G'day there, let's clear one thing up, yes, we're filming this in Movember,
and yes, you're probably thinking 'keep the mask on Shaun',
but it's all for a good cause.
But speaking of good, how about this, we're not our normal bunker
we're at Polestar's temporary home here in Auckland's Grey Lynn.
They're actually building new Polestar space right now in Newmarket.
But we're not here to talk about architecture,
at least not from a building point of view, because it's fair to say
that the Polestar 2 could be called an architectural beauty.
But on that subject, I can attest having driven the Polestar 2,
it is very well built,
a bit like the proverbial brick...you get where I'm coming from.
And that's important because not
all EVs are created, nor are they constructed equally.
So what is Polestar?
Well, there's a chance you may recognize the name - it was after all once
the motorsport arm of Volvo, you know, give it the jandal.
But now it's a fully fledged offshoot still headquartered in Sweden.
And there is still that same Scandinavian no nonsense sensibility to the style.
But there is style, and I have to be honest in the flesh.
These are really cool car.
They've got a real presence.
Actually, speaking of the no nonsense approach I had hoped to be driving,
this top trumps twin motor version today.
And no surprise, it's not just two motors - it will do 0-100 in 4.7 seconds -
and usually that's
what a car company
will give you for a test drive, but we'll be driving the long range
single motor, and there's a good reason for that because at $78,900
it qualifies for the full $8,625 clean car rebate. (pricing accurate Dec 2021, subject to change)
It also comes with the pilot pack included, now that brings a bunch of extra
safety tech, including the Pixel LED headlights and a 360 degree camera.
Probably no surprise this is the car most Kiwis are opting for.
You know, I keep going back to that no nonsense thing,
which is probably not too fair because there's a lot of fun to be
had in the Polestar.
We'll find out more when we drive it later.
But just look at this dual motor version with those gold Brembo
brakes, the adjustable Öhlin dampers and those gold seatbelts.
I do love them.
But you know, aside from that, you wouldn't know which Polestar you're in
when you look at the interior.
And that's what I mean by the no nonsense approach.
All very transparent.
But before we look inside at the goodies - because there's some really cool tech -
I just want to look at the outside of the car and you can -
This is the thing about the Polestar, it's taller than a sedan,
but not as tall as an SUV. I say sedan,
and it's not actually a traditional sedan because this isn't a boot.
It's actually a tailgate.
It means easy
access, 405 liters, there's even a hidden luggage space
under there, and Polestar really have thought of everything
they've taken out the parcel shelf and tested it to make sure it's dog friendly.
In fact, they have an official office dog.
Fun fact his name is Kiwi.
And speaking of lugging stuff around, it is towbar
ready and will happily tow 1.5 tonnes.
Now I should mention on the EV side of things, both the dual motor
and the long range have fast charge and get the right charger in fact,
and you can go from 0 to 80% charge in just 40 minutes.
Sustainability is obviously a big thing for Polestar.
Surprise, surprise - starting with these seats,
which of course, are nice and comfortable, but they're also guilt free.
They're vegan, they've even won awards.
That said though, maybe with a touch of irony, you can order leather upholstery.
But whatever you choose to sit on, you get the same comfort
and there's plenty of room front and in the back.
It's almost a cliché to mention Scandinavian design, but how can you not?
And not only does this interior look great, everything feels well put together.
You know, I talked about the no nonsense approach.
You realise it straight away when there's actually
no start button, let alone the need for key.
Just hop in it, touch the brake once and then you're off.
With 170 kilowatts and all that electric torque.
The single motor version is no slouch.
This will hit 100km an hour in around seven seconds.
There is, though, no sort of hidden madness mode to make it go faster.
Like I said, no nonsense free of gimmicks, but it doesn't mean free of fun.
Check this out. Hey, Google,
tell me a joke.
How do robots eat guacamole?
With computer chips.
Full marks on the dad joke there.
This screen marks a world first with built-in Google Android Auto,
that means Google Maps, Spotify and a whole lot of Google Play goodies.
You can even stream TV while you're waiting or charging.
What it all
means is so much can be controlled by voice,
and the great thing is it understands a Kiwi accent.
Hey, Google,
navigate to Huia.
Navigating to Huia.
And it's the right one too.
And it's not just navigation, hey, Google,
can you change the climate control
to 18 degrees please?
OK. Changing the auto
climate control to 18 degrees.
And if you don't want to use voice control,
there's a really cool touch, the gear stick actually works as a rest
for your wrist to steady your hand if you do need to use the screen.
They really have everything.
Worth mentioning too that this car comes with three years of free data,
so 'Hey Google' to your heart's content.
You know, a couple of things struck home
the first time I drove the Polestar 2 and I'm being reminded about it right now.
And the first thing is the quality,
now I talked about that at the start and I didn't say that lightly.
We're on a typically bouncy Kiwi back road.
There's no rattles, no creaks.
This car is very, very well put together.
Everything feels right, but there's another side.
It's actually a nice drive.
The steering is beautifully weighted.
You can actually adjust it too, I've just got set on the medium setting.
one thing I have messed around with is the one pedal driving feature.
I've got it set to what they call standard, which is basically full bore.
And that means that when I lift off the accelerator, it
brakes the car.
Sort of a medium brake pressure, not not an emergency stop, but
what that does, obviously, is make sure you get maximum charge to the battery.
It takes a few minutes to get used to, especially as you don't coast
by lifting off the accelerator.
But once you dial it in, it is awesome.
And of course, it's great for battery life.
And speaking of that, official range of this long range single motor
is up to 540 kilometers.
But it's not really just how far this car goes, it's just how this car drives.
You see, this is the EV that doesn't require any excuses
or justification - it's a properly well sorted car.
End of story.
Now, I realise I have gone on quite a bit
about the design and build quality of the Polestar 2.
And with good reason, it's a huge selling point about this car.
And no, it doesn't have a whole lot of gimmicks,
but you see the thing about gimmicks is you'll get tired of them.
If you don't, your friends will get tired of you going on about them.
So instead of giving your mates a headache,
this car is about giving you peace of mind.
For example, Polestar set up a nationwide network
of service centers to support the car all over New Zealand.
This thing, really, it's a car for the future, but with old fashioned
values, things like reliability, comfort, good handling, quality.
But here's the thing.
It's all done at levels of a car costing twice as much.