton

Andrew began his career as a journalist at Sydney’s The Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Telegraph, before he was lured into the fast-paced world of supercars at TopGear Australia. He has also held senior roles at The Daily Mail, which involved spending time at HQ in London, and on the other side of the automotive divide with FCA Australia. As one of Australia's best-read freelance writers, Andrew now contributes to Robb Report, Wish in The Australian, Domain in The Australian Financial Review, CarsGuide, Wheels, The West Australian, GQ, Men's Health and more. His love for writing has carried him around the world and back again, writing for clients in Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Europe and the USA. He secretly enjoys it so much he’d probably do it for free, but he hopes his editors never find out that bit...