Polestar 2 Standard Range vs BMW X4

What's the difference?

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.

Look, personally I found it amusingly weird when German car companies started sloping the roofs on sedans and calling them “coupes”, despite the fact that they had four doors. Their ability to imagine segments, and find buyers in them, that have no reason to exist is almost something to admire.

But turning SUVs, like the already very capable X3, into coupes? Frankly, it’s like turning an ass into an elbow. Lower the roof to reduce headroom and shrink the boot? Why? Because it will look so sexy people won’t be able to resist it. That’s BMW’s approach with the X4 and, somehow, it seems to work.

And, to be fair, sporty SUVs are not a BMW thing: the Range Rover Evoque, Audi Q5 Sportback, and Mercedes-AMG’s range of GLC Coupé models have all taken off, each contributing toward an unlikely trend that doesn’t seem to be going away any time soon.