2024 Polestar 2 Is Quicker, Goes Farther, And Drives The Rear Wheels

The 2024 Polestar 2 has some pretty big under-the-skin changes.

The Polestar 2 has been holding it down as Polestar’s lone full EV offering since its introduction as a 2021 model. Now, for 2023, the brand has updated its EV sedan, or rather, liftback, with some pretty significant changes.

For starters, the Polestar 2 shifts to RWD in single motor form, just like its Volvo C40 and XC40 recharge cousins. The Polestar 2 has an all-new “next generation” motor setup, with the single motor variant now featuring a 299 horsepower motor on the rear axle. This is a sizable boost from the 231 horsepower, front-mounted, FWD design of last year’s car. Polestar says the new motor shaves off more than a second from the car’s 0-60 time, allowing the single-motor variant to scoot to 60 MPH as little as 5.9 seconds.

Similar upgrades are applied to the dual-motor, AWD cars. The new AWD system is now rear-biased, with the primary motivation coming from the rear motor. In order to save power, the front motor can be completely disengaged, and then re-engaged when necessary. The whole system gets a modest power bump to 421 horsepower (up from 408 horsepower), but the real story is a sizable jump in torque from 467 ft/lbs to a staggering 546 ft/lbs. Now, the Polestar 2 can sprint to 60 in as little as 4.3 seconds. Step up to the Performance Pack via an over-the-air update, and the Polestar 2 jumps to 455 horsepower, and 0-60 drops to 4.1 seconds.

These upgrades are more than just for performance, Polestar says the new motors and revised battery technology, (and larger battery option) have allowed for a car that has more range, and charges faster. The long range single-motor Polestar 2 now has an 82 kWh battery, and should be able to crest 300 miles, up from the 270 miles of last year. It can also now DC fast charge at a max speed of 205 kW.

Exterior wise, the Polestar 2 remains somewhat the same, barring the new color-matched front grille insert, that Polestar calls the “SmartZone.” Seen on the Polestar 3, and Polestar Precept concept, the smoothed-out front fascia rejects the idea of “breathing,” associated with a traditional grille on a normal car. Instead, Polestar is migrating to “seeing”, filling the space normally occupied by a grille with sensors and cameras meant to aide Polestar’s vision of an autonomous driving future. Also, the design for the 20-inch wheels on the Performance Pack equipped cars have been tweaked to align closer with the forthcoming Polestar 3.