Upgraded 2024 Polestar 2 electric car price and specs: Should Tesla Model 3 EV owners make the switch?

Polestar has priced its upgraded Polestar 2, increasing costs by as much as $3500 but compensating buyers with a host of hardware changes that increase performance, driving range and charging speeds.

Now kicking off at $67,400 before on-road costs for the Standard range Single motor variant, the entry to the Polestar 2 is now $3500 dearer than before.

The Long range Single motor and Long range Dual motor move up $3000 each to $71,400 and $76,400 respectively.

Meanwhile, a flagship Long range Dual motor with Performance Pack will set buyers back $85,400.

However, the price sting is eased by new-generation electric motors, with the Single motor variants moving from a front- to rear-wheel-drive configuration to make the Polestar 2 “even more fun to drive”, according to the brand.

The new electric motors also yield a noticeable increase in outputs, moving from 165kW/330Nm to 220kW/490Nm in Single motor form, cutting the 0-100km/h acceleration time down to a hot hatch-scaring 6.2 seconds.

Polestar has priced its upgraded Polestar 2, increasing costs by as much as $3500.

Dual-motor variants now feature a rear-biased all-wheel-drive set-up with a more modest increase in outputs from 300kW/660Nm to 310kW/740Nm, enabling a 0-100km/h sprint time in 4.5s.

The Performance Pack however, ups the ante to 350kW – with torque remaining the same – and can hit the landmark triple digit speed 0.3s quicker than the Polestar 2 Dual motor grades.

Upgraded lithium-ion batteries also mean a boost in efficiency, resulting in an up to 22 per cent increase in driving range.

Order books for the new Polestar 2 open July 5.

The Standard range variant feature a 69kWh battery for up to 532km of range, while the Long range variants are fitted with an 82kWh battery for a range of 654km and 591km for Single motor and Dual motor variants respectively.

The new batteries also allow for faster charging, with the Standard range maxing out a 135kW while the Long range variants can take up to 205kW of DC fast charging – which Polestar says can cut juicing times down by up to 34 per cent.

Finally, standard equipment in the new Polestar 2 has also been revised, adding blind-spot monitoring, cross-traffic alert, rear collision warning, a wireless smartphone charger and a surround-view monitor all at no extra cost.

The entry to the Polestar 2 is now $3500 dearer than before.

Polestar is also debuting its SmartZone safety suite with the production 2024 Polestar 2, which utilises a front-facing camera and mid-range radar to support some of its advanced driver assistance features.

Order books for the new Polestar 2 open July 5, with first deliveries expected later this year.

The Polestar 2 lines up against Australia’s best-selling electric car, the Tesla Model 3, though with the recent price rises, it drives a bigger divide between the two than before.

The Polestar 2's new batteries allow for faster charging.

The Tesla Model 3 can be had from $61,300 for the base RWD model, while the Long Range AWD variant is priced at $74,300 and the top-spec Performance AWD is $88,555.

In terms of driving range however, the Polestar 2 has the Tesla Model 3 handily beat, as the latter’s three grades offer up 491km, 602km and 547km of range respectively.

2024 Polestar 2 pricing before on-road costs