The North Star Shines Bright
The North Star shines bright
It has been a long year for everyone, the world has changed immeasurably and things that were once a given, are no longer. It has taken a while but I also finally had the chance to drive Polestar 2 courtesy of Octopus Electric Vehicles - it was worth the wait.
Not all first impressions are true
I wasn't overly impressed with the first 20 minutes of driving as I took the car home, but little did I know that was going to change. It felt like a good car, it was nice to drive, it was well built. It didn’t, however, make me giggle like a school child every time I touched the accelerator pedal unlike the car I usually drove into the office. The indicator and wiper stalks were functional but I didn’t feel like I was in the starship enterprise. The feedback from the steering wheel felt like a long stint behind my simulator steering wheel, not really connected to the real road. I bumped it up onto the kerb and left the car overnight ready for its video and YouTube appearance the next day.
The joy came on the first long drive, this was a car, not a piece of technology, not a stab at building something sustainable, but a car that just happened to also be the other two things. We can sometimes fall into the trap of looking for stats, or looking for the things that sound fun rather than functional. This car lets its driving do the talking.
You sit deep in the Polestar, the door and the centre console engulfing you, making you feel secure and safe. The seats support and control your lower body so you are not using any muscles in your back to secure you.
As you hit the back road you can feel the difference in the Polestar 2. The steering feel may be a little lacking but if you manage the weight it doesn’t want to understeer, the front end bites into the corner, but more importantly on exit. Unlike its American counterpart, it doesn’t lift off using the front wheels and steam roller itself in a straight line towards a tree. Instead, it continues to turn and rotate, even on full throttle. The dual motor software is very clever at knowing where the power is wanting to be sent. This also might be because of the work both Ohlins and Continental have done with the suspension and tyres. It will allow rotation through the corner meaning a tight and twisty road will feel sublime in this car.
When it starts to break away it is predictable and very progressive, giving more confidence to push and let the car move underneath you, finding the grip on its own. The chassis would make for a fantastic rally car.
Then the way it stops, the brakes are biblical. The Brembo four piston calipers with the larger disks feel they could stop the world rotating if you hooked them up properly. The confidence you can have leaning on gives you a real sense of safety and makes those country roads a dream.
On country roads in Scotland, Wales and Yorkshire the Polestar 2 will come alive and eat miles, eat them for breakfast. This car and all of its models will make sense, on anything other than cross continents. On these roads at night the Polestar Pixel will be an absolute must. The auto dip headlights (which is part of this system) that would sense a car and still light everything around it made night time driving effortless. The pilot pack also contains lane holding and traffic aware cruise which makes a 120 mile round trip on the motorway blissful.
Its American counterpart is a little like buying a Swiss Army Knife to do surgery, Polestar 2 is a scalpel.
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