2020 Jeep Cherokee vs 2024 Polestar 2

What's the difference?

The Cherokee is perhaps not going to tempt anyone set on a mainstream mid-size family SUV. But, to those on the periphery who are genuinely looking for something different, there’s a lot on offer here.

The proposition is boosted by the Cherokee’s unique off-road equipment and compelling price tag, but just keep in mind it’s old-fashioned in more than just one way…

Improved across the board with more features, a longer driving range, and vast upgrades to driving dynamics and comfort, while the 2024 Polestar 2 is no longer the affordable EV it once was when it first launched, it is the car it always should have been.

Part of me wants to like the Cherokee. It’s a refreshingly modern take on the mid-size formula from Jeep. There’s another part of me which thinks it’s a bit soft around the edges with a little too much influence from the likes of the last-generation RAV4, especially around the rear. A smaller, heavily opinionated, part of me says it looks like the kind of car the Hamburgler would drive.

But you can’t deny the black paint with black and grey highlights looks tough. The raised plastic bumpers, small wheels, and red powder-coated recovery hooks speak to this SUV’s off-road ambition. And the package is nicely rounded out with LED light fittings front and rear which cut nice angles around this car’s edges.

Inside is still very… American, but this has been toned down significantly from past Jeep offerings. There are almost no truly awful plastics now, with an abundance of soft-touch surfaces and nicer interaction points.

The wheel is still chunky and leather-clad though, and the multimedia screen is an impressive and bright unit taking centre stage in the dash.

My main complaint with the cabin is the chunky A-pillar which eats a bit of your peripheral vision, but otherwise it’s a plush design.

The Polestar 2 was already a slick, chiselled design, a work of pure Scandinavian minimalism, which effortlessly communicates its performance credentials through sturdy wheel arches and an athletic stance.

The brand hasn't wasted any dollars on changing things up this time around, with the car looking almost identical to its predecessor, aside from the filled-in-grille, a choice made to bring the 2 more in-line with the look of the incoming 3 large SUV and 4 mid-sizer. It's a little more science fiction and a little less Volvo, and that's all it needs to be.

Aside from this, it continues to exist in the new world of segment-bending electric cars, being part crossover, part sedan, and part hatch. I like it.

The only other change for this iteration is a new wheel design for the performance pack - too bad if you were expecting more.

This extends to the interior which has not changed for better or worse.

It's a great-looking space with its simplistic colour scheme, subtle ambient lighting, choice of interesting textures, and recycled materials, elements which pair nicely with the simple but functional user interface on the digital panels.

Like before, it's an advantage the Polestar even has a digital dash when compared to its Model 3 rival, although it would be nice to see further customisation available to the driver. As it is, the simple functionality is reduced to the bare minimum.

The same can be said for the main multimedia panel. It's a shame there are limited physical controls for the climate system, but it's a clever execution, almost all core functions are just one or two presses away. The same can't be said for most automotive software.

The plushness makes for a comfortable environment, particularly for front passengers who benefit (in this case) from power adjustable seats, telescopically adjustable steering column and faux-leather trimmed padded surfaces pretty much everywhere.

There are small bottle holders in the doors, big bottle holders in the centre console, a large armrest box, and a small trench in front of the transmission stick. Sadly the Cherokee seems to miss out on the secret compartment under the seat base which the smaller Compass gets.

Back seat occupants get a decent, but not impressive, amount of space. I’m 182cm tall and had a small amount of airspace for my knees and head. There are small bottle holders in the doors, pockets on the back of both front seats, a set of movable air vents and USB ports on the back of the centre console, plus large bottle holders in the drop-down armrest.

Seat trim all-around has to be commended for being ultra-soft and comfortable, albeit not super supportive.

The second row is on rails, allowing you to max out boot space if need be.

Speaking of boot space, it’s a tough one to compare to other models because Jeep is insistent on using the SAE standard rather than the VDA standard (as one is more or less a liquid measurement, and the other is one made up of cubes, they are impossible to convert). Regardless, the Cherokee managed to consume all three items in our luggage set with ease, so it at very least has a competitive standard boot capacity.

The floor in our Trailhawk was carpeted, and a luggage cover comes standard. Worth noting is how high the boot floor is off the ground. This limits the space available, but is required for the full-size spare hidden under the floor, a must for long-distance drivers.

One of the major drawbacks of no interior design changes this time around means none of our complaints about the first version of the car have been addressed. By design, the Polestar 2 continues to offer a low, sporty driving position, and a relatively compact cabin, but it is one of the least functional and open of its rivals in this EV space, particularly those that take advantage of their fully electric platforms.

