Renting the Polestar 2: Our Experience

During our recent business trip to Sydney for VPP Partners , Charles C. and I ( Mark Netto ) decided to try something different. So we ticked ‘electric’ on the Hertz rental form and waited with baited breath to see what we would get. ?

We were pleasantly surprised when a Polestar 2 showed up. With its sleek design and impressive features, definitely stands out in a crowd.

First Impressions

The moment we stepped into the Polestar 2, we were greeted by a minimalist yet luxurious interior. The vegan-friendly materials and attention to detail made us feel like we were in a premium sedan, however, some of the panels while aesthetically pleasing, felt cheap to the touch.

(Note: Since getting our company issued July Carry-on Pro, our expectations around materials and build quality has changed significantly!)

Performance and Handling

The Polestar 2 is no slouch when it comes to performance. The model we rented was a single motor, front-wheel drive. While it wasn’t blisteringly fast (we didn’t get pushed back into our seats when we floored it – yes, we tried it!), it was certainly quick enough for a spirited drive through the hills. And it’s definitely quick enough for our (speed limited) cities.

Handling was surprisingly nimble for a vehicle of its size. There was even some torque-steer when flooring it out of one of the many round-abouts we encountered.

Range Anxiety? Nope!

With an estimated range of around 480kms (as shown on the dash, Polestar lists the range at 546kms when new), we didn’t experience any range anxiety during our trip. We had the car for just over 24 hours and drove a total of ~150kms, a mix of city and country driving.

While we didn’t actually need to charge the car on such a short trip, we did decide to test the fast chargers from our friends at Evie Networks / Ampol The battery capacity was at 70% charge when we stopped for a quick bite. We plugged the Polestar into one of the fast chargers and topped it up to 82% in the 18 mins that we were there. We did notice that the car was throttling the charge as so the full capacity of the fast-charger wasn’t utilised. This is a quirk of the Polestar – it tends to throttle the charging depending on the state of charge (it slows down past 50% SoC), the temperature of the battery and the charger’s conditions.

Overall, we drove approximately 150kms on about 30% of charge, which is aligned with the listed estimated range of the car (considering we were testing the car and may have been a little heavy footed). ?

Tech and Connectivity

The Polestar 2 boasts a large, vertically oriented infotainment screen. The intuitive interface made it easy to adjust settings, access navigation, and control media, and we appreciated having Google Maps and Assistant at our fingertips (it sure made finding parking in Sydney much easier!)

It also had the option to adjust the strength of the one-pedal braking. As with most EVs, the electric motors start slowing the car down as soon as you lift of the accelerator. While this feature is great for regenerating electricity to charge the battery (yes, it helps to improve range), it does take a little getting used to and can be uncomfortable for passengers while you get used to it (you know that Uber driver that is constantly going between the accelerator and the brakes, that’s what it feels like). Having the option to tone this feature down really helps, especially if you’re only driving the car for a short time.

One thing the car we rented didn’t have was a 360 degree camera. This is something you would expect as standard on a car of this size, but it wasn’t optioned on this model so we had to make do with just the rear-view camera.

Environmental Impact

Driving the Polestar 2 felt like a small contribution to a greener planet. Zero tailpipe emissions meant we were reducing VPP Partners carbon footprint.

Driving the Polestar instead of a Toyota Camry (the alternative choice), we saved approximately 16.8 kg of CO (assuming the Camry uses a conservative 8 liters per 100kM, and considering only direct emissions).

It’s a small savings on our part, but every bit helps!

Final Thoughts

Our experience with the Polestar 2 was nothing short of impressive. As EVs become more accessible, renting one for our business trips is a smart choice. Next time we’re on the road in another city, we’re definitely going electric!