2023 Polestar 2 gets more power and driving range

One of the best selling electric cars in the country has just gotten a whole lot better and has the top selling Tesla firmly in its sights.

2023 Polestar 2 electric car

One of Australia’s favourite electric cars is getting a much needed boost.

Polestar has revealed its updated 2 sedan, a fierce rival to the Tesla Model 3, that is due to land Down Under from July.

It comes with big increases in driving range, efficiency and charging rate.

The electric car maker said this is made possible by the addition of new motors and a bigger battery compared to current versions.

The updated Polestar 2 electric car is more powerful and has a longer claimed driving range.

Prices have been bumped up by about $3000 across the range to compensate for the boosted ability.

Prices now start at $67,400 (before on-road costs) for the Standard Range and rise to $85,400 for the Dual Motor with Performance Pack.

Polestar has also switched to a rear-wheel drive layout, which should boost the drive experience.

“Changing from front- to rear-wheel drive in the single motor variants, and recalibrating the torque ratio in the dual motor variant for an increased rear-wheel drive feel, elevates the Polestar 2 driving experience to a whole new level,” said Joakim Rydholm, Polestar’s head of chassis development.

It is due to arrive from early July.

Single motor rear-wheel drive versions now make 220kW and 490Nm, up from 170kW and 330Nm in the old front-wheel drive models.

Polestar claims this lowers the 0-100km/h to 6.2 seconds, or 1.2 seconds quicker than before.

Dual Motor versions make 310kW and 740Nm, which is an increase of 10kW and 80Nm. This enables the 2 to hit 100km/h from a standstill in 4.5 seconds.

Polestar has also boosted the car’s standard safety equipment.

Adding the Performance pack boosts power to 350kW, which drops the benchmark sprint time to 4.2 seconds.

The base Single Motor Standard Range variant has a new 69kWh battery, which is the same size as before but now provides a claimed driving range of 532km, up from 478km.

It can accept a maximum of 135kW from a DC fast charger.

The rest of the range is now fitted with a big 82kWh battery pack that boosts driving range and increases the charging rate to 205kW.

In the Single Motor Long Range version driving range is boosted to 654km, or 103km more than the old version.

The Dual Motor versions can now be driven up to 591km, an increase of 104km.

Polestar has also sweetened the deal by adding blind spot monitoring, rear cross traffic alert and a birds-eye view camera as standard across the range. A wireless device charger is now also included.

Originally published as 2023 Polestar 2 gets more power and driving range