For example, the large raised centre console in the Polestar 2 continues to keep the space cosy and engaging, allowing your arm to rest close to the wheel, light control stalk, and multimedia panel, but offers precious little in the way of storage.

There are two small cutaways on either side, and a small tray for your phone and maybe a wallet, but no large pass-through storage area underneath like many of its rivals offer. There's also only one immediately accessible cupholder in the centre, with the second one inside the armrest console box, forcing you to choose between the two. Annoying on days you want to grab a coffee with your passenger on the go. For further storage, there are two bottle holders and map pockets in the doors.

The centre console area is also clad in a hard plastic material, so if you have longer legs your knee is forced to grate up against it, which can become uncomfortable on longer drives.

Still, no matter which of the three seat trims you get, they're all comfortable, and a driving position is very easy to find. It's also nice that heated seats and four-way power adjust are standard, and a central dial for volume control has not been forgotten.

The rear seat is comfortable for outboard passengers, with the same soft trim in the doors, and cosy seats. Behind my own driving position at 182cm tall, I have plenty of room for my knees, and width feels sufficient, although headroom might be an issue if you're any taller than me.

The rear door also doesn't open very far, and the descending coupe roofline means access isn't the easiest for less mobile passengers, and could be inconvenient for fitting a child seat or loading bulky luggage. The centre seat position is also compromised by a tall raise, an unfortunate necessity thanks to the Polestar's CMA platform which it shares with combustion Volvos.

Amenities aren't bad in the rear seat, however, with a large bottle holder in each door, a further two flexible holders in the drop-down armrest, two elastic pockets on the backs of the front seats, a power outlet, and dual-adjustable air vents. Cars with the Plus Pack equipped even get heated outboard rear seats, a nice touch.

The boot is unchanged this time around, continuing to offer a solid 405-litres (VDA) of space, with an under-floor cavity useful for keeping charging cables, and a pop-up divider, which is handy for stopping smaller luggage from being thrown around. The frunk is a uniform 41 litres, regardless of variant. It's big enough for a duffel bag perhaps, but it might be better to store things you don't need to access often, as I find frunks are a bit more difficult to access than under-floor areas in the boot.

When the original Polestar 2 launched it was a stand-out in a much less crowded EV market. An early $60,000 starting price was the norm, and the bar to beat was the entry-level Tesla Model 3.

So much has changed since then. The main issue this new 2024 model faces is it's more expensive, and people keen to hop into their first electric car can now choose the significantly more affordable MG4, BYD Atto 3, or GWM Ora. And at the Polestar 2's performance level, there's also now the choice of the Cupra Born or further discounted Model 3 and its Model Y SUV companion.

No longer able to stand out due to scarcity, the Polestar 2 now has to stand on its own, which is no doubt why a lot of the upgrades for this deeply facelifted version are far more than skin deep and serve to address many of our main complaints about the original version.

The blockbuster news is the range has switched from primarily front-wheel drive to rear-wheel drive, which should have a significant bearing on both driving dynamics and efficiency, as well as upgraded and more powerful motors, with larger batteries for the whole range.

Unfortunately, this also comes with a price-hike of $3500 for the base Standard Range (now from $67,400 before on-road costs and state-specific EV discounts), or $3000 for the Long Range ($74,400) and Long Range Dual Motor ($76,400) variants. It seems reasonable given the significant upgrades, but it does serve to increase the price difference between this car and its closest competitors. However, the whole range still lands well under $100,000 which is not bad for a semi-premium EV proposition.

The Standard Range had important once-optional equipment added, including blind spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, a surround view monitor, and a wireless phone charger.

This adds to its carryover standard equipment list of 19-inch wheels, LED headlights, cloth seat trim with four-way power adjust and heating for the front passengers, an 11.15-inch portrait-oriented multimedia touchscreen running the Android Automotive operating system, Apple CarPlay connectivity, a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, keyless entry and start, and dual-zone climate control.

The three option packs remain the same as before, although with a slightly altered set of inclusions.

The Pilot Pack ($3500) now adds adaptive cruise control, upgraded pixel LED headlights with fog lights, and emergency stop assist which can bring the car to a halt when the driver is unresponsive.

The Plus Pack ($6000) adds an energy efficient heat pump, premium harmon kardon audio system, a heated steering wheel, heated rear outboard seats, 'weavetech' seat upholstery, upgraded interior ambient lighting, an upgraded air filter, a panoramic fixed sunroof, upgraded trim for the cargo area, rear tinted windows, a foot sensor for the powered tailgate, and access to the digital key via the phone app.

