Family Car Review: 2024 Polestar 2 EV

How big is the boot of the 2024 Polestar 2 EV?

The 2024 Polestar 2 EV has a generous-size boot that will hold 13 shopping bags when empty, which is impressive and the same as some quite big SUVs. It is bigger than you get in the Volvo C40 Recharge, which holds 12 shopping bags. The Hyundai Ioniq 5 holds 14, and the Hyundai Ioniq 6 and Tesla Model Y both hold 15.

The Jiffle Wagon 6-in-1 pram, with its seat, fits in the boot of the Polestar 2 with three shopping bags. The Jiffle wagon holds up to 60kg of cargo inside the wagon, too, so you have heaps of extra storage, and you don't have to unload it to put it into the boot.

The Jiffle Wagon 6-in-1 pram with bassinet fits in the boot of the Polestar 2.

The boot space and its functionality are really important. I like to have a big boot space and little side wells or areas I can divide things into. So something I don’t want to move around while I’m driving such as Bub’s lunch bag or her wet swimming gear can be sectioned off in a little well where it’s not going to spill or get squashed by the rest of the things in the boot.

Hooks for securing shopping bags to are also favourites of mine, I like being able to secure the bag containing more fragile things like eggs so they don’t move around on the journey.

I measure the boot space in freezer shopping bags, prams and dogs. Not because I think all there is to a mum’s life is food shopping, prams and dogs. (Although it can feel like it sometimes!!) But because these are visually mesurable items we can all associate with. For me, the car company boot measurement of litres is not an amount I can easily visualise and 400L in one car may differ in usability to that in another due to the configuration or shape of the space.

The Jiffle Wagon 6-in-1 pram fits in the boot of the Polestar 2 with five shopping bags beside it…

… and the Adapt More Infant Capsule installed in the car.

The Jiffle Wagon 6-in-1 pram cart, with up to 60kg of storage inside it, fits in the boot of the Polestar 2 with five bags of shopping beside it.

The Polestar 2 has a Volvo-like boot divider that folds up from the floor, and you can divide your boot in two, allowing you to hold two shopping bags on hooks.

It also has an enormous underfloor storage area, great for putting soccer balls, swimmers etc.

A twin side-by-side pram fits in the boot of the Polestar2 with three shopping bags.

A medium-sized dog would also travel comfortably in the boot of the 2024 Polestar 2.

The boot floor is flat, which is good for an emergency nappy change, and there is a netted storage area on the right and an elastic strap on the left side, which is good for holding balls in place.

How good is storage inside the 2024 Polestar 2 EV?

Storage in the cabin of the 2024 Polestar 2 EV is minimal but practical. In the front, there are two cup holders in the central console underneath the armrest…

…they will hold a reusable or disposable coffee cup, and a large refillable water bottle fits in them too.

Below the media screen is a wireless phone charging dock and USB-C ports.

On both sides of the central console are phone or glasses storage shelves.

The glove box is a good size; it has a shelf in the top for the manual, and the bottom section will hold my wallet and iPad with the manual. You also get a fold-out hook to hold a bag above the footwell so it doesn't get dirty, wet or just roll around down there.

The door bins in the front will hold a refillable water bottle, and an iPad or wallet fits in them too.

There are lit vanity mirrors in both front visors but no glasses case in the ceiling.

In the back, the door bins are small and will only hold a 600ml water bottle.

There are net map pockets on the back of both front seats in the 2024 Polestar 2 EV that will hold but not conceal an iPad. There is a USBC socket in the back of the central console box, below the air vents, for rear passengers to charge their devices.

A fold-down armrest in the central seatback has two cup holders. They will hold a disposable or reusable coffee cup or a child's sippy cup fits in them too.

How noisy is the 2024 Polestar 2 EV?

The 2024 Polestar 2 EV is a lovely quiet BabyDrive! Being fully electric it is silent to start making morning drop-offs a little calmer!

Like the Volvo C40, Porsche Taycan and MG 4, you don't press a button to turn the car on; just sitting in the driver's seat turns it on, and you move it into gear and off it goes! This does mean you can't let your kids sit in the front seats, pretending to drive, when the car is stationary because it is VERY easy for them to accidentally drive the car!

The 2024 Polestar 2 EV has been significantly re-engineered to be rear-wheel drive instead of front-wheel drive. It is smoother and quieter than the previous model, and you are cocooned from a lot of the usual exterior road noise and stimulation when driving, which is great. The model I tested is the long-range single-motor model, which is the second most affordable option.

