I got to do the next best thing to taking delivery: we got an extended test drive for the weekend for an otherwise planned trip to the hills and wine country. I honestly didn’t expect anything to happen when I hinted at it; I’m guessing a press drive or employee loan or something cancelled and I got their slot? Either way, ginormous thanks to K, Henry, and Sean of the SF Space and Mike and Alane of CS to make this happen.
BLUF:
The car is so nice inside and is a dream to drive. I now want my P*2 to come even faster, even if it means dealing with bugs. Polestar HQ: The car sells itself - take my $ and get me my car!
Setup:
Void, leather, 19” nonPP. 2 adults, 2 kids. 10C/50F in the AM/evening; up to 30C/90F in the mid-day. AC set to auto at 22C/72F. Totally dry and cloudless.
If you’re worried about taking the EV plunge, don’t be, especially if there’s some level of EV infrastructure. This was my first extended EV experience and this trip was planned and executed assuming we had our ICE:
Family stuff worked out well. The P*2 is definitely smaller than our Camry, but it’s just enough.
Two car seats, one forward facing, one rear facing fit fine. Rear facing was behind the driver’s seat and I could get into position with some mm to spare. The kids loved the Polestar and want to know why ours isn’t here yet (you and me both, kids). Notably, they could climb into and out of the Polestar well, which was not the case for the Model Y, e-tron, or I-Pace, which are a bit too big for the little one.
My wife packs for the end times and we had 3 suitcases plus a variety of smaller bags of who-knows-what. It took a bit more Dad tetris to fit everything than our Camry, but I did get it all in under the parcel shelf, making good use of the under floor space and frunk.
Consumption:
1st leg until 1st charge: 31.7 kWh/100 mi over 183 mi using 75% over mix of city, hilly/twisty, and highway = (assuming 72.5 kWh usable) range of 229 mi by rate; 244 mi by %)
2nd leg until 2nd charge: 33.4 kWh/100 mi over 115 mi using 56% with more spirited driving on my own in the hills = range of 217 mi by rate, 205 mi by %
3rd and final leg: 36 kWh/100 mi over 55 mi mostly highway, using 26% = range of 201 mi by rate, 211 mi by highway
No real effort made for efficiency.
Practically, I’ll assume ~2 mi/% and charge every ~2.5 hrs of continuous driving. I have no idea where the WLTP range came from.
Charging:
Our place had no usable plugs so all charging was at Electrify America (Santa Rosa), done in 2 charges.
1st was +52 kWh (9->76%) in 32 min while one kid napped and the other went to the bathroom and then got a hot dog.
2nd was +28 kWh (20->56%) in 18.5 min and did it so we wouldn’t return a drained car and the kid wanted another hot dog from the same exact place.
Both charges were without issues once I figured out the system: hold the connector in until the light goes from white to yellow. Then use a physical credit card to swipe - no apps of NFC payment - physical card only.
Not sure if this is needed, but I kept the driver’s door ajar so I could get in/out without turning the car on/off in case that interrupted things. AC was kept on in both cases.
n.b. - Electrify America isn’t in Google Maps’s suggestions for some reason??
Other bits:
Now, for the Professor, pics:
What's that Google? Only decent coffee/breakfast place is miles away over hilly/twisty roads?
![1300]()
Polestar's bit of a lush, must be said - n.b. the luggage divider is great for holding wine bottle in places without clanking around (when wrapped in the requisite Bay Area fleece).
![1301]()
Good job Polestar. Rest up as tomorrow is another day.
![1302]()
BLUF:
The car is so nice inside and is a dream to drive. I now want my P*2 to come even faster, even if it means dealing with bugs. Polestar HQ: The car sells itself - take my $ and get me my car!
Setup:
Void, leather, 19” nonPP. 2 adults, 2 kids. 10C/50F in the AM/evening; up to 30C/90F in the mid-day. AC set to auto at 22C/72F. Totally dry and cloudless.
