2022 Polestar 2 Long Range owner review

Driven by a long-standing fascination with EVs since Tesla's arrival in Australia, Malcolm views electric vehicles as the natural evolution of motor vehicles. As a satisfied Volvo owner, making the switch to its sister brand, Polestar, was the obvious choice for his first electric vehicle experience.

Buying a 2022 Polestar 2 Long Range

Why did you buy this car? What drew you to it?

After having a look around in 2020, nothing ticked all the boxes for me (EV or PHEV), so ended up buying a MY21 ICE Volvo XC40.

About 15 months later, I noticed a picture of an EV with the distinctive “Thor” headlights and Polestar badging which immediately drew my attention.

What other EVs in its segment did you consider?

None. I was already more than happy with my new Volvo. The XC40 SUV platform and Volvo heritage was enough to give me the confidence to purchase a newly launched EV brand in Australia.

How has charging been? Is it done mostly at charging stations or at home?

The supplied 10-amp charger that came with the car is fine for overnight (off peak) top ups, giving about 10 per cent charge in four hours. The 11kW charger I have since installed will give 12 per cent per hour.

Where I live, there are AC chargers in my local shopping centre and all around Newcastle and the vineyards, both locations being within a half hour radius. Both of these locations also have NRMA fast chargers.

Most of my charging is done from my home solar, making it very cheap to run.

My ICE XC40 used to cost me approx. $17/100km, the Polestar 2 costs just $1.18 for the same distance from solar (excluding feed-in-tariff) or $2.74 for off peak overnight charging.

Related: The EV glossary: Clearing up common electric vehicle terms

2022 Polestar 2 Long Range value for money

How much did you pay for the car?

$76,600 on road. Approx. $2,200 NSW stamp duty was refunded back to me.

Do you think it has represented good value with standard features?

Absolutely, with just the addition of the Pilot pack, it has all of the safety that Volvo is known for.

Has the car been reliable? Have you had any issues maintaining it?

This car has been very reliable.

Some owners reported TCAM (Telematics and Connectivity Antenna Module) problems in the months following the cars release, but this appears to have settled down now, going by the social media comments. I have had no issues.

What have running and repair costs been like? More or less than you expected?

The car comes with five years free servicing with 2 year/30,000 km service intervals.

2022 Polestar 2 Long Range tech and styling

Do you like the styling overall both inside and out?

I think it’s a great looking car, on par with the XC40 and now C40 from Volvo.

Does the car have all the tech/safety you would expect and want?

Yes.

Are there any standout features (good or bad) you’d like to call out?

It has a great, eye drawing presence, be prepared to have lots of people coming to have a chat about it.

Being built on a Volvo XC40 platform, it still has the transmission tunnel. Hopefully, they transition to a 'skateboard' platform soon.

2022 Polestar 2 Long Range driving and charging

How does the car drive overall? Is its performance and handling adequate?

Definitely. EVs are renowned for the jaw dropping performance of the dual motor variants. The single motor version I have has all the power I need. Coming from the AWD of my XC40, I find the Polestar 2 handles very well and is solid on the road in the wet. Also, the One-Pedal Driving is brilliant.

Has range been an issue with the car? What kind of real-world range do you find you’re getting?

No range issues. In terms of my vehicle's efficiency figures, I am confident that it can achieve 440km in real-world, mixed driving conditions on a full charge. Of course, I have no intention or desire to run the car to zero per cent charge, but those figures are very reassuring and make for very relaxing road trips.

Is the car's charging rate fast enough for how you use the car?

Yes, the car can charge at 11kW on AC and up to 150kW on DC. I could easily fully charge the battery overnight during off peak rates at home and the fast chargers provide a chance for a coffee/bathroom break while topping up on the road.

Has the battery range decreased noticeably over the life of the vehicle?

No data on that yet as the car is just under 12 months old, but certainly no noticeable degradation.

This review has been edited for clarity, however opinions expressed herein are those of the EV owner/reviewer and not the NRMA.