2024 Polestar 2 vs 2023 Tesla Model Y

What's the difference?

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.

One thing is for sure, it’s definitely a performance car, but not as we know it.

This version of the Tesla Model Y is the ultimate tech gadget on four wheels. It’s incredibly fast, has unbelievable, unnerving handling, and importantly what seems to be the best software in the business. Coming in significantly cheaper than its European performance EV rivals, it doesn’t even seem like bad value.

But. Enthusiasts be warned. There is an element of drama missing here, the Model Y is almost too good at attacking the road, there’s no roaring feedback or imperfections for you to correct, and for this reason alone, even if it’s the future, I don’t think it’s going to be for everyone.

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.

If you’ve seen one Tesla, you’ve pretty much seen them all, with the Model Y Performance doing little to set itself apart from the rest of the range.

It’s all part of Tesla’s minimalist Silicon Valley aesthetic. Like various models of iPhone, the changes between models are meant to be felt and not seen.

The Uberturbine wheels are of course a highlight, really filling the arches compared to the standard hub cab-wearing ones which ship on the standard Model Y, but they are also the only option on the Performance, too bad if you’re not a fan of matt black.

On the inside there are no surprises, either. The same minimalist aesthetic applies, as usual to a fault.

I feel like I’m sitting in the Apple Store, with just a big floating tablet being the main decoration.

Our car had the wood-look trim option, which is the most preferable option of the two. I found the white plastic fill alternative a bit cheap-feeling during my test of the standard Model Y.

I think the minimalism of the Model Y’s cabin will help it age well, but as I usually complain about these Tesla cabins. There’s no dash cluster or even a head-up display which feels like a bit of a usability blunder. Who wants to look at a centre display for critical information on the car?

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.

The Model Y feels much bigger than the Model 3 so it will definitely hit the sweet spot for people who wanted a Tesla but found the Model 3 too cramped for a family.

Everywhere feels expanded, especially headroom, and the minimalist design leaves room for big door pockets and the flat floor leaves room for extra large stowage areas under the centre console.

I especially like the way the dual wireless chargers integrate with the design here.

There are a few hidden hard plastics, but Tesla has put soft-touch and padded surfaces in all the right areas.

The seats are reasonably comfortable, but I’m not sure how the synthetic leather trim will age in the Australian sun particularly as there’s no way to cover the big panoramic sunroof.

Not everyone has a garage. Interestingly though the car does have a cabin overheat protection function, which automatically starts the air conditioning should the cabin exceed a certain temperature.

Still, there are a lot of months in the year our brutal sun will be cooking the interior.

If you’ve read any of my Tesla reviews before, you’ll know I’m not a huge fan of the need to control pretty much all of the car's key functions through the central touchscreen.

It feels like a shame to complain about this, because the software is truly beautiful, and Tesla backs it with powerful computer hardware to keep the screen fast and responsive.

But having no dash cluster feels like a bit of a design-over-usability trait, especially when you go to adjust some of this car’s settings on the fly.

This is a far cry from an affordable EV. Forget your MG ZS EVs, BYD Atto 3s and even base Teslas, because the Model Y Performance is in a different league when it comes to price and ability.

To give you an idea, the entry-point Model Y tends to float around $70,000 once you add on-road costs, sometimes slightly more. This Performance version takes a massive hike to nearly $100,000, before on-road costs, and the example we drove for this test totalled $108,031.

The trouble with the Performance version is it’s so expensive it doesn’t qualify for electric car rebates, and in fact attracts luxury car tax instead, pushing the price ever higher.

To add insult to injury, there’s not even a whole lot on the outside of this car to tip you off it costs nearly $40,000 more than the entry-level version, with the main hint being the 21-inch 'Uberturbine' wheels.

If you look even more closely you might notice it rides a little lower than the standard car, has bigger brakes, and a little carbon-fibre lip spoiler attached to the tailgate.

Most of the changes are under the skin, including an alternate suspension tune, second motor on the front axle, and a lot of additional power.

Tesla, famously shy about sharing specifics, only gives a 0-100km/h sprint time, which improves from 6.9 to 3.7 seconds for the Performance.

The battery is larger, too, boosting range from 455km on the base Model Y to 514km.

On the inside expect the standard Tesla stuff, like synthetic leather interior trim, the huge 15-inch centre tablet screen with integrated nav and always online connectivity, dual wireless chargers, and a panoramic sunroof.

The whole look and feel is super slick, as always, but is notably missing Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. Tesla is hoping you’ll use built-in versions of all your favourite apps. Too bad if you use one which isn’t offered.

LED headlights, performance tyres, and a power tailgate add to the gear list, but interestingly there’s no V2L - one key feature still missing from the Tesla brand, and something which adds a slight advantage to its rivals from Kia and Hyundai.

Of course, the software is the biggest sell. As though to prove Tesla is a software company first and a car brand second, the software in this car is by far the best on the market.

It’s super slick, and offers the most feature packed and functional app. It’s stuff like this which is hard to go back from, and is still keeping Teslas feeling more futuristic than most electric rivals.

It’s worth noting: even at this inflated price, the Model Y Performance still seems like decent value given how quick it is.

The only comparisons, cars like the Porsche Taycan, Audi e-tron GT, and BMW iX cost more, with the exception of the Kia EV6 GT which is similarly priced and offers similar specs and features.

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.

Tesla, always mysterious when it comes to hard specs, does not offer official power and torque figures for any of its models. Just the ever-impressive 0-100km/h sprint times.

