Polestar 2 With Performance Pack 70-MPH Highway Range Test

Better handling; slightly less driving range

Tom Moloughney

By: Tom Moloughney

Aug 24, 2021 at 12:06pm ET

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Kyle Conner fully charged up a Polestar 2 with the performance pack and headed out on the highway to conduct the next edition of the InsideEVs 70-mph highway range test. A few months ago I did the same 70-mph range test with a non-performance Polestar 2 and finished up with 226 miles while driving at 70 mph.

However, I actually drove the vehicle 233 miles to the DC fast-charge station, but the final 7 miles were at very low speeds so we don't count them. That's because at the 226-mile point, the car was at 2% state of charge and it began to slow down and go into reduced power mode.

I couldn't maintain highway speeds so I immediately got off the highway and drove at 20 mph on back roads to the charging station. So even though I drove 233 miles total, only 226 of those miles were at 70-mph, so that's the final number we gave the range test.

The Polestar 2's combined EPA range rating is 233 miles (375 km). However, its highway EPA range rating is 222 miles (357 km). It has a 78-kWh battery pack and a robust 75 kWh of that is usable. Like Tesla, Polestar allows a very high percentage of the battery pack to be usable, but it then recommends that owners not charge to 100% on a daily basis.

We did our first Polestar 2 70-mph range test three months ago:

The driving conditions in both of our tests were very similar, so we would expect a relatively similar result. The Performance Pack option doesn't offer a larger battery or even more horsepower or torque. What you do get for $5,000 is adjustable Öhlins DFV suspension dampers, 20" forged alloy wheels, Brembo brakes, sticky summer performance tires, and special edition gold-colored seat belts.

The Performance pack bundles a set of specialized handling upgrades, carefully selected and tuned for the Polestar 2 Long range Dual motor. Feel even more connected to the road and prepare yourself for the ultimate in driver engagement. - Polestar website

Kyle finished up with 221.6 miles (357 km), but as I did, he noticed that the Polestar began to have difficulty maintaining highway speeds once the state of charge was under 3% and when it reached 1% it would barely go faster than 25-mph. Kyle pulled off the highway at the 216-mile (348 km) mark and drive another 5.6 miles (9 km) until he reached the ChargePoint DC fast charge station.

Miles driven at 70-mph Miles driven below 70-mph Total miles driven Tom: Polestar 2 226 miles (364 km) 7 miles (11 km) 233 miles (375 km) Kyle: Polestar 2 w/Perf Pack 216 miles (348 km) 5.6 miles (9 km) 221.6 miles (348 km)

In my test, I surpassed the Polestar 2's 222-mile (357 km) highway EPA range rating by 4 miles. Kyle ended up about 7 miles short, but considering he had the performance pack with the sticky summer sport tires, I'd say that was to be expected.

More Polestar News

US: Polestar Announces 2022 Polestar 2 Specs And Prices

2021 Polestar 2 Review: Improving On Improvement

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Kyle really liked the driving dynamics of the standard Polestar 2 dual motor, so once he's had some more time with this performance pack version we're sure he'll let us know if he thinks it's worth the extra $5,000.

So check out the video and let us know what you think. Does the Polestar 2 have what it takes for you to consider getting one? Would you go for the performance pack option, or does the lower cost front-wheel-drive version that's coming soon interest you? As always, please leave your thoughts in the comment section below.

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