New Polestar 2 real world first drive: the EV (Electric Volvo?) of 2020 // Jonny Smith

At the risk of click-baiting this new 300kw, 400+hp, dual motor AWD, 292-mile EV from Volvo's sub-brand is probably the closest to a Model 3 rival seen so far. The Polestar 2 uses tasteful Scandinavian design with Chinese manufacturing (Polestar, Volvo, Lotus and the London Electric Vehicle Company - who make the EV black cabs - are owned by Chinese giant Geely) to bring this surprisingly sporty £47,000-£55,000 hatchback to sit between Tesla's Model 3 and Jaguar's iPace. It is not a ground-up EV, however, as it shares underpinnings with the Volvo XC40 SUV (of which there will be a pure electric version coming soon). The Polestar 2 uses low impact, recycled and recyclable interior materials to class it as 'Vegan'. It hits 0-62 in 4.7 seconds, making it mid-range amongst the Model 3s and almost identical to the Jag iPace. When optioned with the £5000 Performance Pack (which Jonny tested) you get gold 4-piston Brembo brake calipers, manually adjustable Ohlins suspension system, gold seatbelts and gold valve caps. But is it too firm and race-focused for the market it's supposed to be aimed at? Jonny suspects so. Thank you to my Patron subscriber gang. Want to be a CarPervert Patreon supporter?   / carpervert   ********** Thank you for watching. If you haven't already, SUBSCRIBE to CarPervert for a broad-church of automotive appreciation spanning EV, classic, modified and future tech. Click the bell icon to alert you when the next CarPervert video lands. Filmed & edited by: Matty @ Pixel Click http://pixel-click.com Thumbnail by: Matt Tarrant Design https://matttarrantdesign.com **************** Jonny Smith Creative content maker, car presenter & car pervert for hire since '98 Website: http://www.carpervert.com Instagram:   / jonnycarpervert   Twitter:   / carpervert   CHAPTERS 0:00 Intro 0:33 Exterior angles 1:02 Walk-around side profile 1:13 Polestar 1 PHEV 1:29 Dimensions 2:39 Motor and battery spec 3:25 Rear end walkaround 3:55 boot space 4:45 first drive impressions 5:20 Vegan interior 7:12 Volvo cabin components 8:00 Hey Google 8:45 weird indicator noise 9:05 Performance Pack 9:55 Not a ground up EV 10:40 Regen braking 11:00 Tesla brakes awful 12:00 Jaguar iPace 12:20 400hp feeling 12:55 Stiffness and grip 14:00 Tesla cabin comparison 14:40 TOO SPORTY? 15:05 Safety & weight 15:40 Acceleration 16:00 Battery pack 16:20 Range 16:50 Simple infotainment 17:45 RWD to come? 19:10 Simple displays 19:50 cubby holes 20:30 Why isn't suspension adjustable? 20:50 Too much of a race car 21:30 Froot & front end walkaround 23:45 Charging times 24:23 Rear seats 25:17 Conclusion 26:30 Subscribe!