Volvo’s EV offshoot brand Polestar has been trying to make a name for itself since the brand announced it was going solo back in ‘17. Since then, it’s been trying to get buyers to notice. A new lower-priced model with longer range may help. Enter the new Polestar 2 Long Range Single Motor.
Available to order now on Polestar’s site, the new entry-level model starts at $45,900. It’s not only the cheapest way to get into a Polestar now, but it also offers the longest range. The new model trades power for range. While the dual-motor Polestar 2 has 408 horsepower, has a 4.5 second zero to sixty time, and just 249 miles of range, the single motor has 270 miles of range but that zero to sixty time drops to seven seconds. You also only have 231 HP. Oh did I mention that this model is front-wheel drive? Other than that everything is the same as the dual-motor 2, right down to the Google-based infotainment system and the 78 kWh battery.
The big question though is will all of this be enough to get buyers to bite? Polestar is still pretty unknown. The nondescript styling of its cars doesn’t help matters. The fact that there are just 15 of its minimalist Spaces retail locations in the entire country doesn’t help either. These spaces are also often in high-income areas. Both of its Southern California locations are in zip codes whose median incomes are well over six figures for instance. While a nearly $46,000 starting price isn’t that cheap, you can’t really tout a lower starting price if you target higher-income areas with the spaces you want to bring more customers in with.
Hopefully buyers bite. With the company claiming to have sold 29,000 vehicles in 2021, I still have yet to see one out in the wild.