The 2021 all-electric Polestar 2 compact sedan, designed specifically to compete against the Tesla Model 3, is now available for test drives in select cities across the U.S. While there are a few options, the most appealing test drive is the one where someone delivers the Polestar 2 to you, and here’s how to do it.
Polestar is a sibling automaker to Volvo. The two share many resources for both business and the production of vehicles, and both are backed by Chinese conglomerate Zhejiang Geely Holding Group of the Geely auto brand. The concept behind Polestar is a purely-electric (going forward) automaker offering modern design, ownership and leasing programs, and maintenance services that eschew the traditional dealership model in the U.S.
The Polestar 2 is the second model introduced by the new automaker. The first was a combustion-engine hybrid sports car dubbed the Polestar 1. That car was only an introductory flagship, and after an extended production run that was recently announced, the company will move on to purely electric vehicles.
The Polestar 2 is the first of those, offering an EPA estimated range of up to 233 miles from a 78 kWh battery pack, and starts at an $59,900 MSRP. Two electric motors offer all-wheel drive performance, producing up to 300 kilowatts or 408 horsepower and 487 lb-ft of torque. That power gets the five-seater from 0 to 60 mph in a claimed sprint of 4.7 seconds.
Instead of traditional parking-lot dealerships, Polestar is introducing what it calls “Polestar Spaces” which take up the size of a normal retail store and will be the host locations for regional test drives for interested buyers. So far, there are only Spaces in three states with locations in Mahwah, NJ, New York City, NY, and Corte Madera, Santa Monica, and Palo Alto, CA.
If you aren’t interested in traveling to one of the Spaces, you can arrange to have a Polestar representative drive the 2 out to meet you instead. Luckily, the delivered test drives have slightly more availability being offered in more cities than the Spaces so far. You can have a Polestar 2 driven to you in Denver, CO, Austin, TX, Northern New Jersey, the New York Metro area, and California’s Bay and Los Angeles Metro areas.
A valid driver’s license is required for booking, which is to be done online via Polestar’s website here. Keep in mind it could take a couple of days to confirm the booking, but you’ll eventually hear back from Polestar. If you’re not in any of these areas, sorry for now.
Polestar plans to open new Spaces in Boston, Denver, Texas, Washington, D.C. and Florida this year. Gregor Hembrough, the automaker’s U.S. boss, has previously claimed a majority of the Polestar 2's reservation holders live within 150 miles of the stores planned to open in the next few months.
Otherwise, you can just order the car online! That seems to be the cool thing to do these days. I figure a lot of early Tesla Model S and Model 3 adopters will likely at least be curious to drive the new competition and consider a replacement.