First week with my Polestar 2 MY26. Honestly the best car I have ever driven
Just picked up my new Polestar 2 MY26 a week ago and I honestly could not be happier.
This is my first fully electric car. I have previously only driven ICE cars like Audi and Volvo, plus one plug in hybrid, so this was a bit of a leap for me. But after just one week, I can already say this is the best car I have ever owned. The whole car feels very well built. It has great handling and feels very safe and planted on the road.
I knew going in that real world range is always lower than advertised, but I am still impressed. With temperatures around 6 to 8 degrees Celsius, the car’s estimate based on my driving suggests I can get close to 500 km at 100 percent. That is better than I expected. I am looking forward to doing a proper long drive soon to really test it. For now, I mostly charge to 90 percent since I use it for commuting.
This is the Long Range Single Motor Business edition on a 3 year lease, which includes the Plus, Pilot and Climate packages as well as tinted rear windows. I chose the RWD version mainly for the range, since performance and acceleration are not my main priorities. That said, the acceleration you still get from a single motor is honestly very impressive and more than enough for everyday overtaking and normal driving.
I also like the idea that this is one of the final versions of the Polestar 2 before a future update, which hopefully means it is a well refined model. That makes it feel like a great choice for my first Polestar.
Space wise, it works great for my needs. Child seats fit well in the back, and the trunk is deeper than I expected. I am 185 cm tall and can have a comfortable driving position without making it cramped for passengers behind me.
At first, I was a bit annoyed by the center console and steering wheel touching my knee when I rested my foot while using adaptive cruise control. But after adjusting the steering wheel height and seat position, and just getting used to it, that is no longer an issue.
I was also a bit skeptical about the plastic aero inserts on the wheels, but honestly they look fine. I have decided not to overthink it. Maybe something to reconsider next time.
I did not go for extra options like Pixel headlights or the Bowers and Wilkins sound system, so this one has the Harman Kardon setup. After tweaking the 12 band EQ and adjusting bass and sub levels, I am very happy with it. I mostly listen to EDM and techno, and it delivers solid bass, good depth and clear sound. More than enough for me.
The interior with the Black Ash deco looks really good and feels very premium. Nothing feels cheap or plastic. Everything feels solid and well put together, with a real premium feel throughout, and nothing rattles or creaks while driving.
The Vapor color looks much better in real life than I expected. It also stands out nicely among all the white, black and grey or silver cars you see everywhere, at least where I live, and it is quite forgiving when it comes to dirt. Very happy with that choice.
One thing that really surprised me is how good the built in Google system is. The software feels very responsive. I have not experienced any lag at all, and so far nothing has glitched, frozen or shut down. Everything has worked exactly as expected, and I have not found anything that bothers me yet. I used to rely heavily on Apple CarPlay, but I have not felt the need to use it at all. Google Maps works great, and it is a big advantage that it is integrated with the car. It gives very accurate estimates of battery level on arrival and can precondition the battery before planned charging stops. I have not fully tested that yet on a long trip, but I am looking forward to it.
I also really like the regenerative braking. I have tested it quite a bit, and I prefer the low setting over the standard one. Being able to adjust steering resistance is also great, and after some testing I ended up preferring the heaviest setting.
The glass roof works better than I expected. It blocks more sunlight than I thought, and so far I do not feel any need for the optional sunshade.
All in all, I am really looking forward to three years of hopefully smooth and problem free ownership. It feels like I made the right choice, and I would not be surprised if my next car is a Polestar too.
I also had an unexpected moment where I got to experience one of the car’s safety features in a real situation. I was slowing down and indicating in good time to turn into a rest area. There was only one car behind me, but the driver was coming in quite fast and clearly was not fully focused on the road. As I started turning in, they suddenly approached very quickly, and it looked like they had to react at the last second to avoid me. My Polestar reacted instantly by tightening the seatbelt hard and warning about a potential rear collision. This happened just milliseconds before the car behind passed me, right after I had almost fully turned into the rest area. It really caught me off guard. Thankfully nothing happened, but I was seriously impressed by how quickly the car reacted to prepare me for a potential impact from behind. It feels very reassuring going forward. I know similar systems exist in Volvo as well, but I have never experienced it before. It is not something you want to experience, but I am glad it works this well.