[Administrator]

Along with the first image of its second model, Polestar has revealed a few details about its (and also Volvo’s) first EV model, the Polestar 2.

With 400 hp on tap, the “four-door fastback” will be able to get you moving in a hurry. It will also get you far, though, because Polestar claims that it will have around 300 miles of range.
The Polestar 2 will also premiere Google’s Android HMI, an Android-based infotainment system that will eventually funnel its way down into other Polestar, Volvo, and Lynk & Co products, replacing the glitchy Sensus Connect system currently used by Volvo.


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[poleposition]

300 miles of range has slowly become the normal target going into 2020-2025.
Given how much automakers will be competing on the same level with those numbers, i'll be more interested in how the EV experience can be different with Polestar vs BMW vs Tesla vs Audi vs Mercedes.

 

[springfall2008]

I'd prefer 400 miles of range and 300 BHP!

 

[rgledhill]

I'd like the 300 miles at all!!

 

[GDank]

I'd like the 300 miles at all!!

I honestly don't get this. If 300miles was important then get the Model 3. Ok I'm disappointed it's not 220 in the winter ... that was my min expectation. But anyone that drives for 3+ hours in the UK without a break is nuts - I know I've done it. I've driven 650+miles (South Woodford to Dunbeath) ... that drive takes 11hours ... I did it in 14hours. Even in with a Polestar it's 15.5 hours.

I used to travel the UK twice a month from East London to ... Blackpool, Liverpool, York, Nottingham, Birmingham, Cardiff, Manchester, Weymouth, Exeter, & Portsmouth. Even the Sub 200mile trips were a pain during peak times Friday afternoon/evening.

Sorry not picking on just you, but I just don't get this mentality from many people ... if range was critical then you knew it was never going to match a Model 3. Yes we are all a little disappointed it doesn't get as close to 300mi WTLP range as say other cars, Kia, Tesla, etc ... but 200miles range is more than usable in the UK, unless you need for daily work driving.

Finally I mention the UK, as I understand in the US / EU this might not be the case as much and you realistically need that extra range due to things being spread out a lot more.

 

[rgledhill]

Easy tiger, I wasn't being serious! It was very much a tongue-in-cheek answer to other similar answers. If I'd been that desparate for a 300 mile range, the Kona wouldn't have gone today in preparation for a car with a 190-230 mile range...

It also amused me to read the original post from so long ago when they were glibly and honestly talking about a 300 mile range for this car, and yet it must have later become abundantly clear in their testing of prototypes that it wouldn't come close to that but they still allowed people to believe it. The range estimator on their website is such fiction it's farcical.

Oh well, such is the power of marketing...

 

[GDank]

Sorry wasn't trying to have a go at anyone ...

As for range and honestly ... I'm not so sure. I think many cars before release get way less range than designed .. as they tune it and adjust things they get closer to the final range.

The thing with WLTP is that it's a standard, so why not advertise it? If all cars have a WTLP range then it's a figure consumers can compare.

Problem is ... well it's shit. With EV's there are so many factors. I'm willing to bet in the summer I'd get close to 280miles under the right situation - I wouldn't enjoy the drive but I bet I could get it.

 

[polerad]

Sorry wasn't trying to have a go at anyone ...

As for range and honestly ... I'm not so sure. I think many cars before release get way less range than designed .. as they tune it and adjust things they get closer to the final range.

The thing with WLTP is that it's a standard, so why not advertise it? If all cars have a WTLP range then it's a figure consumers can compare.

Problem is ... well it's shit. With EV's there are so many factors. I'm willing to bet in the summer I'd get close to 280miles under the right situation - I wouldn't enjoy the drive but I bet I could get it.

Still seems like something is off. Either they truly believed they could get to ~300 mi range or they knew they couldn't but said so anyway.

I don't believe they're so Elon-like that they would plainly fudge what's nearly a 1/3 exaggeration. Maybe they let the initial impression persist once they knew they couldn't meet it - but I believe they earnestly thought they could get to 300 mi/500 km range.

If they truly believed it, then their engineers thought they could get to 300 mi/500 km WLTP and get to near that in real-world driving. Yet, even taking the best case scenarios of what's been reported (17 kWh/100 km = 27 kWh/100 mi), you get to 265 mi range max as an absolute max. Based on my limited experience in very mild weather, I think there's no way I'd achieve better than 30 kWh/100 mi = 240 mi range from 100% as a best case sceenario.

So seems something changed. It's not as bad or meaningful a whiff like Oxford's clinical trials design or NASA O-rings but there was definitely some expectation from the prototype stage that didn't pan out when reality struck.

Interestingly, the I-Pace seems to have had a similar story in development, with near identical WLTP/EPA ranges that under-performed relative to initial expectations.
It makes me wonder if there's some common inefficiency in EV powertrain (inverter, battery management, motor...) that Jaguar, Audi, and now Polestar has that Hyundai/Kia and Tesla don't - and that only reveals itself when they go to scaled development instead of prototype/mules.

 

[ProfessorCook]

I'm sure they did some preliminary calculations and then advertised based on best case scenario. I'm sure, if you can handle driving slowly... 60-80 kph... in fairly ideal situations, you'd hit that 300 miles.

More range would be swell for range anxiety, but it would also mean an even heavier car (for more batteries) or a car that is more aerodynamic (like a Tesla) that sacrifices style. I'm ok with the practical range of a couple of hundred miles.

Of course, I don't own the car yet, so I'm speculating here, right?

 

[rgledhill]

Remember that Hyundais and Kias are all 2wd, i.e. single motor, and the Tesla 4wd (dual motor) models physically disconnect the second motor when it's not being used. I really think this is worth 10-15% of range, so that combined with a lack of heat pump (also worth 10-15% in cool or cold weather) would pretty much explain it.