Since Tesla has launched the Model S, there hasn't been this much hype around a new manufacturer releasing a car. But there is hype...
around Polestar. For a label that isn't really existant yet, people really want to have one. But Polestar seems to be able to do it.
With this Polestar 2. The Polestar 1 is and will remain very rare, but the Polestar 2 is very highly anticipated in the Netherlands.
So the big question is, how does it hold up against the already established brands? That's why I've put it next to a Tesla Model 3.
It's a Model 3 Performance, which seems unfair for the Polestar. It's not that bad though, because the difference between the 462...
horsepower of the Model 3 and the 408 horsepower of the Polestar is smaller than when you'd compare the Polestar with the Model 3 Long Range.
The prices are very similar as well. Because the Polestar has the Performance Pack aboard, it costs €67.000,
which is €1.000 more than the Model 3 Performance I've brought with me. If we look at the battery packs, the Polestar has 78 kWh and the Tesla...
has 75 kWh, which is the same as the Model 3 Long Range. So it's all pretty similar. Let's have a look at the interior space.
In the back of the Polestar 2 it's very clear that it has a higher floor with the batteries underneath it.
That means my legs are higher and I'm not as comfortable. Also, my head touches the ceiling. Luckily, there's still room for my knees.
I do feel cramped though, because of the angle I'm in. And it doesn't look that way from the outside. It's average, but not more than that.
It does look nice though. The finishing in the back is good and it comes with all kinds of features. Heated rear seats are standard, just like a lot of things,
and two USB-C-ports. Let's move to the boot. And when we get there, I can already tell you it's 440 litres of luggage space.
Including a small compartment underneath the floor. Also, there's a smart hook to lock your groceries in place. I like that.
But that's not all. A lot of EV's have a trunk in the front, a frunk, and the Polestar is no exception. Let's have a look.
And I can already tell you it's smaller than in the Tesla, but it's still handy. You can store your charging cables in here, which is good...
if you've loaded the boot up and you're worried about your cables. You can always leave them in the front.
But then, getting in the back of the Tesla poses a similar situation. Sure, the car is lower, but the seat is so low compared to the floor,
that my legs are in a difficult angle again. Also, my feet don't fit beneath the seat, which isn't very comfortable.
The headroom is better, even though that sound weird, but that's because the Polestar has more ground clearance. When it comes to interior...
both aren't very good, so it's a tie. When it comes to interior finishing, the Polestar does things better. However, the Model 3 has two USB-C-ports.
Then, the boot. Of course, the Model 3 is a saloon car, which is quite a big difference with the Polestar, which has a fifth door.
You do get 500 litres of luggage space, but it's much harder to access. That's both an advantage and a drawback should you choose the Tesla.
Under the floor, there's space for your charging cables, but you can also store them in the frunk.
If you actually own your Tesla, you can open it through your phone, but I have to use the menu. If we look at this frunk,
it's more spacious than in the Polestar. You could actually fit a bag or two in here.
Right, the Polestar 2. A new manufacturer, a new model, which is immediately popular.
Also, it's a very complicated car. It's one of those cars, of which are are usually two every year, that's really hard to position.
When colleagues ask me what I think of it, I just can't answer them after just two days of driving. It's really hard to place.
It all starts with the body. It's like a raised saloon, or that's how it looks. A bit like the Volvo S60 Cross Country, but this has a fifth door,
so it's more of a fastback. And you could ask yourself why we don't compare it with a Tesla Model Y, even though it doesn't exist yet,
but the Model Y is a real SUV and this isn't. So that's why we've chosen for the Model 3.
But when it comes to body shape, there isn't really anything to compare it with. Maybe the BMW 3-series GT comes close.
Then there's the car itself, how does it drive? First of all, the specs. Two electric motors, one on each axle. Both produce 150 kW,
which means you have 300 kW or 408 horsepower. It does 0-100 km/h in a bit over 4,5 seconds, but you'll have to put your foot deep down to...
reach that power. It has a 78 kWh-battery pack which should be able to get you 450 km on a single charge according to WLTP, which is enough.
In the real world, it's a tad less. Depending how you drive, you should aim for around 400 km. If you don't try, you'll go below, but if you do try...
you'll gain a little range. That's more than enough in the Netherlands, as proven by Kia, Hyundai and Tesla. If you go beyond 400 km,
you'll always get where you need to go. Quickcharging is possible up to 150 kW and you charge it at home up to 11 kW with three-phase charging.
However, I do want to say something. This is a pre-production-version, so I wasn't able to drive it for very long.