Finally, the Performance Pack ($9000) continues to only be available on the top-spec Long Range Dual Motor version. It ups power to 350kW via a software tweak, adds 20-inch forged alloy wheels and a Continental SportContact tyre package, as well as Brembo brakes and dual-flow manually adjustable Ohlins dampers in the suspension. It also features a gold theme for the seatbelts, valve caps, and brake calipers.

Individual options include ventilated Nappa leather seat trim (which Polestar says is animal welfare approved) in a 'light ash' colour scheme, a set of 20-inch V-spoke wheels, metallic paint choices, and a folding towbar.

It's no longer one of the cheapest EVs on the market, but I'd argue the price increases are only moderate for a significant upgrade this time around. I'm particularly intrigued by the Standard Range, which now might be the pick (depending on your needs) with its significantly increased battery capacity.

The Cherokee shows its star-spangled heritage here with a rather old-school drivetrain.

Under the bonnet is a 3.2-litre ‘Pentastar’ non-turbo V6. It produces 200kW/315Nm which you might note isn’t much more than a lot of turbocharged 2.0-litre alternatives these days.

If you were hoping for a diesel as a more attractive option for long-distance travel, tough luck, the Trailhawk is V6 petrol only.

The engine is perhaps at odds with the modern nine-speed torque converter automatic transmission, and the Trailhawk is one of the few front-biased, non-ladder chassis-based vehicles to have a low-range crawl gear and locking rear differential.

The Trailhawk drives all four wheels.

The biggest changes for the 2024 Polestar 2 are ones you can't see, including the big switch to rear-wheel drive for 2WD variants.

But there are also new motors, outputting 200kW/490Nm in the base Standard Range, or 220kW/490Nm in the Long Range, a significant upgrade of 50kW/160Nm over the outgoing car.

Meanwhile, the Dual Motor version has been boosted by 10kW/80Nm for totals of 310kW/740Nm unless you splash for the Performance Pack which adds an additional 40kW via software tweak.

The 0-100km/h times range from 6.4 seconds for the Standard Range, to 4.2 seconds for a Dual Motor equipped with the Performance Pack. Solid numbers.

In the spirit of keeping the hard-done-by fuel conglomerates in business, this V6 is as thirsty as it sounds. This is compounded by the fact that the Trailhawk weighs in at close to two tonnes.

The official claimed/combined figure is already not great at 10.2L/100km, but our week-long test produced a figure of 12.0L/100km. Not a good look when many of the Cherokee’s mid-size competitors are at least in the single-digit range, even in real-world testing.

In a small concession, you’ll be able to fill up (annoyingly frequently) with entry-level 91RON unleaded. The Cherokee has a 60L fuel tank.

But wait, there are even more invisible changes, including new batteries for every variant, while the switch to rear-wheel drive has made the drive units more efficient too.

The base Standard Range battery is now sourced from South Korea's LG Chem and continues to offer 69kWh, which this time translates to a 532km range according to the WLTP standard. This is a significant increase from the outgoing Standard Range, which could travel 440km between charges.

Meanwhile, the Long Range and Long Range Dual Motor variants can travel 654km and 591km between charges on their 82kWh CATL-sourced battery respectively.

The batteries have also come with charging capability upgrades, with the Standard Range now charging at up to 135kW on DC for a 10 - 80 per cent charge time of 34 minutes, and the Long Range versions charging at 205kW for a charge time in 28 minutes.

Both are able to top-up at 11kW on the slower AC standard, a nice amount to make it worthwhile plugging in at your local supermarket.

The Cherokee drives pretty much exactly how it looks, soft and ‘murican.

As thirsty as the V6 might be, it’s fun in a kind of retro way to be behind the wheel. It makes lots of angry noises and flies up the rev range (into fuel-drinkin’ town) all too easily, although despite that you might notice you’re not going particularly fast the whole time.

This is largely down to the Cherokee’s overbearing weight. Not great for fuel usage, it does have benefits for comfort and refinement.

On tarmac, and even gravel surfaces, the interior is impressively quiet. There’s little road noise or suspension rattle, and even the fury of the V6 is more of a distant thrum.

Gravity takes its toll in the corners, where the Cherokee hardly feels like a confident apex carver. The steering is light though, and the long-travel suspension is soft and forgiving. This makes for a refreshing SUV experience which places the focus solely on comfort over sportiness.