If you’re worried about taking the EV plunge, don’t be, especially if there’s some level of EV infrastructure. This was my first extended EV experience and this trip was planned and executed assuming we had our ICE:
- Book a semi-remote place in the mountains with no cell signal or EV charging and >30 min from fast public chargers? Sure!
- Drive however fast the car (and family) would let me and only plan filling up when the “tank” is a 1/4 full? Why not?!
Family stuff worked out well. The P*2 is definitely smaller than our Camry, but it’s just enough.
Two car seats, one forward facing, one rear facing fit fine. Rear facing was behind the driver’s seat and I could get into position with some mm to spare. The kids loved the Polestar and want to know why ours isn’t here yet (you and me both, kids). Notably, they could climb into and out of the Polestar well, which was not the case for the Model Y, e-tron, or I-Pace, which are a bit too big for the little one.
My wife packs for the end times and we had 3 suitcases plus a variety of smaller bags of who-knows-what. It took a bit more Dad tetris to fit everything than our Camry, but I did get it all in under the parcel shelf, making good use of the under floor space and frunk.
Consumption:
1st leg until 1st charge: 31.7 kWh/100 mi over 183 mi using 75% over mix of city, hilly/twisty, and highway = (assuming 72.5 kWh usable) range of 229 mi by rate; 244 mi by %)
2nd leg until 2nd charge: 33.4 kWh/100 mi over 115 mi using 56% with more spirited driving on my own in the hills = range of 217 mi by rate, 205 mi by %
3rd and final leg: 36 kWh/100 mi over 55 mi mostly highway, using 26% = range of 201 mi by rate, 211 mi by highway
No real effort made for efficiency.
Practically, I’ll assume ~2 mi/% and charge every ~2.5 hrs of continuous driving. I have no idea where the WLTP range came from.
Charging:
Our place had no usable plugs so all charging was at Electrify America (Santa Rosa), done in 2 charges.
1st was +52 kWh (9->76%) in 32 min while one kid napped and the other went to the bathroom and then got a hot dog.
2nd was +28 kWh (20->56%) in 18.5 min and did it so we wouldn’t return a drained car and the kid wanted another hot dog from the same exact place.
Both charges were without issues once I figured out the system: hold the connector in until the light goes from white to yellow. Then use a physical credit card to swipe - no apps of NFC payment - physical card only.
Not sure if this is needed, but I kept the driver’s door ajar so I could get in/out without turning the car on/off in case that interrupted things. AC was kept on in both cases.
n.b. - Electrify America isn’t in Google Maps’s suggestions for some reason??
Other bits:
- the ventilated leather seats are so nice
- Standard OPD is also incredibly nice. I’m going to default to it, going to TPD only if coasting on a highway with no traffic.
- charging cable in this car has 240V, 48A rating and comes with NEMA 14-50 and NEMA 5-15/5-20 adapters. So really, you just need this cable and a corresponding outlet at home. Not sure why this is different in the US vs UK/EU.
- Windows are tempered on the sides, laminated in the front. Saint Gobain sekurit glazed back and top.
- There was a jack in its spot
- In addition to Google, Spotify preloads some songs for streaming when off internet. I didn’t have to specify this - but if you stop Spotify and then restart without internet it doesn’t work.
- One time GPS lost signal and couldn’t get it back so I restarted the infotainment through holding home for 20 s (while driving…) and all worked well after. Also one time the driver side mirror didn’t adjust back after reversing so I manually did it. No other bugs or error messages of any sort.
- After some shorter drives when I’m sure I never used the physical brakes, I felt the front brake calipers/discs as being a bit warm to touch, while the back ones were not. Is this a bug w.r.t. regen settings? Could this be a source of high consumption?
- You get noticed in this car. Had several folks ogling it and some come right up to ask about it. It’s a crowd pleaser for sure.
Now, for the Professor, pics:
What's that Google? Only decent coffee/breakfast place is miles away over hilly/twisty roads?
Polestar's bit of a lush, must be said - n.b. the luggage divider is great for holding wine bottle in places without clanking around (when wrapped in the requisite Bay Area fleece).
Good job Polestar. Rest up as tomorrow is another day.
