Polestar 2: 2023 carsales Car of the Year Highly Commended

Confession time: the 2024 Polestar 2 almost didn’t come to 2023 carsales Car of the Year, proudly presented by Bingle.

While new or heavily updated models are eligible for COTY, we tend to prioritise the former as they usually have the best chance of success. However, when it became clear a couple of fresh fish wouldn’t make it off the boat in time, the upgraded Polestar 2 scored a call-up.

And we’re glad it did, because while it didn’t manage to secure victory, instead garnering its second Highly Commended award in three years, this is a much-improved electric fastback/sedan compared to the one that impressed us in 2021 and one that deserves to be celebrated.

Refer to our drive review for all the details of what’s changed, but as a quick recap: safety and equipment levels have increased, revised battery chemistry has dramatically increased range and the more powerful electric motor now powers the rear axle instead of the front.

Prices have increased, the line-up now starting at $67,400 plus on-road costs, rising to $71,400 for the Long Range Single Motor we had on test, $76,400 for the Long Range Dual Motor and $85,400 for the Long Range Dual Motor with Performance Pack and its 350kW/740Nm wallop.

Nevertheless, the value equation is stronger, backed up by the Polestar’s place at the top of RedBook’s cost of ownership rankings for our 12 finalists, taking into account pricing, servicing, warranty, depreciation, insurance and more.

The judges were also impressed, the Polestar scoring one first-place vote, three seconds and four thirds thanks to its well-rounded range of attributes that successfully satisfied the COTY criteria of safety, practicality and presentation, innovation and technology, road testing and the aforementioned cost of ownership.

Before covering the many strengths of the Polestar, let’s discuss its weaknesses – the reasons it didn’t quite manage to leap onto the top step.

Its legacy architecture – it’s adapted from an ICE platform rather than being a dedicated EV – means the Chinese-made, Swedish-designed EV lacks interior space and storage compared to its rivals (especially the Tesla Model 3 sedan) and despite the equipment upgrades a lot of desirable luxury equipment is still on the options list.

To have everything, you need to spend around another $10,000 and, while the Polestar is talented and premium enough to justify that price tag, it does erode the value proposition somewhat.

Some judges also found the ride on the firm side and steering to be a little less crisp than they’d like, particularly for what’s now a rear-drive vehicle. It’s driving performance score was assessed accordingly.

Now for the good stuff. The Polestar looks great, and while its packaging could be better there’s still adequate room front and rear and a useful luggage area to boot, pardon the pun.

Its Google-based infotainment is excellent and the ability to download apps directly to the car and login to Google or YouTube or Spotify renders smartphone mirroring more or less redundant, though CarPlay is now included.

This was all true of the pre-update Polestar, but the new car is transformative in its energy efficiency and its driving dynamics.

The quoted maximum range of the Long Range Single Motor tested at COTY is an enormous 654km and it left every other EV on test gasping.

At one stage at Lang Lang – with both vehicles having been driven in a basically identical manner throughout the day – both the Mustang Mach-E and Polestar had 35 per cent battery left, but whereas the Ford was claiming 90km distance-to-empty, the 2 displayed 210km.

This efficiency effectively eliminates range anxiety and the Polestar is a genuine option even for those who need to regularly travel decent distances. Even if you don’t, not having to plug in every time you stop is handy.

What’s more, the transition to rear-wheel drive has made the Polestar a dynamic peer to traditional luxury sedans like the BMW 330i and Mercedes-Benz C 300 (and even fully optioned it’s much cheaper than both). It’s fast, fluid and controlled, and an absolute pleasure to drive.

It’s this combination of talents that makes the Polestar 2 one of our two Highly Commended recipients from 2023 carsales Car of the Year, proudly presented by Bingle.

If you’re in the market for a premium European car – petrol or electric – put it on your shopping list.