View Photos of the 2021 Polestar 2

Beneath the 2021 Polestar 2's arguably uninspired exterior lives a compelling electric vehicle with strong performance, involving driving dynamics, a gorgeous Scandinavian interior, and an innovative Android-powered infotainment system.

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The Polestar 2 is the first fully electric vehicle from Volvo's former high-performance division.

This 4714-pound all-wheel-drive Polestar is quick, reaching 60 mph in just 4.1 seconds.

The EPA's combined range estimate, the most prominent EV-range figure the agency publishes on its site, can be misleading. That's why we test the real-world highway range of the EVs we review. The Polestar 2 with Performance package posted a 190-mile result on our test against what we expect to be a 230-mile EPA combined range. That's only 10 miles short of a 2018 Tesla Model 3 Performance that had an EPA range of 310 miles. In fact, that 190-mile figure ties it with the Audi e-tron for the best real-world highway range of any vehicle that's not a Tesla.

Polestar will initially sell the 2 in fully loaded launch-edition trim starting in September 2020. Less expensive versions will come later.

Launch-edition models are powered by a pair of identical electric motors, one driving the front wheels and another for the rears. Together they produce 408 horsepower and 487 pound-feet of torque.

You can purchase a Polestar 2 online almost as easily as buying a pair of socks from Amazon. But there are currently only four Polestar "spaces"—dealer locations where you can see and test-drive a 2 and also get it serviced—in all of America, three in California and one in Manhattan. If you're within 150 miles of a Polestar space, the "dealer" will deliver your newly purchased car to your home and pick it up for service, no charge. If you're beyond that distance, though, you'll have to literally pay the freight to have it shipped to you and shipped back to the dealer for service. This does not sound like the ideal marketing plan for a very marketable vehicle.

The standard interior is gorgeous and made entirely from vegan materials; no animal products are used in the cabin.

The 2 is the first car to use Google's Android Automotive operating system, which powers the infotainment system and enables access to Google Maps, the Google Assistant, and the Google Play Store.

The infotainment system is intuitive to operate through the car's 11.2-inch touchscreen.

The 2 is about the size of a Ford Escape SUV but sits about eight inches lower. The cabin has adequate room for four six-foot-tall adults.

2021 Polestar 2

The Polestar 2 comes standard with parent-company Volvo's Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS), a comprehensive suite of safety aids. One of those safety systems—possibly Oncoming Lane Mitigation—unexpectedly twitched the steering wheel abruptly to the right for a split second as we crested a rise in the middle of a corner while we were motoring along sedately on a two-lane road. We think the system mistook a large tree across the road for a car in the oncoming lane and tried to steer us out of trouble, then realized its mistake instantaneously and released the steering. It was over so quickly that the 2 didn't even change direction. But it was a big surprise. Thankfully, it never happened again.

2021 Polestar 2

2021 Polestar 2

The 2 did better than many EVs on our highway range test, delivering 190 miles of driving range at a steady 75 mph. But like virtually all EVs, its range shrinks drastically when you pedal it hard. We started one drive with 130 miles showing on the instrument cluster's highly accurate range estimator. After flogging the 2 on our favorite local two-lanes and then blasting down a stretch of Interstate the range meter dropped by 100 miles though we'd travelled just 63. We arrived back at home base with only 30 miles of range showing on the cluster screen—and a strong desire to recharge.

2021 Polestar 2

2021 Polestar 2

2021 Polestar 2

2021 Polestar 2

2021 Polestar 2

2021 Polestar 2

2021 Polestar 2

2021 Polestar 2

2021 Polestar 2

Lifting the 2's wide front hood is surprising for what it does not reveal: anything mechanical or electrical. What is there is a small frunk (front trunk) roughly large enough to fit a single carry-on suitcase. But like conventional compact SUVs, the 2 can carry a reasonably large load of cargo in back under its rear hatch—after you flip down the rear seat, of course.

2021 Polestar 2

2021 Polestar 2

2021 Polestar 2

2021 Polestar 2

2021 Polestar 2

When you approach the 2, it recognizes you from the key fob or your phone (there's an app for that) and sets off a happy dance of a light show. The 84 LED pixels in the headlights twinkle; the full-width taillight's 288 LEDs race outward in sequence from the center of the car; the Polestar logo—a stylized star meant to evoke the North Star—is projected on to the inside of the glass roof like the Bat-Signal (it's visible from outside as well); and a small version of the logo located inside the hollow shifter also lights up.

2021 Polestar 2

2021 Polestar 2

2021 Polestar 2

2021 Polestar 2

2021 Polestar 2

2021 Polestar 2

2021 Polestar 2