Polestar 2: running costs & insurance
The usual EV perks apply: zero road tax until 2025 and low company car tax make up for what's likely to be an expensive insurance premium for the Polestar 2
|
Insurance group |
Warranty |
Service interval |
Annual company-car tax cost (20%/40%) |
|
40-45 |
3yrs/60,000 miles |
Variable |
From £180/£359 |
In terms of running costs, the Polestar 2 sits on a par with other high-end electric cars. Insurance has the potential to be punchy, as with so many premium offerings in this class, but you should save money on servicing and mechanical repairs, given the 2's relative lack of moving parts. Polestar helpfully rolls three years' servicing into the deal, along with three years' roadside assistance and three years' free access to connected infotainment services.
Polestar 2 insurance group
The entry-level, Polestar 2 Single Motor sits in insurance group 40, while the Long Range Single Motor gets a rating of 44. Don’t be put off adding option packs, though; selecting the Plus Pack to your Polestar 2 Long Range – with its panoramic roof and high-end stereo – actually drops the rating to group 42. No, we’ve no idea why either.
That said, the top-of-the-range, all-wheel-drive Polestar 2 with the Performance Pack fitted attracts a rating of 45 – the highest of any model in the range. It’s still lower than any Tesla Model 3, however, which sits in insurance group 48-50 depending on which version you go for.
Warranty
Polestar cars are covered by a three-year/60,000-mile warranty as standard, while the battery is covered for eight years or 100,000 miles. For comparison, the Tesla Model 3 comes with a four-year/50,000-mile warranty, with its battery covered for eight years or 150,000 miles. A Hyundai Ioniq 6, on the other hand, is covered for up to five years with zero mileage limit – although lease customers only intending to keep the car for a fixed three-year term probably won’t reap the benefits of this.
Servicing
The Polestar 2 comes with three years' servicing (up to 31,250 miles) included in the asking price: intervals aren't specified, rather Polestar will contact you when your car needs maintenance. Servicing dates are figured out according to the car's running time and distance covered. Alternatively, you can book your Polestar in for a service if a message pops up on the car's screen.
Road tax
Being a pure-electric car, the Polestar 2 can save company-car drivers thousands of pounds in Benefit-in-Kind (BiK). For the 2022/23 tax year, electric-car drivers pay 2%, fixed at least until 2024/25. In addition, there's no annual road tax (VED) to pay – again until 2025. If you thought a plug-in hybrid looked attractive from this perspective, try a Polestar 2 for size.
Depreciation
The Polestar 2 is pretty expensive, so you’ll be thankful to know that it should hold onto its value reasonably well over the course of ownership. According to the latest industry figures, the Polestar 2 should retain anything between 43-57% of its initial asking price after three years and 36,000 miles. A BMW i4, on the other hand, offers stronger residuals, while a Tesla Model 3 should hold onto roughly the same amount of its initial asking price as the Polestar.
