Learn me: Polestar 2

TLDR: Here's what I know, what do you know that I don't know about the Polestar 2?

I'm not really using the Birkin. I have two parking spots. I have three cars, two of which are mine, are manual, and my wife isn't comfortable with a manual. I'm paying $1k a year to park my daily CR-Z a block from home. I'm thinking about a reshuffle, replacing the Birkin 7 and CR-Z with one vehicle to do everything.

The Polestar 2, in particular, a used Performance Pack dual motor long range, is nearby to the top of my list.

Reviews suggest it's slower in a straight line than a Tesla Model 3 Performance but handles better.

It's classed BS in Solo 2. It's eligible for EVX class too, not that the internet shows much evidence of people running in the class.

It can tow 2000 lbs with an electric folding factory hitch, and there are factory roof cross bars.

The Perfomance pack includes "adjustable Öhlins Dual Flow Valve dampers, high-capacity Brembo brakes, and 20" Forged Alloy Wheels to make the car even more responsive." There's a software upgrade that boosts power on early cars like I'm considering up from 408hp to 476hp and torque from 487 to 502 lb ft to match the tuning of later cars with the same hardware. Polestar also appears to be offering a 20mm factory lowering kit consisting of a set of springs for the Performance Pack suspension.

Two pedals, so my wife will drive it.

Past experience with electric driving says my day-to-day needs could be handled with the existing 110v outlet in my garage, with edge cases handled by the fast charge station three blocks away.

If I do this, it needs to be able to at least good enough to not be an excuse against getting out there for Track Night in America, autocross, rallycross, and ice racing (if the lakes in the middle of Wisconsin ever freeze again).

Known downsides: stupid cup holders, safety systems have strong opinions about performance driving, it's super heavy, peak power falls off at 70% SoC, it has a CCS port which is the dominant standard in the way VHS was in 1997, fast charging is only B-tier, 20" wheels are kinda weird with different sizes front and rear for the same-sized tire which is a concern if I want more than one set.

 

Buy used. 2022s with 10-15k miles are already under $30k. Cool cars, I assume lack of name recognition is causing most of the depreciation. 

The parent company has been dramatically better than the previous (ford) steward of the Volvo brand from which they grew Polestar. Steve nailed it on value versus brand recognition. Get in now before the rest of the world recognizes the value. Will SCCA allow the electric at track night? No LiOn batteries at NJMP or Summit Point from what I here.

TIL that EV track restrictions are a thing. The nearest TNiA 2023 events were at Blackhawk Farms, and it doesn't look like they're supporting EVs just yet.

Edit: I didn't even notice Gingerman at first.  They're about the same distance in the opposite direction, and appear to be EV friendly.

Edit 2: cleaned out some potential flounder bait.

I believe they just went from FWD to RWD for 2024, so that's cool.

Seems like an interesting package.

I barely resisted getting a lightly used sport dual motor last quarter, I'd be surprised if I manage to continue to resist said temptation through '24. 

Steve_Jones said:

Buy used. 2022s with 10-15k miles are already under $30k. Cool cars, I assume lack of name recognition is causing most of the depreciation. 

Man those are cheap enough that I could easily make a random snap bad decision.

In reply to Steve_Jones :

Good grief, EV depreciation is steep. Hertz is liquidating much of their Tesla fleet after losing a quarter-billion dollars in equity. I'm seeing more and more reports that lots of these vehicles (e.g. E-tron) are losing 40% or more in value in the first year or two. 

That's just nuts. 
 

In reply to brandonsmash :

The Hertz Teslas have 80k plus miles and are $21k or so. Polestar 2 with 15k miles are $28k. I'd spend the $6k...

In reply to Steve_Jones :

I absolutely agree (if for no other reason than I'm not a huge fan of Tesla as a company). It's just telling that used values on many of these EVs have plummeted. 

God help me if Taycans start dipping into the 30s, then I'll have to figure out where to park one of those too. 

I'll play devil's advocate here: Why not a Model 3 Performance? I'm seeing them dip into the low $20s on occasion. 

In reply to Tom Suddard :

Comfort and build quality. The Polestar 2 feels like a modern Volvo and new Prius had a baby, down to the less than optimal blind spots. Getting that for the cost of a new Prius is a win though. 

The model 3 performance feels like the EV version of a hellcat powered Mopar, complete with questioning if it's going to self destruct in glorious fashion within the next 62 months. Sure the raw performance is astounding, but they're not comfortable places to be and they feel a bit like an unhinged person with a firearm with regards to being given far more power than they're capable of handling, a uniquely American platform in all 3 instances where the long term end result is rarely a positive outcome. 