However, looking at documentation the brand has officially filed in China (where the Model Y for our market is built) reveals specs of 220kW/440Nm for the rear motor, and 137kW/219Nm for the front motor, placing it pretty far up there in the EV performance charts.

It’s not just raw power, either. The Model Y performance also scores a lowered ride, bigger brakes, impressive torque vectoring software to keep everything under control, and interestingly, what Tesla tells us is a new suspension tune (even newer than the set-up we tested when the Model Y first arrived in Australia in late 2022.)

It’s all very impressive-sounding, but does it work? Read on to find out.

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 Model Y Performance has an official, WLTP-rated consumption number of 15.4kWh/100km, which grants the car a 514km driving range.

Few EVs manage to get over the 500km range mark, so this fact alone is pretty impressive.

In our testing the car returned a higher figure of 18.7kWh/100km, reducing range to the mid-400s on a full charge.

We only had the car for three days, so I expect, like the standard Model Y, it would be possible to get close to the official number with a longer-term test.

When it comes to charging, the Model Y can hit an impressive 250kW on a fast DC charger, allowing a charge time of around half an hour on a compatible unit. Expect more like an hour and a half on a more common 50kW unit.

Meanwhile the slow AC charger will hit a peak of 11kW, allowing the Model Y to charge from 10 per cent in more like seven hours. Still, adding roughly 75km of range an hour is worth it for longer stays at shopping centres or the like.

Interestingly, the Model Y doesn’t offer V2L, that is - the ability to power devices from its charging port. It seems to be one key piece of EV equipment missing from its spec list.

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.

I’ll just cut to the chase here: Sorry Musk haters, the Model Y Performance is truly, deeply impressive.

I didn’t stopwatch test its 0-100km/h sprint time, but 3.7 seconds certainly feels possible, and totally visceral.

Yes, the Model Y Performance will turn your groceries into a fine paste on the back of the boot if you stick your foot in, but the sprint time is far from the most impressive part of the drive experience.

I’d hand this honour over to the handling. The Model Y is simply incredible at holding onto the road.

Try as I might on one of Sydney’s best and curviest roads, the Model Y simply wouldn’t misbehave.

It’s almost surreal feeling the computers work their magic in the corners, taming the physics of a 2.0-tonne SUV, constantly fighting understeer or oversteer on the fly to keep it all tidy.

It does all of this in silence, with just the tyre roar to indicate your velocity. I must admit. I didn’t expect such ferocious ability from this car.

I certainly expected speed, but not this level of tidiness for something heavier and taller than a Model 3.

The trouble for a traditional car enthusiast, then, is the fact the Model Y is almost too good. It’s clinical in the way it attacks the road, and feels almost unfair, artificial, as though a computer is doing the work for you (it might as well be).

It feels risk-free, drama-free, feedback-free. While the experience of driving such a machine is nothing short of incredible, I somehow think it’s not the kind of thrills combustion enthusiasts are looking for.

Even the steering is artificial, with three heavily computer-assisted modes. I must say, 'Sport' and 'Standard' are a bit too heavy, with my preferred steering mode being the 'Chill' setting, which is the lightest and makes the car feel a bit easier to wrangle in the corners.

The three regen modes will actually appeal to a variety of tastes, allowing the car to behave either like a single-pedal EV (my preferred mode) or more like a combustion car, with a creep mode and a roll mode which will be more familiar to those who haven’t experienced an EV before, or are not fans of regenerative braking.

The new suspension has improved the ride significantly, with the Model Y Performance lacking the brittle edge which I experienced when the Model Y first arrived a few months ago.

It feels like it deals with sudden jolts a bit better, but make no mistake, this is still a firm ride, and the Y still has a firm frame.

While the ride has improved, it is still susceptible to significant amounts of jiggle, with the ride being notably busy over poor road surfaces. Still, it’s good to see this common issue with Teslas starting to move in the right direction.

Teslas are very impressive when it comes to safety, with an almost unprecedented number of sensors, and, importantly, great software to process what the car sees.

This is best seen through the radar screen which the car displays alongside the map, which is constantly collecting data on what the car sees around it.

It gives you confidence the car has seen and categorised a potential threat, usually before you have, and if ANCAP’s testing is anything to go by, it works, too.

The Model Y, including this Performance variant, wears a maximum five ANCAP stars, performing extremely well across all categories, with a particularly high score in ‘adult occupant protection’, and ‘Safety Assist’ which considers the abilities of its automatic safety systems.

While the Model Y’s suite is broader than individual standard active safety items offered by other brands, equivalents of most systems like auto emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring, lane keep assist, and things like traffic sign recognition are on-board.

Even the adaptive cruise control is one of the best on the market, remarkably good at lane keeping and steering assist, but I’d question whether it’s worth splashing for the controversial 'Full Self Driving' option.

Coming in at more than $10,000, it’s questionable if any of the included software features are even legal to use.

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.

It’s a good question: What’s it like to own a Tesla. Some of the numbers aren’t promising, like, for example, the four-year and 80,000km warranty promise which is one of the shortest new car warranties on the market right now.

However, Tesla does cover the high voltage battery and drive components for a much longer eight years and 192,000km, guaranteeing 70 per cent of the car’s original battery capacity at that time.

Teslas have condition-based servicing (because, of course they do), meaning the car will tell you when it wants to visit a Tesla workshop based on various inputs. Seems logical, but not very transparent.