I have a confession: I derive an illicit thrill from seeing how far my car can go after that little petrol light pops up. For years now, I’ve ignored the plaintive cries and chidings from parents, ex-boyfriends, mechanics, and automotive experts decrying how bad dry tanking it is for the engine, and indulged my Kramer-esque fascination for driving with the needle hitting the ‘E’ (I feel the need to mention here that this is indeed just in my car, I’m the perfect model driver in other people’s cars).
That said, a road trip is not the best avenue to indulge such thrills, so I started off with the purest—petrol-free—intentions. While I’ve previously had the opportunity to test drive electric vehicles on the track and for shorter drives on the road, my time with said vehicles has always ended before they required a charge, therefore depriving me of a (not so) small yet crucial part of EV ownership.
To fully immerse ourselves in the electric vehicle experience, we took the Polestar 2 on a week-long road trip. As the mercury drops down under, Instagram feeds rapidly begin to display an endless stream of whitewashed Greek villages, rocky Italian beaches, and cobbled French streets, as Australians begin their annual pilgrimage to Europe in pursuit of the sun. However, with a country as diverse as Australia, there’s ample pleasure to be had without racking up frequent flyer miles. Those desirous of increased temperatures and beach weather need only head north, which is exactly what we did.
Travelling from Sydney to Byron Bay to Gold Coast and back again via the Pacific Highway—one of the country’s must-do scenic road trips—we put over 1600 kilometres on the Polestar 2.
But before we could hit the open road we were forced to navigate a much less appealing, yet inevitable, part of daily driving: city roads.
Now, I’m a firm believer that the ostentatiousness of a car can be determined by how easily your fellow drivers let you merge in a traffic jam. When taking to the road in my own humble Hyundai Getz, I get a pity merge every single time. “Oh, go on you sweet summer child,” they seem to say, genially flicking their headlights and gesturing me through. A Lexus LS? Oh all right, go on then. An Audi RS? Not bloody likely. A McLaren 650S? Dream on.
Devoid of obvious branding (in our Space black Polestar, the similarly black northern star logo is almost indiscernible from the road), the Polestar 2 resembles a futuristic Volvo (unsurprising considering it’s a sub-brand of the Swedish marque). With its flat-faced front panel, narrow origami-inspired headlights, and boxy sculpted rear, it looks like a relatively classic—albeit more muscular—sedan. The man in the car behind me cocks his head and allows me into the jam packed lane.
Making our way back from the Polestar showroom in Alexandria through the city, the Polestar 2 handled the gridlocked roads of Sydney with aplomb. Its exterior may be understated, but inside we’re living the lush life. Everything about the Polestar 2 is just easy. While there’s nothing like the feeling of being at one with the mechanics of a manual car (not to be dramatic), anyone who’s lived through the perils of stop-start traffic can attest to the fact that it’s no fun in the city. The Polestar 2 may not make traffic jams fun, but it certainly takes the edge off.
Turning on ‘Creep Mode’ (dubiously named, exceedingly helpful, not at all creepy) makes navigating bumper-to-bumper traffic seamless, allowing the car to slowly edge forward when your foot lifts off the brake (i.e. without the need to touch the accelerator). The sunroof, lumbar support, and heated seats are also a nice—and comfortable—touch.
Although I’m not usually a fan of cars that eschew physical buttons altogether in favour of on-screen displays, the infotainment system in the Polestar 2 is one of the best in class. Running on Android Automotive, the intuitive infotainment system made pretty much everything from turning on Google Maps (nearby charging stations helpfully located) to playing music simple. The only difficult thing to find was how to turn the volume up — ironically, that was in fact a physical button.
Perhaps one of the best infotainment features is the behind-the-wheel map. When using Google Maps, directions will appear on the screen behind the wheel alongside the speedometer, doing away with the need for—and stress of—passenger navigation. This means that even if you want to check something else on the infotainment screen, the directions remain displayed on this screen.