However, I've tried quickcharging it three times now and I was never able to reach 150 kW. Not even at FastNed-stations which can charge...
up to 350 kW. It always stuck around 60 or 70 kW. Even though I only had 30 percent battery left. Maybe I had to run it flat completely,
and charge it up as a whole again. I expected it to be quicker. However, when I tried charging it at home with my three-phase...
charger, it didn't work entirely. I tried plugging it in and out and only after the third try it recognized the cable.
I charged it up, but when I came back later, it didn't want to charge again. Sure, it's a pre-production-version, but it's nowhere near...
Tesla's smoothness when it comes to charging. Again, I know it's a pre-production-version, so maybe the software needs to be updated,
but it stood out to me because it's such an important thing in EV's. Right, the interior. Let's have a look around.
It's much more luxurious than in the Tesla, I'm nicely surround by the car as well. The middle console is very high, so I feel snug.
The materials look good and give a kind of tech-savvy vibe. The shape of the materials that is. In front of me, I've got a big screen.
The multimedia system is entirely made by Google. I've heard a lot of people who absolutely love it, but if you ask me... I mean, I know the...
Volvo-system pretty well. It's one of the few touchscreens I like, together with the one in the Tesla. That's because they're fast...
and smooth, and you don't have to press very hard. If you want to do something on this screen, you need to press much harder.
Only then it works and it turns the music on. I mean, it's not bad or anything, but I prefer the system from Volvo. Which is quite remarkable.
Then there's the most difficult thing about this car, and I'm talking about the drive. Important to know, both when I introduced this car and now...
I'm driving a version with the Performance Pack. That means you get 20-inch wheels instead of 19-inch wheels, the car has been lowered...
and you've got very expensive Öhlins-dampers. We already know them from the Volvo V60 T8 Plug-In Polestar, which are adjustable in 20 ways.
However, you can't access them. You need a jack for that or you need to visit the dealer. Having said that, I don't really see the point...
in a car like this. That's something for a cup car or a Lotus Exige or something, not for a 'regular' car for a 'regular' drive.
You do notice the Öhlins-dampers, the car feels incredibly tight on the road, that's really good. I do think the rear axle is a tad too hard though.
It's on mode 12 out of 20, with 20 being the softest. And I still think it's very bumpy. I'd soften the suspension up even more.
I think that's pretty doable on Dutch road surfaces and I think that'll balance out the car even better.
If I go through a corner, the car remains very stable on the road. All of the wheels stick to the tarmac, because they're SportContact-tires.
Because of that, you've got lots of traction, and you can corner at very high speeds. That sounds very dynamic, but because this is quite...
heavy and you don't really feel anything in the steering wheel when you're cornering, it doesn't feel dynamic.
That's a bit contradictive. However, the emergency braking zone is only nine metres, based on a speed of 50 km/h.
Only 33 metres based on a speed of 100 km/h. That's short, and it feels dynamic. Sure, the dampers play a role in that, but it still raises the question:
how do they want to position this car? Do they want it to be dynamic, do they want Volvo-comfort with a little bit of dynamic edge?
I feel like they didn't know themselves, that's why the balance is missing. They weren't able to choose what direction to take.
I do have to say, the longer I'm driving this car, the more I seem to understand it. I start using more of the power, because you need to look...
for it underneath the pedal. Even though I don't feel a lot in the steering wheel, I still know that I'm able to corner quickly.
As a whole, I think there's a big woolly blanket draped over the car. There's enough speed and dynamics in this car, but I can't feel it...
because of the weight and vagueness in the steering. It would've been a better idea if they would've focused on comfort.
The Performance Pack is one of the few options, which costs €6.000, because besides that it's more than complete.
From the audio to the heated and cooled seats and from the multimedia to the glass roof. That's something Polestar does very well, you pay...
and you get everything there available. €67.000 for the Polestar 2, fully equipped.
Getting back into the Model 3 feels like coming home. We've already seen it lots of times, and it's still incredibly quick as a Performance-version.
IF you go near the pedal, it shoots off the line. It does 0-100 km/h in 3,7 seconds, both on paper as on the tarmac.
Don't be fooled. It will absolutely destroy every other car which can do 0-100 km/h in 3,7 seconds as well. That's because the 0-50 km/h-speed...
is much faster. It gets off the line so quickly because of the four-wheel drive, you can't beat that for this money. And I'm talking about €66.000.
It makes me happy everytime, crazy. But that's also because of the way it steers. That's something you'll notice when you just got out of the...
