Two Years with my Polestar 2

The 2-year maintenance reminder started popping up on my dash a few days ago so I thought I’d give a bit of history about my Polestar 2 and my thoughts on the first 2 years of ownership.

My previous EV, a 2020 Mini Cooper SE, I loved to death. It was the only EV I could find that came close to my favorite hot hatch, the VW GTI. I’d owned it for a little over year, but unfortunately the range just wasn’t adequate at around 115 miles. Not surprising since there really isn’t much room for a battery in such a small package.

So I launched a search for something with more range and a bit more room. After test driving some EVs in my price range, a VW ID.4, a Chevy Bolt and the ubiquitous Tesla Model 3 (which I actually “owned” for a 3-day weekend and then returned…a story for another time), I was kind of at a loss.

The ID.4 was a bit clunky and not up to the usual VW standards I was used to from the seven VW’s I’ve owned in the past. The Bolt was a whole lotta fun, but the interior just didn’t do it for me. And the Model 3 just wasn’t up to the fit and finish standards I was used to after owning so many German cars.

I was aware of the Polestar 2, but since this next EV I wanted with AWD and decent options, the Polestar was easily going to cost $60,000+. Almost 2X what my Cooper SE retailed for new and about $15K more than a comparable Model 3 Long Range. There was no way I could afford that, but Polestar did have a free at-home test drive program so I thought, why not.

My local Polestar dealership, or “Space” as Polestar calls them, is in Boston, about 30 miles from where I live in central MA. I easily scheduled a test drive right on Polestar’s website and, the following week, a salesperson from Polestar showed up at my office in a “Moon” colored Polestar 2. I had 30 minutes alone with the car and, even though it was obvious in the handling that it was much heavier than the Mini, it was still very responsive. I liked the steering feel, the interior materials, the Android Automotive UI and loved the unique exterior styling.

So much so that, when I got home that evening, I went on the configurator to see exact pricing of the options I wanted. Sure enough, sticker was around $63,000. However, I noticed that there was an area on the site for pre-configured vehicles that were actually in stock (the usual manufacturing time, back in late 2021, was around 4 months).

They all had the same sticker prices, but I noticed some interesting lease deals. To get more info, I called the Space in Boston the next morning and found out that since they were trying to get rid of 2021 inventory, plus the incoming 2022 models were equipped with a more efficient heat pump, the remaining 2021 models had killer lease deals. It was an offer I couldn’t refuse.

I ended up choosing a Snow (white) Polestar 2 with Pilot (adaptive cruise, pilot assist, etc) and Plus (H/K audio, pano roof, etc) packs. With this lease deal and only $3,000 down* at 36 months, my monthly payment was only $42 more a month than what I was paying for my Mini. For something at twice the sticker price, with twice the range, all wheel drive and much better tech.

The car was in New Jersey and only took about 10 days to get to me. On November 15th, 2021, a salesperson drove my new Polestar 2 right to my door. I signed some paperwork, was given a tutorial on the car, we connected my iPhone, and then the salesperson took the keys to my Mini and drove it back to Boston.

And now, two years later, it’s ready for its first scheduled maintenance. There has been absolutely no problems with the car over these last two years. Polestar has released about 8 or so over-the-air software updates to the car, which brought many new features including Apple CarPlay, better Pilot assist, many new apps to the App Store (yes it has the Google Play App Store) and the iPhone app just keeps getting better and better.

But what has to be my favorite OTA update happened just in time for Christmas last year and that was the Performance software upgrade. For a “small” fee of $999(!), the upgrade brought horsepower from the already peppy 408 hp to 476 hp and torque from 487 lb-ft to 502 lb-ft. Bringing my best 0-60 time of 3.8 seconds! Not bad for a 4,600 pound car.

The two year maintenance service is just as convenient as buying the car. I called up the Space in Boston and booked an appointment for January where they will have someone drive out a loaner, drop it off at my house, and then take my car back to Boston to have the maintenance completed. So nice.

I’m still not sure what I’m going to do this time next year when my lease runs out. Polestar as a company has grown considerably since I leased my car. In the coming months in 2024, two new models, both SUV’s, will be joining the Polestar 2. The flagship SUV, the Polestar 3, and the smaller crossover, the Polestar 4. Personally I’d love to jump into a Polestar 4, but it’s rumored to start at $60,000 for the base rear wheel drive model. Probably mid to high $70K for the options I want. Too much for me.

And even though I’ve loved my Polestar 2, I don’t see getting into another one. I really want to get back into something German. I’m hoping the rumors of a VW ID.GTI are true and that it actually makes it to the States. Another I’m keeping an eye on is the very cool new Volvo EX 30 with a 0-60 of 3.4(!) seconds. The Hyundai Ioniq 5 N also looks intriguing.

I feel 2024 is going to be a banner year for new EVs and I can’t wait to start test driving some next summer.

*at that time in late 2021, resale values for pre-owned cars were ridiculous. The trade-in value for my Mini that Polestar offered me was about $1,500 more than what I paid for it about 14 months prior. With the equity I already had in the Mini, Polestar cut me a check for $6,200 after the $3,000 down I put on the lease for the Polestar 2.