It’s also a nice point of difference from many mainstream competitors which seem hell-bent on making mid-size family SUVs handle like sports sedans or hatchbacks.

A test of the off-road features was a little outside the scope of our regular weekly test, although a thrashing down a few gravel tracks only served to confirm my confidence in the comfort suspension tune and stability of the standard all-wheel drive mode on offer.

Let's be clear: The new Polestar 2 feels like a completely different car, and all in a good way.

I was fortunate enough to test a previous Long Range Single Motor for four months just prior to this one launching, and it was bizarre to have the car feel so completely different with the same touch points.

Acceleration feels completely different, with the main thrust emanating from the rear rather than the front resulting in a smoother experience from the get-go despite increased power, and the regenerative braking has also been dialled back slightly, making for an easier flow when starting and stopping.

The steering also feels completely different, although it continues to consist of the same three computer determined weight settings. With the primary drive axle removed from the front though, all three settings feel instantly lighter.

One area Polestar is completely under-selling for this update is the vastly improved ride. The brand says only very minor changes have been implemented to the suspension itself, with the main benefit coming from a weight re-balance thanks to the change of primary drive axle. Whatever they've done, it's improved the car out of sight.

What was once an overly firm and stilted ride has become much more gentle and forgiving, particularly over the front axle, and is now much more competitive with the better EVs in this space, or even some of its combustion price-rivals.

It still manages to maintain the firm, controlled edge, while shaving off some of the brittle unpleasantness the previous car had.

The only area where it hasn't seemed to have improved is road noise. The large wheels and skinny tyres combine for a bit of a racket in the cabin on coarse-chip surfaces or when cruising above 80km/h, which is a bit of a shame.

The rear-drive dynamics though are superb. This car is now far nicer to swing into the corner. The feeling of control that could be broken by understeer at any moment is replaced by the joy of a more subtle feedback from the rear, and a car which has suddenly become a lot more playful. I would say it's a fair bit more locked down than the more flick-able Cupra Born, but finally backs its finely tuned steering with a bit of smile-inducing attitude.

The extra power on offer makes the Polestar feel a little stronger than before, but not outrageously so. The stock electronic stability settings keep the acceleration notably tame when you put your foot down, to discourage the rear-driven axle losing traction when the full 490Nm is at play. It's powerful, but ultimately sensible, so while it might not scare your passengers quite like higher-grade versions of the Model 3 or Model Y, it keeps a good balance between sportiness and safety.

The mildly upgraded Dual Motor meanwhile continues to be a complete weapon of a car, with absurd levels of grip backed by a very proactive torque vectoring system. It still maintains a sense of control when you plant it, but it's also deceptively fast as it surges forward in complete silence. The ride is even significantly improved on the Performance Pack-eqiupped Dual Motor versions, with a different stock damper setting applied.

More forgiving, faster, and even more fun? It's rare for a manufacturer to actually apply all the learnings from the previous car for a next-generation offering, let alone a mid-life facelift. Bravo.

Safety equipment is largely the same for the updated Polestar 2, although key items like blind spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert have finally moved off the options list and become standard equipment on base cars, joining the existing suite of auto emergency braking with pedestrian, cyclist, and intersection detection, lane keep and lane departure systems, as well as driver attention alert and traffic sign detection.

The very good adaptive cruise control suite is still behind the $3500 Pilot Pack paywall, but this will also net you upgraded LED headlights.

An impressive suite of eight airbags is also standard fit alongside dual ISOFIX child-seat mounting points on the outboard rear seats. The pre-facelift Polestar 2 secured a maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating to the 2022 standards.

Jeep has upped its ownership promise in the past few years with what it calls the “there and back guarantee”. This consists of a five-year/100,000km warranty and matching capped price service program.

It’s a shame the warranty is distance-limited, but time-wise is on par with Japanese makers. While the capped price service program is welcome, it's almost twice as expensive as an equivalent RAV4.

According to Jeep’s online calculator, services varied from $495 to $620 on this particular variant.

Roadside assist is offered beyond the warranty period provided you continue to service your vehicle at an authorized Jeep dealership.

The Polestar 2 is covered by a five-year and unlimited kilometre warranty, up to the industry standard, and also nets a complimentary five year/100,000km service plan.

Servicing is fulfilled at select Volvo workshop locations, and the interval is 24 months or 30,000km whichever occurs first. This means at least your first two services will be free. Hard to beat.

The car can even improve over time thanks to over-the-air updates, which have thus far tweaked and improved front-wheel drive versions, as well as adding features and apps to the software suite.