Polestar 2 Standard Range vs Mercedes-Benz Marco Polo Activity

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.

Mercedes-Benz is having a crack at the camper van market with its luxury recreational vehicle, the Marco Polo Activity. Not quite a van, not quite a camper van, this compact pop-top is aimed at appealing to those members of the ever-growing van-life sub-culture who prefer clamping over camping. 

We put an Activity through its paces on daily family duties for a week, as well as a 200km loop of bitumen and dirt roads, in order to see how well it fared as an Adventure mobile.