Mini Aceman vs Polestar 2 Standard Range

What's the difference?

How much of a vehicle’s personality is determined by its tech? I’m pretty certain a Porsche 911 is still a 911 despite now being turbocharged, liquid-cooled and fitted with electric power-steering.

And surely a Toyota Corolla is still the spiritual equal of the original Corolla of the 1960s, despite the current car being front-drive, roughly the same size as an early Camry and fitted with a hybrid driveline and CVT transmission.

But what about our old friend the tiny, two-door Mini first seen in the late 1950s? Specifically, can the new Aceman variant still claim all (or, indeed, any of) its Mini-ness?

Okay, it’s still front-wheel drive and retains a few crucial visual clues. But let’s be clear here, it’s not only built in China as part of a joint venture between parent company BMW and Great Wall Motors, it’s also now a five-door hatchback and uses nothing but volts to get around. Can there be any Mini left in it?

Mini also claims the Aceman is part of a spearhead attack to take the brand towards an EV stance. Fitting in between the Mini Cooper two-door EV and the Countryman EV in both front and all-wheel-drive form, the Aceman theoretically broadens that range but, in reality, is more or less a replacement for the discontinued Clubman badge.

And despite the five-door layout, Mini is also happy to maintain that the original Mini’s genius in rewriting the book on interior-space-to-footprint ratio still shines through here. Maybe. At least it’s smaller than the hulking (by Mini standards) Countryman.

So here’s how it pans out: If you want a five-door, electric Mini that isn’t as big as a Countryman, the Aceman is your, er, man.

The Polestar 2 was one of the first electric vehicles (EVs) in Australia to break through to the mainstream, however it has always been relegated to the Tesla Model 3’s shadow.

As a result Polestar is constantly playing catch up, releasing update after update for this premium-pushing electric liftback. The most notable was a major mid-life update in 2024.

Two years after this, Polestar has just rolled out the 2026 model year (MY26) update which introduces a range of subtle changes, largely under the surface.

It comes as Polestar is now introducing newer models, there’s mounting pressure from legacy carmakers who are only now catching up to EV tech, and Australians are moving away from buying passenger cars to SUVs.

Has this latest update improved the appeal? Read on to find out.