2022 Polestar 2 review: less money, more range

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The 2022 Polestar 2 is a mid-size fastback electric vehicle that gets a price drop and an expanded lineup.

What you’re looking at is the most affordable Polestar yet: the single-engine, front-wheel-drive 2022 Polestar 2. Its base price may still cause a double take though, as this “low priced” Polestar 2 starts at $47,200.

To be fair, that’s before federal and state incentives, which can subtract over $10,000 from the price, depending on where you live. And that’s because it’s a battery electric vehicle (BEV) with a 78 kWH battery and an estimated range of 270 miles.

Still, that’s a lot of money for a hatchback, right? Yes. Definitely yes. But the 2022 Polestar 2 offers genuinely unique styling, plenty of cool tech, and even a little more smugness for those looking to fill their “I’m more environmentalist than you” coffers.

But first, to see how we got here, let’s take a look at the Polestar range.

Polestar Cars

For 2020, Polestar jumped into the auto market with a splash — a 619 horsepower, 738 pound-feet of torque, $156,500 plug-in hybrid GT car splash called the Polestar 1. It basically looked like a Swedish coupe. racy, which is quite logical as VOLVO is the parent company.

The Polestar 1 was interesting. And very rare. Even if you had that kind of disposable income, Polestar only sold 150 in the US market every year. And after 3 years, the Polestar 1 was finished.

Last year, the brand expanded by adding a five-door, fastback, twin-motor, all-wheel-drive BEV producing a total of 408 horsepower and 487 lb-ft of torque called the Polestar 2. It also has the looks very Volvo.

You could say it’s the fledgling brand’s first real car. The 2 lobbed $100,000 off the price of the 1, but it still needed at least $51,200 to leave your pocket before the government incentives kicked in.

2022 Polestar 2 Review

Now further expansion comes from retraction. This new Polestar 2 2022 variant loses the electric motor mounted on the rear axle. And, as a result, loses 262 pounds of curb weight but gains a more palatable starting price and over 20 miles at the estimated range – for a total of 270 miles.

It’s a number that really alleviates range anxiety, as even a full discharge is easily replenished after 8 hours on a 240-volt charger. Additionally, the Polestar 2 can go from 10% to 80% charge in just over 30 minutes on a fast charger.

The battery provides power to a permanent magnet AC motor that produces a peak 231 horsepower and 243 foot-pounds of torque. Put that against the curb weight of 4,396 pounds and you get a power-to-weight ratio of 19.0:1.

But because it’s the most electric torque available at any time, Polestar claims it takes just 7.0 seconds to hit 60 mph from rest.

Polestar 2 2022

More importantly, you rarely feel like you lack power. Throttle response is both instant and consistent, making it easy to overtake on a two-lane road or glide through slow-moving traffic all day.

The only time it’s a little disappointing is when you bury your right foot off the line in hopes of being pushed into the seatback. You won’t. Yes, I am here to officially announce that this is not a drag the car.

But it’s a very customizable car. With very little effort, you can change the amount of power steering assistance, automatic brake regeneration (a drive pedal), and whether or not the Polestar 2 will move forward as if it had an automatic transmission.

When regen is set to normal, you can decelerate up to 0.3G with your foot fully off the throttle, which is a sufficient rate for the vast majority of daily driving.

And the car will come to a complete stop. This makes this car’s actual brakes an effective emergency brake because they don’t need to be touched unless things don’t go as planned.

If you prefer, you can instead set a pedal control to low, or turn it off completely, and have a more traditional ride feel. The Polestar 2 will still use the motor as a generator to help bring you to a stop, but only when you step on the brake pedal.

Easy-to-use technology courtesy of Google

2022 Polestar 2 Tech

Along with these tweaks, you can easily enable or disable driver nannies like lane-keeping assist and traffic sign information. It’s less about having the control to do these things – many cars do – and more about how easily Polestar does it.

And that’s because Polestar uses what’s called Android Automotive OS. In other words, beyond a center console touchscreen that connects to your Apple or Android smartphone, the whole system is Google. Google is good at creating easy-to-use and intuitive interfaces. And this Polestar system is no exception.

You get Google Maps, natively, of course, but also the company’s voice-activated virtual assistant and Google Play, which gives you access to media apps. Additionally, you can connect your Google account to the car, which automatically gives you access to all your personal stuff. Of course, you can still log in via your phone.

Polestar 2 Technology

Android Automotive OS is standard equipment, as is the vertically mounted 11.2-inch center console touchscreen, a 12.3-inch all-digital instrument panel and a host of USB ports dotted around the cabin. You also get dual-zone automatic climate control, heated front seats and plenty of safety systems like collision avoidance, driver alert and nine airbags.

Benefits of the Polestar Plus package

Benefits of the 2022 Polestar 2

My test car, however, had the Plus Pack, which costs $4,000 more and adds a heated steering wheel, heated rear seats, a panoramic glass roof, and a heat pump, among other things.

This heat pump is important for people in more northern climates because it transfers excess heat from the battery system into the cabin, reducing the energy needed to keep things warm inside. Think of it as a cold weather range extender. Or maybe a cold weather anxiety reliever.

Polestar 2 2022: fun, but not for everyone

Hot or cold, you also get a fun-to-drive machine. The 1,100-pound battery certainly makes the 2022 Polestar 2 heavy, but also keeps the center of gravity pretty low.

Although it provides an entirely comfortable ride, the independent multi-link front and rear strut suspension maintains good body control, even when you push it around a corner with a bit of gusto.

If you find yourself on a set of winding roads, you can definitely have fun in this car. This is where having adjustable steering effort helps tremendously. Unfortunately, heavier steering doesn’t improve the lack of steering feel. In this Polestar you have noticeably less of, say, a Volkswagen GTI. But it’s still pretty easy to feel the limits of the car in general and hear the occasional tire squeal.

Advantages of the Polestar 2

Alright, we’ve covered cool tech and unique style. What about free bliss? This comes courtesy of a vegan interior. Standard on the Polestar 2, the interior is free of animal products.

Additionally, Polestar claims that much of the interior is made from recycled materials. And, even beyond that, Polestar claims that by using “modular assembly techniques” the car is more recyclable at the end of its useful life. Take that, you’re “part of the solution” prius owners!

Is the 2022 Polestar 2 for everyone? No way. But it’s a smart alternative to what other manufacturers are building. And, at least with this low-cost variant, it may be for more people than ever before.

To find out more, you can consult Polestar’s information website.

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