The official result is just over half of what the company said initially: up to 150 km (93 miles).
The first Polestar model – the Polestar 1 high-performance plug-in hybrid – recently appeared on the EPA website, so now we can take a look at its range and energy efficiency.
The all-electric range is 52 miles (83.7 km). That’s excellent for a PHEV, but at the same time it’s surprisingly low compared to the 93 miles (150 km) quoted by the company. It’s also not great considering the 34 kWh battery! Even the 2020 Karma Revero GT was rated higher – 61 miles (98.2 km) using a 28 kWh battery.
Chevrolet Volt with a 18.4 kWh battery was rated at 53 miles (85 km), although it was a smaller and non-performance car.
The key problem with Polestar 1 seems to be energy consumption (in EV mode) of 58 MPGe – 581 Wh/mi (361 Wh/km) as the 26 MPG in hybrid mode is comparable with the latest Karma.
2020 Polestar 1 EPA rating:
- EV mode: 58 MPGe – 581 Wh/mi (361 Wh/km)
- Hybrid mode: 26 MPG
Polestar said that only 1,500 units of the Polestar 1 will ever be made (about 500 per year, over three years).
In the U.S., the price starts at $155,000. We don’t know the destination and handling fee (it is $1,300 in the case of Polestar 2), but considering $7,500 of the federal tax credit, the effective price starts at about $147,500.
Cars ordered today will be delivered around February 2021.