The body electric

Motoring writer Dr Robert Menz finds a new true north in Volvo’s striking Polestar.

What is a Polestar when it is neither Alpha Ursae Minoris in the northern hemisphere or Sigma Octantis in the south? Or a small Nissan Hatch?

For this edition of medicSA it is a sparkling white high-performance electric car that has been available in Australia for a couple of years.

Those of you who follow motorsport may recall a V8 Volvo S60 being raced in the mid-2010s under the Polestar brand – and may be wondering now why there is an electric Polestar. Volvo had had a two-decade relationship with Polestar, which developed its race cars and was the performance arm of Volvo a la AMG for Mercs. In 2017, and with its new Chinese owner Geely, Volvo decided to use the Polestar name for its jointly developed electric vehicles.

Polestar 2 was introduced into Australia in late 2021. The test vehicle was the top-of-the-range 300 kW dual engine all-wheeldrive version. There is also a less powerful front-drive version.

Maximillion Mussared, head of design for Polestar, had this to say about his creation: a vehicle this level.

‘Polestar 2 is a new icon of electric mobility. A futuristic version of avant-garde design and innovative technology that serves what is exciting template for what is to come from Polestar’.

A glance at the website suggests an exciting future with Polestar 3, a mid-size luxury SUV already available to order in Australia. Polestar 4, a compact SUV, the executive’s Polestar 5 and the grand tourer Polestar 6 will be rolled out over the next three or four years.

This line-up looks similar to offerings from Tesla and the Chinese-made electric car brands would seem to be natural rivals.

The test car has a combined power output from its two electric engines of 300 kW developing 660 Newton meters with a claimed range of 450 km – although using all that power to take you from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.7 seconds would certainly reduce the e-range.

Polestar is a striking looking car, and like many modern hatchbacks looks more sedan- like. The rear light comprises a strip right across the back of the car which is about 270 LEDs. There is a large glass roof which cannot open. As expected from a luxury car, the seats are very comfortable and heated for those cool winter mornings. Another really neat design feature was the frameless external mirrors. The driver position is multiadjustable. Polestar 2 has all the safety and infotainment systems you expect from a vehicle at this level.

However, there are a couple of quirks. One of the lack of a USBA charging point (although there were 2 USBC points) which was a little frustrating because the Apple CarPlay required plug-in connection.

The Polestar was great fun to drive and the performance is, dare I say, electrifying.

The acceleration is seamless with all that torque available from the get-go. Certainly for country driving the acceleration made overtaking very safe, apart from the fact that it doesn’t take long to reach eye-watering speeds that could well attract the attention of the constabulary. Fortunately, however, common sense prevailed, and the total time spent at more than 110 km an hour amounted to only a few seconds of the whole week behind the wheel.

Much of the city driving and most of the country driving was achieved without lifting my foot from the accelerator. The regenerative braking meant that the Polestar slowed rapidly once the right foot was released from the accelerator. One of the very smart features meant that when the car was stationary it did not creep forward as many others do.

In terms of size, four adults sat comfortably when we ventured to a special luncheon at the Admirals Bistro at North Haven CYCSA (www.cycsa.com.au/restaurant-adelaide). The 440 L boot had no trouble accommodating our weekend’s paraphernalia for the seemingly mandatory trip to Victor Harbor.

In summary, the Polestar is a worthwhile addition to the increasing number of EVs available in Australia, occupying a niche until now almost dominated by Tesla. At $94,000 drive away this full-size hatchback represents moderately good value when compared to its competitors.

Test car made available by Polestar Australia.

Dr Robert Menz is an enthusiastic motorist who once owned a Nissan Pulsar Hatch. Despite driving many, he has never owned a Volvo.

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