The media system in the Polestar 2 has a lovely big portrait screen. There are some great features in it like Google Maps and YouTube. So you can access videos and watch them with your kids when you are waiting at school pick up etc.

The Polestar 2 has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, so you can easily access your phone's podcast, music, messaging and navigation apps while driving.

Within the drive settings screen, you can change the feel of the drive between firm, standard and light, and you can turn the one-pedal drive off and on as well.

You can customise your driver assist functions on that screen, too, like driver alert, lane keep assist, etc.

Your battery range is easily visible on the charge screen…

… and the More screen allows you to customize things about the car to exactly how you like it. Like the door locks and lighting etc.

When you put the Polestar 2 in reverse the camera image is lovely and clear. It fills the bottom half of the screen, and you can turn the parking sensors and rear auto brakes on and off easily on the screen. My only criticism is the weird mouth-shaped shape around the edge of the camera view.

One of my favourite features of the Polestar 2 EV is when you put a destination into the navigation, it tells you how much battery you will have when you arrive there. This is gold and takes away the range anxiety you feel for some journeys, especially when you have kids on board.

The 2024 Polestar 2 is really lovely to drive. It is much smoother and quieter than the previous model, and having the rear-wheel-drive, you are very confident pulling out at junctions that you are not going to wheel spin.

It is very quiet being an EV, and the visibility is very good too. Even with two child seats installed in the back, I can see easily out of the rear and side windows, and the clear, crisp camera image makes reversing easy, too.

Becoming a parent I soon realised there are some noises and sounds I feel are unnecessary and I could happily live without if it meant my baby stayed asleep!!

That often the distraction of my screaming, distressed baby is more dangerous when driving than not having a lane departure warning for example.

If it is the lane departure warning beeping that creates distress with my baby then which is safest?

It’s where I think we need to be able to strike a balance and choose when we can mute the warnings or swap them to a vibration in the steering wheel or flashing light perhaps?

A lot of these noises come with the increase in technology and especially linked to safety features and alerts. For me these all have their place.

Another thing I have realised is I spend my time in a lot more places where small children roam, parks, beaches, play gyms, swimming lessons, daycare centre etc. I have become more aware that when I’m reversing or manouvering in the car parks I have to tripple check for small children running around behind me or being in my blind spot when reversing. For this I LOVE reversing cameras, I just don’t like their beeping sounds!!

I have become so much more aware of safety and potential accidents or hazards since having a child and so I love the peace of mind that I get from the cameras and sensors combined with my own vision from windows and mirrors as I don’t trust cameras alone.

How many child seats fit in the 2024 Polestar 2 EV?

Installing Infasecure child seats into the 2024 Polestar 2 is easy. It has ISOFix in the two outer rear seats, they are within plastic guides and nice and easy to connect to.

There are top tether anchorages on the back of all three seatbacks. The outer two are clearly labelled and the central one is low down in the seat back. I did find it a little tricky to post the top tether straps through to the boot as there is no space underneath the rear headrests.

I found two Infasecure child seats fit really nicely in the back of the 2024 Polestar 2. I installed the Infasecure Adapt More Infant Capsule rear-facing behind the driver's seat and the Infasecure Achieve More forward-facing behind the front passenger seat.

Legroom is fantastic in the Polestar 2 and we found a 186cm driver can sit in front of a rear-facing child seat and even taller in front of a forward-facing child seat! Making the Polestar 2 a great electric vehicle for taller families.

Posting Bub into their child seat when inside and outside the car is really nice and easy in the Polestar 2 EV. The doorways are nice and wide, and although the ceiling is lower than in an SUV, there is still a good height to post Bub into their seat.

Australia being a country of weather extremes; blazing sun and torrential rain, mean you may find it easier to put Bub into their seat from inside the car sometimes. If it’s hot you can get the air-con going, cool the car down and not stand out in the sun while you fasten them in or shelter from the rain and not get soaked yourself whilst you’re doing it. So it is important to test whether Bub can be easily installed from either direction!

There is plenty of room to feed bub in the back of the Polestar 2 if you only have one child seat installed.

How comfortable is the 2024 Polestar 2 EV? And How good is the 2024 Polestar 2 EV to drive?

The cabin is beautifully minimal in the front of the 2024 Polestar 2 EV.