Starting off with 97% battery and an estimated driving range of 420 kilometres, we make our way out of Sydney and head north on the Pacific Highway (M1). When putting a destination into Google Maps on the car’s infotainment system, the route automatically takes into account charging needs and makes several suggestions for charging stops along the way (while also helpfully telling you how much charge you’ll have left at said stop).
Despite a generous estimated driving range at the beginning, we quickly found this was liable to change at a moment’s notice (claimed range vs real life range is a commonly documented issue amongst EVs, but news to this woefully unstudied writer), with just five kilometres actually driven docking around 30 from the estimate.
Ditching the city streets for the open road is where the Polestar 2 really shines. On the highway, the combination of cruise control and pilot assist let you almost be a backseat driver in the driver’s seat. The latter worked particularly well on the highway (however, we later found it to struggle to stay between the lines in the city), although the former did tend to be a little lax with going above the set limit (with the car simultaneously telling you off for speeding).
We travelled just over 300 kilometres to Taree before stopping for a charging break, with the Polestar 2 charging from 30% to 70% in 26 minutes (while we simultaneously recharged on subpar coffees).
Not 40 minutes later, we pulled over at the small town of Kew to check out a true Australiana relic: the now-rare Driver Reviver. Once a common sight on longer road trips, Driver Reviver stops are now a rarity, but this one more than delivered with the helpful staff providing much welcome Bushell’s tea and biscuits (and Tiny Teddies at that!). As the stops are solely volunteer run, make sure you pop a few gold coins into the donation box to keep them going.
Now, this stretch is where my desire to test the full extent of the Polestar 2’s range claim got the better of me. While the system typically structures the drive so you rarely dip under 30% charge, the little voice in my head said “why don’t you just keep going and see how long it really goes?” Given that the little voice in my head can be rather convincing at the best—and worst—of times, keep going is exactly what I did. Bypassing the recommended charging stop at Coffs Harbour (which would have been somewhere around 25%), I elected to keep driving to the next charging point at Tyndale, 320 kilometres from Taree. As the remaining charge dipped down into the single digits, even I started to get apprehensive. There’s something decidedly different about the relative ambiguity of the petrol light compared to the cold hard percentage lighting up the lower right hand corner of the screen on an electric vehicle.
Pulling into the Evie charging station at Tyndale on 2%, I breathed a sigh of relief. “Made it,” I triumphantly told my (unwilling and disapproving) passenger. I stuck the charger in and…no connection. Again and again, I tried to connect to the Evie network to no avail. One hysterical call to an unfazed (and unhelpful) customer service representative in a call centre far far away and I was informed that both chargers at said charging point weren’t working and there was nothing they could (or would) do. With just 14 kilometres remaining and the nearest charging station 31 kilometres away, we were in…a situation.
After a good ten minutes spent jealously glaring at ICE drivers effortlessly filling up their gas guzzlers with not a care in the world—and with the sun rapidly setting—I asked the employees behind the counter for help. While they also claimed themselves absolved of all responsibility for the EV charger on their petrol station, they did kindly offer up a powerpoint at the adjoining caravan park. After 3 hours of standing around in the dark, twiddling our thumbs, getting our 10k steps in, and staring up at the sky (the lack of light pollution makes for a beautiful view of the stars), the Polestar 2 had charged up to a grand total of 7%, or 36 kilometres. With the day not getting any younger (and dreams of a relaxing afternoon by the pool long gone), we decided to take the plunge.
The minute my foot hit the accelerator, the 36 kilometre range promptly dropped to 28 kilometres. Something of an issue with 30 kilometres to go. With a combination of regenerative single pedal driving, going half the speed limit, and praying to the forces that be, we were somehow able to make it to Grafton, pulling into the carpark on 0% where the NRMA charging point was—thankfully—working.
A one-and-half-hour charging stop and a two hour midnight drive in an ominous mist rivalling that produced by the dementors (pilot assist was a godsend here, as it was almost impossible to see more than three feet ahead) later and we were at Elements of Byron. Thankful for the 24 hour check-in, we gratefully sunk into the plush king size bed.
