Enlarge / A Polestar 2 (foreground) and a Polestar 1 (background) at Polestar’s showroom in Marin County, California. (credit: Polestar)
In 2020, we got our first drive in the then-new Polestar 2, an electric fastback sedan from a startup automaker owned by Volvo and Geely. The car had a great interior and some nifty infotainment features courtesy of Google’s Android Automotive OS.
At launch, there was just one powertrain option: a dual-motor, all-wheel-drive setup with a combined 408 hp (300 kW) and 486 lb-ft (660 Nm), powered by a 78 kWh (75 kWh net) lithium-ion battery. But the company has now added a second, cheaper Polestar 2 to its US lineup. The new option makes do with just a single electric motor that powers the front wheels.
Polestar has turned up the power on this motor compared to the otherwise-identical units you’d find if you dissected an AWD Polestar 2; it now generates 231 hp (170 kW), although it still makes an identical 243 lb-ft (330 Nm). Battery capacity remains unchanged at 75 kWh net, and that’s sufficient for an EPA range of 270 miles (434 km).