The front seats are very comfortable, with adjustable base length and electronic adjustments.

The perforated cream leather in the front and rear seats in this car may prove a little tricky to keep clean for families against the usual kids, crumbs and drink spillages! Luckily Polestar offers quite a few options for seat upholstery.

For a mum travelling in the back with Bub, the seats are comfortable at the sides, but in the central seat, I could feel the firm back caused by the drop-down armrest.

I could not fit beside two child seats in the back, but not between two child seats. I find the back of the Polestar 2 EV very comfortable to travel in with a generous amount of legroom.

For the first year of my baby’s life when we would go out as a family, if I wasn’t driving, I would travel in the back with Bub so it’s important to check the back seat comfort as you may be spending a lot of time in them! They were never something I gave any thought to before but I definitely notice a good or bad back seat now!

The steering wheel is fully adjustable in/out and up/down. Cruise control is incredibly accurate in the Polestar 2 EV, and the controls are nice and simple to use and located on the left of the steering wheel.

There are four air-conditioning vents across the front dashboard, one at either end and two behind the central media screen.

There are aircon vents in the back of the 2024 Polestar 2 EV, which is great for keeping rear passengers at the right temperature while driving. There are also rear heated seat controls and a USB-C socket for rear charging below them. The controls for the aircon are within the media screen and are quite simple to reach and use while driving.

Visibility is very good out of the windows in the Polestar 2 EV, and I especially like the clear, crisp camera images when parking and manoeuvring.

One thing I have noticed since being a mum is I hate it when I reach a destination or get home from being out and Bub has either done really well in the car or she is screaming her head off and I have done really well to keep it together for the entire journey (usually the latter!!) and it takes 10 minutes to park the car! It can be really stressful. Usually I dread parking new cars as they take longer in our tight apartment block carpark, but the Polestar 2 was easy to park.

Aesthetically, the 2024 Polestar 2 EV is a great-looking electric car, especially in this Thunder grey. WAY cooler than a Tesla Model 3 if you ask me!

The interior is calm and minimal, which helps when transporting the family. It is very practical for families, with the large boot space and excellent legroom even when using rear-facing child seats. As well as all the benefits of being fully electric.

How safe is the 2023 Polestar 2 EV?

The Polestar 2 EV scored a five-star ANCAP safety rating in 2022.

Scoring a total of 92% for adult occupancy.

For Child Occupancy protection, the Polestar 2 EV scored 87%.

ANCAP said of the testing: In both the frontal offset and side impact tests, protection was GOOD for all critical body areas for both the 6 year and 10 year child dummies.
The Polestar 2 is fitted with lower ISOFix anchorages on the rear outboard seats and top tether anchorages for all rear seating positions.
Installation of typical child restraints available in Australia and New Zealand showed most child restraints could be accommodated in most rear seating positions, however the Type A capsule could not be correctly installed in the rear outboard seating positions, one of the selected Type A convertible seats could not be correctly installed in rearward facing mode using the ISOfix anchorages, and one of the selected booster seats could not be correctly installed in the centre rear seating position.

Seven airbags come as standard;

Dual frontal, side chest-protecting and side head-protecting (curtain) airbags are standard. A centre airbag which provides added protection to front seat occupants in side impact crashes is also standard on all variants

As standard, all models of the Polestar 2 come with seat belt pre-tensioners in both the front seats and rear all three positions, active bonnet, anti-lock braking system (ABS), autonomous emergency braking (AEB) for the city, Interurban, VRU and junction assist, automatic emergency call (eCall), electronic brake-force distribution (EBD), electronic data recorder (EDR), electronic stability control (ESC), emergency brake assist (EBA), emergency stop signal (ESS), fatigue reminder, fatigue monitor/detection, forward collision warning (FCW), lane departure warning (LDW), lane keep assist (LKA), pre-crash systems, rear cross-traffic alert (RCTA), reversing collision avoidance (camera), roll stability system, secondary / multi-collision brake, speed assistance – auto / intelligent speed limiter, speed assistance – manual speed limiter and speed assistance – speed sign recognition & warning.

Optional extras are adaptive cruise control (ACC), autonomous emergency braking (AEB) – Backover and blind spot monitor (BSM).

Some of these safety features are also features that drive me crazy as a mum! Like the lane departure and forward collision alert or the parking sensor beeping sound. I want all the safety technology AND to be able to mute the sound when Bub's asleep!