Polestar 2 Review

Pricing 

We are usually surprised by the cost of the Polestar, as the price of below £45,000 could put it within reach of buyers who can’t quite stretch to the raft of more expensive electric cars as the prices keep rising. In fact it overlaps with the top version of cars such as the Volkswagen ID.3, which makes it seem really good value. 

Polestar has announced pretty competitive leasing rates too, of around £565 per month over three years with 10,000 miles per year. If you can find one on your employer’s salary sacrifice scheme it should be less than £400 out of your take home pay if you are a 40% tax payer.

There are three models, with a single motor and the smaller batter, the same motor but bigger battery for the longest range, or an all-wheel-drive twin motor. The steps up very simply cost £3,000 per 'rung'.

There are options too of course, the most surprising of which is any colour paint except 'Magnesium', which adds £900 to the price. The same paint on a Volvo is £565. 

Running costs

Firstly, if you are new to electric cars then the running costs of a Polestar in comparison to a petrol or diesel are going to be a revelation. Just over a tenner’s worth of electricity from your home charger will take you almost 300 miles in the right conditions as compared to about 70 miles in a diesel.

The other running costs will seem cheap too, especially since the first three year’s servicing is included in the price. Interestingly, you won’t have to take the car to a dealer either – they will pick the car up and bring it back to you. 

Road tax and various other charges are free or cheaper with an EV too, but the biggest saving will be if you are running the Polestar as a company car. Benefit-in-kind rules mean it is rated at 2% for tax in 2022-25, meaning you’ll save enough out of your wages every year to have a decent holiday compared to a diesel equivalent.

But while the running cost savings compared to a petrol or diesel rival will be huge, the Polestar isn’t hugely efficient with electricity compared to its Tesla rival due to its weight. You’ll get about 27 miles for every pound you spend on electricity, which is not great compared to smaller and lighter rivals but is better than the bigger SUV-sized electric cars.

When the time comes to trade the Polestar in for a new car it does pretty well too. Industry experts say it will retain 48% of its value after three years and 60,000 miles of use – that’s the third best residual price of any electric car, behind the Porsche Taycan and the Tesla Model 3.