Polestar. The steering wheel is nice and direct and it lets me know what's happening underneath my wheels.
I mean, it's not a Porsche, but it's very refined if I compare it with the Polestar. That means it involves me very much in the drive, which...
makes it much more of a drivers car. It certainly is the better drivers car of the two I'm testing today.
That's nice, because it ables you to feel the car in a clearer way. It weighs around 250 to 300 kg less than the Polestar, which you feel as well.
You're closer to the tarmac as well. The seating position is a tad unnatural, I'd prefer to have the seat even lower.
But you still have batteries to worry about, so it is what it is. If I look around me, I can spot the biggest difference.
You could call it minimalistic, with only a few storage compartments, but the Polestar is much more grown-up.
The Polestar is much more luxurious, it feels a lot warmer. That's where Tesla is able to improve quite a bit.
The multimedia system consists of only this. No dials, no gauges, only this touchscreen. And as far as touchscreens go, this is the best.
It's so fast, it's so clear, it's so easy to operate, if you ask me it's an example for pretty much every other manufacturer.
I like the screens in Volvo as well, but the speed it works in here is the key. And you need that, because the longer you look at the screen...
the longer your eyes aren't on the road. You don't want to press and wait, and Tesla does that very well.
Then, the specs. It produces 462 horsepower, coming from two electric motors. One on each axle.
We've got a 75 kWh-battery pack aboard, which should be able to get you around 420-450 km on a single charge with the Performance. If you try,
you can get even further. So not only is the Tesla able to get farther, it's much more economical per kWh. It's incredibly efficient with its...
electricity, and Tesla is really good with that. It's the same with the Model S and X. Because of the software in the batteries, they're very efficient.
A Renault Zoe is similarly efficient, but that's a lot less car than this.
When it comes to charging, Tesla has its own Supercharge-network. The old Model 3 is able to charge up to 150 kW, but the new Model 3...
you can charge up to 225 kW in your Model 3. You only need to charge up for ten minutes if you want to get home. So even if the Polestar would work...
with 150 kW, the Model 3 would be much quicker. Also, you can visit Fastned-stations as well. So the Tesla is clearly ahead when it comes to...
charging, especially with their own charging network.
When it comes to luxury and warmth it's not as good as the Polestar. The same goes for comfort, or rather...
The comfort is pretty similar really. The Polestar is much quieter though, because there's more wind noises in the Tesla.
That's of a different level. I think that you won't be as tired after a long drive in the Polestar than you'd be in the Tesla.
Autonomous driving is very good in Tesla's. This particular Tesla does have Autopilot, but it doesn't have the fully autonomous version.
That means I've got ACC and Lane Keeping-assist, which works really well, but I do have something to complain about: ghost-braking.
I notice it more and more when I'm driving in a Tesla, because it reacts to shadows from overpasses or anything.
That's not very pleasant. In the Polestar however, and I didn't explain this properly before, the autonomous driving function is too close to...
the left. You'll be driving on the white lines with your left tires. Not very comforting if you consider there's a guard rail there.
Tesla clearly does better, by keeping their cars in the middle of the lane.
And now I have to say which is the better car. However, it's all about what you're looking for. And that's because I'm afraid to choose.
The Tesla involves you much more in the drive, whilst the Polestar is more for the distant driver.
The Polestar is better for the driver who likes to take it easy. Don't get the Performance Pack though, or set your dampers...
to the softest mode. They'll still add to the driving experience, because it will feel better than a regular set of dampers.
However, if we look at the hardware. Charging and driving and such, Tesla still has a clear advantage.
The advantage they now have still gives them an advantage on technology. There's no other brand which does this well when...
it comes to electrical driving as Tesla. With their charging times, with their efficiency, with their own charging network.
That's truly fantastic. Don't underestimate how great such a thing is. Polestar is much more based on classical European manufacturing.
Just look at the finishing, luxury, quietness, the comfort, Tesla just doesn't reach that level. That's much more American,
in which the rear axle sometimes creaks a little. That's where Tesla needs to make improvements.
So which car is better? Let me put it this way, this Model 3 knows what car it wants to be, whilst the Polestar still isn't really sure.
That's why, I think, the Tesla is a better car. For a first electrical car, the Polestar 2 is a really, really good attempt.
I mean, the Polestar 1 was a plug-in. But it's a very good attempt. I'd say that manufacturers like Audi en Mercedes should worry a lot more...
about Polestar than Tesla. Tesla still has their own community and they clearly have a different audience than Polestar.