Related: Elements Of Byron Is An All-Encompassing Haven That Epitomises Barefoot Luxury
A full day of lazing by the pool and a couple of restorative nature walks later and we were keen to get back behind the wheel. Suitably humbled by the experience on the drive up, I made sure to charge the car up to 90% (the Polestar-recommended level for extending the life of the battery) before leaving Elements of Byron. After a three-course lunch at the peerless institution that is Raes on Wategos, we headed for the Gold Coast.
An utterly lazy hour’s drive (Cruise control: on. Pilot assist: on. Mind: off) up and we arrived at Mysa Motel, a retro throwback to the motels of the ‘80s. With its prime location a mere two-minute walk from the beach, we let the Polestar 2 have a couple of days off while we explored the up-and-coming town of Palm Beach. Before heading back down to Byron, we jumped into the Polestar 2 and made our way to 19 Karen, an evocative contemporary art gallery in Mermaid Beach. Helmed by gallery director Terri Lew, it houses an eclectic selection of contemporary art, as well as displays Lew’s own impressive collection.
Related: The Nostalgic Mysa Motel Revives The Quintessential Aussie Beach Holiday
The drive back down to Byron Bay was equally as pleasantly uneventful, with the Polestar 2 at home on the open road.
After a couple of evenings making use of the kitchenette facilities at the self-contained Mysa Motel, we were happy to leave dinner in the hands of the professionals, with a meal at the rightfully acclaimed Three Blue Ducks at The Farm Byron Bay. Centred on produce grown on-site, portions (the taramasalata, crispy potatoes, market fish, and French toast are all must-order dishes) were exceedingly generous and well-priced — accustomed as we are to Sydney portions, we ended up overordering.
Not keen to brave the chill of Sydney just yet, we spent a couple of nights at Swell Hotel, one of the newest additions to Byron Bay’s rapidly growing boutique hospitality scene. With impeccable landscaping and soothing earthy interiors by local designer Nyree Mackenzie, not to mention the complimentary sauna and ice bath and the town centre of Byron Bay at your doorstep, it’s not a bad way to round off a coastal getaway.
Related: Swell Hotel Nails The Retro Aesthetic (…But Not The Vibes)
On the drive back down to Sydney, the lateness of the hour provided the chance to test out the marque’s claim of 0 to 100km/h in 4.2 seconds in the Polestar 2 on the deserted 110km/h Pacific Highway. Now, I didn’t have a chronograph on hand, but I can tell you this: the Polestar 2 is. Pretty. Damn. Fast. As the average potential Polestar owner is unlikely to be partaking in injudicious activities like drag racing, translated to the real world this means that should you need to enter a highway from the side of the road, the Polestar 2 will do so without breaking a sweat. And should you actually be challenged to a drag race, you’ll likely win. Not that you should do it.
Final thoughts
I’ve often read accounts from parents taking road trips with young children and never really related to them until now. Taking a road trip with an electric vehicle is somewhat like taking a finicky, perpetually hungry or thirsty toddler along; you need to plan frequent stops into the journey and expect said journey to take at least a third longer than it ordinarily would. The route itself often revolves around the need to charge, and while some charging spots are located in larger petrol stations with cafes and fast food chains, others are in questionable isolated locations that feel unsafe after dark.
That said, much like taking a hypothetical toddler along for the ride, the effort can often be surpassed by the resulting sense of pride and accomplishment. Charges along the way cost from $16 to $39AUD (NRMA and Chargefox tended to have a lower cost per kW, while Evie was on the higher side) and being able to escape the chill of the city without going through hundreds of litres of petrol imbues one with a certain sense of moral superiority. Is said moral superiority enough to sit still for an hour while your electric vehicle charges? The jury is still out on that one, but the lumbar support on the Polestar 2 does make it a whole lot easier.
Words by T. Angel
Feature image courtesy of Polestar