CyberEric said:

I believe they just went from FWD to RWD for 2024, so that's cool.

Seems like an interesting package.

the dual motor perforamance cars, starting in 2023, went to 70% RW and 30%Fw where the previous years it was biased towards the front.

Personally, I like the P*2. I will probably pick one up next year when they adopt NAS charging

I have a family member who ran over a tire casing on the highway in his brand new Tesla. It has been off the road now for over a month while Insurance argues the cost of replacing the battery which was destroyed. I'm surprised a piece of rubber can do that kind of damage, and also that he is being asked to pay $28,000 for a new battery. He did have comprehensive insurance but they appear to be looking for loopholes to avoid paying out. As there are more and more EV's on the road there are more and more stories that make me reluctant to be an early adopter, and I'm sure this kind of thing has a serious impact on resale value.

True Story: I had a friend drive his new E92 BMW M3 through a puddle, and it hydrolocked the engine. The engine alone was north of $30,000, which totaled the car.

Tom Suddard said:

I'll play devil's advocate here: Why not a Model 3 Performance? I'm seeing them dip into the low $20s on occasion. 

1000% fair question. From what I can tell, the M3P has better acceleration and better charging, and I think Tesla might be more committed to the software update side than Polestar/Volvo/Geely/Google. It's the car most benchmarked against the Polestar, so I've seen it talked about a lot.

Feelings and personal opinions-wise (and we know that informs buying decisions) I don't want to own a Tesla. The few I found in a quick search were higher mileage than the Polestar at the same money, but I agree it's still a totally valid cross-shop.

Other things I'm personally thinking:

My other cross-shop is current-gen WRX because it's a three-pedal do-it-all, and I'm scared of boredom if I have no access to a car with a manual.

mad_machine said:

CyberEric said:

I believe they just went from FWD to RWD for 2024, so that's cool.

Seems like an interesting package.

the dual motor perforamance cars, starting in 2023, went to 70% RW and 30%Fw where the previous years it was biased towards the front.

Personally, I like the P*2. I will probably pick one up next year when they adopt NAS charging

I had no idea about that. Interesting. I wonder if that's a software update like the 300kw>350kw Performance Software update.

I did a thing. I'm not updating my GRM Garage - it's a Hertz weekend rental. 

Ignore how dirty the Birkin is.

Out of curiousity, I rented a Polestar 2 from Hertz O'Hare three weekends ago, and took it on a drive from Oak Park to Springfield to visit Lincoln's house, and then back to see how road-tripping the car would go. Total distance for the out and back Saturday trip was a little over 400 miles.

The car I ended up with was a 2023 single-motor with what I think was the Plus and Pilot pack. It had the glass roof, front and rear fog lights, and a bunch of driver assist stuff.

I created a new throwaway Google account that I wouldn't be afraid to log into from a rental car, and did a preplan before pickup date just to make sure I had the right kind of apps for the trip.

We didn't try to hypermile or watch our climate control use. I put a destination in to the car's nav, and Google Maps filled in required charging stops. I did override some charge station choices, choosing to run the battery lower in favor of reaching faster chargers, and Google Maps makes that easy with a helpful "Replace" button.

I found the seats too hard at first - it took a while before I found a really good position. The adjustable thigh support is nice, but extending it leaves a gap in the cushion. The center console is wider than I expected from photos. The cup holders are just irredeemably dumb. Knee room is adequate, but no more than that. The mirrors are good, and I liked the visibility.

I think there might have been something wrong with the visual assistance systems on my car. Lane keep almost exclusively was doing it wrong, pulling left and right, and chasing off ramps. Automatic speed limit sign recognition was worse than nothing - it was telling me 65 was the speed in a residential speed zone, and 35 was the limit on the interstate. It was confused by split limit signs. I think this was suppressing the location+database system Google Maps uses, which is really far better. I've had a Chevy rental with sign recognition and it was miles better than what the Polestar was doing. 

At first I disliked it, but eventually came to appreciate the radar cruise. With dumb cruise, I use the narrowing follow distance to tell me it's time to change lanes, which just didn't happen with the Polestar. After a little while, I started noticing a little better when the follow distance is slowing me down, moving over a little earlier. The follow distance controls are really easy, and I'm now a fan.

The drive itself was pretty uneventful. Charging mostly worked fine on the trip. I encountered one station with one of the two cords on the unit broken. I just plugged the other lead in, and it was fine. The real problem was partly artificial to the situation the day after the trip - I needed to get from home to O'Hare, arriving with either 70%, 80% or 82% of charge, so I had to fast charge at the station a few blocks from the house, and it was half broken and full.