The redesigned Polestar 2 has just been made official by the Swedish manufacturer with some interesting news and large gaps in terms of autonomy for certain versions of this electric car. What to advance the restyling of its main competitor this year: the Tesla Model 3.
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The Polestar 2, we’ve known about it for a while, though not yet marketed in France for the moment. Introduced in 2019, Volvo’s cousin Polestar’s Swedish sedan gets a well-deserved makeover with some interesting changes.
Polestar is historically the performance division of Volvo which was bought by the Chinese Geely group in 2010. In 2017, Volvo and Geely decide to make Polestar a full-fledged manufacturer.
His first car caused a stir as the Polestar 1, a sleek 600bhp plug-in hybrid coupe. At the end of 2019, Polestar introduces the 2, then some time later the manufacturer also announces the 3, which will be an SUV released this year.
Debut in France delayed
Except that in France, Polestar was banned from selling its cars, since its logo had similarities with that of Citroën and DS Automobiles. But in September 2022, the French manufacturer and Polestar reached an agreement after an unlikely legal imbroglio.
Citroën had wanted to go further, taking the case to Brussels to try to prevent Polestar from selling its cars in Europe. Subsequently, Polestar counterattacked by suing Citroën for plagiarism in the design of certain wheels. Eventually, the two companies agreed to end these lawsuits, without disclosing any details.
Since then, the Polestar site has been accessible in France, but only in its Belgian version. Contacted by us, Volvo and Polestar have not communicated about a possible arrival of Polestar on the French market at the moment.
The Polestar 2 prepares its weapons against the Tesla Model 3
While waiting to arrive in France, the Polestar 2 changes and benefits from a review both in terms of design and technique. On an aesthetic level, the changes are quite limited and concern only a few details, such as the optics and the shield inserts. The 20-inch alloy wheels with Performance Pack have a similar design to those on the Polestar 3.
The standard equipment is even richer and now includes Driver Awareness, which includes a blind spot detection system with direct steering intervention in an emergency, rear collision warning, 360° camera and induction battery charger for smartphone.
More power
The most important novelties refer to the propulsion system. The versions with a single engine have a power of 300 channels (compared to the previous 231 CV) and the torque goes from 330 to 490nm. Thus, the Polestar 3 Propulsion can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 6.2 seconds, which is 1.2 seconds faster than the previous version. This update allows you to upgrade from a Tesla Model 3 Propulsion which, too, should be slightly revised this year.
The versions with two motors develop a power of 421 hp and 740 Nm (compared to 408 PS and 660 Nm of the previous model). Polestar still offers a version with Performance Pack that brings power to 476 channelswith a shot from 0 to 100 km/h 4.2 seconds. This is clearly positioned against the Tesla Model 3 Performance.
More than 600 km of autonomy
Two types of battery are offered: a battery pack 69 kWh with 24 LG Chem modules for the Standard Range versions (same as the previous version). and a battery of 82 kWh (compared to the previous 79 kWh) with 27 CATL modules for the Long Range versions.
The small battery can be recharged with direct current up to 135 kilowattswhile the larger ones can go up to 205 kilowatts. In fact, it takes 34 minutes to go from 10 to 80% with the former versus 28 minutes for the latter.
Also taking advantage of the optimization of their electric motors, the single-engine Long Range versions can reach up to Range of 635 km according to the WLTP cycle, an increase of 84 km compared to the previous model. The Standard Range version, still equipped with a single engine, has Range of 518 km (+40 km), while the Long Range version with two electric motors goes up to 592 km (+105 kilometers).
Forgotten France?
The redesigned Polestar 2 will hit the market at the end of February in Europe. In France, we will still have to be a bit patient, obviously.
Polestar 2 prices have increased slightly depending on the market. The entry price now starts at 49,990 euros, a few thousand euros more than the Tesla Model 3, which has just been entitled to a sharp price drop in its range.
Officially revealed on October 12, the new Polestar 3 is starting to reveal information about it. In particular, it promises a range of more than 600 kilometers.
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