Polestar 2 2024 review: Long range RWD Single motor

There are price rises across the board here, with jumps of between $3K and $4K depending on the model. It must said, though, you are getting a lot more electric vehicle for your money this time around.

Our car – the Long range Single motor – is yours for $71,400, before on-road costs and any subsidies. There’s a Standard range Single motor ($67,400) beneath it, and a Long range Dual motor ($76,400) above it.

Finally, the Long range Dual motor with Performance Pack ($85,400) headlines the range.

The Long range Single motor is yours for $71,400, before on-road costs and any subsidies.

Apart from the significant mechanical and safety changes, there's not much else to talk about in terms of equipment updates.

Our Polestar rides on 19-inch alloys, features LED headlights and DRLs, and wears frameless heated wing mirrors.

Inside, there's a surprisingly premium-feeling 'embossed textile' seat trim, powered front seats and a 11.2-inch portrait centre screen that controls your nav, media and car functions, as well as a second screen in front of the driver.

There's also dual-zone climate control, a wireless charge pad, Apple CarPlay and an eight-speaker stereo.

Despite the slew of updates, arguably the hardest sell of the Polestar 2 remains, and that is limited backseat space for adult riders.

While most purpose-built electric vehicles use a platform that allows them to really maximise interior space, hiding all the BEV bits and pieces beneath the cabin, the Polestar 2's back seat feels much like any other ICE sedan, complete with 'transmission' tunnel that runs through the centre, eating into leg room for the middle passenger.

Elsewhere, though, there's enough room up front for passengers to get comfy, along with a wireless charge pad beneath the central screen, and USB-C charge points.

The Polestar 2 measures 4606mm in length and 1859mm in width.

The back seat has twin cupholders in a pull-down divider, as well as USB charge points and air vents.

At the rear, there is a sizeable boot (made bigger by a hidden storage hole beneath the lift-up floor) and Polestar reckons you'll find 405 litres of cargo capacity with seats up, and 1095 litres with the seats folded flat. There's a smaller 41-litre cargo space up front, too.

The Polestar 2 measures 4606mm in length, 1859mm in width and 1479mm in height, and it rides on a 2735mm wheelbase.

This is the big change this time around, with Polestar not just fitting a new and more efficient engine, but also changing which wheels it powers from the front to the rear.

While the outgoing Long range Single motor model produced a reasonable 170kW/330Nm, this new one ups the grunt to 220kW/490Nm, trimming the sprint from 0-100km/h to 6.2 seconds.

The MY24 Polestar 2 is fitted with a new, more efficient engine.

Another new addition is a much bigger battery, with the Long range Single motor replacing the previous 78kWh unit with a new 82kWh, 27-module lithium-ion battery from CATL.

Polestar says you can expect a WLTP driving range of 654km, and once drained the new battery can accept a higher DC charge rate (now up to 205kW), which should see you go from 10 to 80 percent charged in 28 minutes.

If you have three-phase and a wall charger at home you're looking at around an eight-hour charge to go from flat to full. A regular 7.0kW wall charger (so, not three-phase power) should then take more like 12 hours.

The Polestar 2's new battery can accept a higher DC charge rate.

The Polestar 2 copped some heat at launch for offering some safety equipment that's standard on other models as extra-cost options, but the brand has moved to correct course a little this time around.

Blind spot monitoring with intervention is now standard, as are cross-traffic alert, rear collision warning and mitigation and a 360-degree camera view. The new-look front end is now home to Polestar's 'SmartZone', which includes a camera and radar.

The Polestar 2 wears a maximum five-star Euro NCAP safety rating, and there are eight airbags on board, too.