View from the Polestar 2 dash. Image: Tim Eden
The real world driving range of electric vehicles is still one of the contentious factors preventing some people from making the switch from internal combustion engines and hybrid vehicles, along with the lack of charging infrastructure and high upfront purchase costs.
To gain a better understanding of real world driving range, we’ve tested one of the longest range electric vehicles currently on sale to see how far it can travel between charges. Polestar’s 2024 Polestar 2 Long range Single motor is currently the longest range electric vehicle on sale in Australia, with up to 654 km of claimed driving range under the WLTP protocol.
Several other makes and models come close with advertised range of 600 km or more. The Mercedes-Benz EQS 450 4MATIC comes in second with 631 km followed closely by Tesla’s updated Model 3 Long Range in third with 629 km.
Rounding out the list is BMW’s i7 xDrive60 with 625 km, the BMW iX xDrive50 Sport with 620 km, Hyundai’s Ioniq 6 Extended Range with 614 km and finally the Mustang Mach-E Premium with an even 600 km.
Electric vehicle range figures are determined by the Worldwide harmonised Light vehicles Test Procedure (WLTP), which is a standardised test used to determine efficiency, emissions and fuel consumption of internal combustion cars, as well as the range of fully electric vehicles.
WLTP testing is performed under ideal laboratory conditions to make it repeatable, but this means it’s not always a good indication of real world achievable range. While the test procedure does include an extra high speed section travelling up to 131 km/h, the average speed during the whole test is only 46.5 km/h.
As a result the real world range for electric vehicles is usually lower than their advertised WLTP figure, especially when it comes to highway driving where electric vehicles aren’t so able to take advantage of regenerative braking to recover energy while slowing down.
I spent a week with a Polestar 2 Long range Single motor to determine how big the gap between real world and WLTP range is across both city and highway driving situations. The Polestar 2 I drove was fitted with the Plus Pack which includes an efficient heat pump as well as 19 inch wheels, making it the longest range specification available.
The exact configuration tested was the Polesar 2 Long range Single motor with Pilot and Plus Pack as well as the optional Nappa leather upgrade. This comes to a total of $94,046.40 drive away in NSW at the time of writing.
On a full charge to 100%, the range showing on the dash was 530 km which Polestar says is more indicative of real world achievable range. This equates to 81% of the advertised WLTP range.
2024 Polestar 2 models include several key updates over previous model years and these are primarily focused on making the drivetrain more powerful and efficient, improving driving dynamics and enabling longer driving range.
Firstly, single motor versions switched from being front-wheel drive to rear-wheel drive. Dual motor versions now feature larger rear motors for a rear-drive bias combined with a front motor that can be disengaged when not needed.
Secondly, long range versions are fitted with an 82 kWh battery compared with 78 kWh previously, while the standard range Polestar 2 comes with the same 69 kWh battery pack.
Thirdly, new electric motors paired with new silicon carbide inverters boost efficiency and increase outputs across the range. Power and torque for the Standard range Single motor increases to 200 kW / 490 Nm, Long range Single motor to 220 kW / 490 Nm and the Long range Dual motor comes with 310 kW / 740 Nm or 350 kW / 740 Nm with the Performance Pack.
Together, these drivetrain updates result in the Long range Single motor getting 654 km WLTP range (up by 103 km), the Long range Dual motor gets 591 km (up by 104 km) and the Standard range Single motor gets 532 km WLTP range (up by 54 km).
On top of the efficiency gains, these drivetrain updates make the 2024 Polestar 2 a much more fun and engaging car to drive. The switch to rear-wheel drive eliminates torque steer that was present on the old front-wheel drive models and the suspension feels more compliant and less harsh as well.
Improved driving experience aside, the rest of the Polestar 2 is more or less identical apart from the new closed off front grille. If you found the centre console or rear seats a bit cramped in previous Polestar 2s, unfortunately interior space has not changed in the new models.
Android Automotive software in the Polestar 2 has been getting steadily better with updates, but during my time testing the car I still came across a couple of minor glitches that required a reset of the infotainment system to fix.
See also: First drive: Polestar 2 refresh adds better handling, longer range – and a bigger price tag
My first test for the updated Polestar 2 involved using it as our family car around town, running the usual errands, going to the beach, doing the shopping and ferrying kids around. We usually had the climate control set to auto, with the temperature between 21 – 22 degrees.
After five days, I only consumed 48% of the battery and covered a total distance of 243.8 km. The trip meter showed an efficiency figure of 15.2 kWh / 100 km. Using these figures I calculated a full charge would provide between 508 – 513 km, either dividing distance by the amount of battery used or dividing 78 kWh usable battery capacity by the efficiency figure.
These figures are impressive for a vehicle that weighs 2009 kg, and are only slightly higher than what I observed in the tiny Fiat 500e the week before. 510 km is also not far off the original 530 km of range indicated on the dash when the car was fully charged.
Next up was the highway range test. Initially I’d planned a 500 km route that involved driving from southern Sydney to Canberra (elevation 600m) for lunch and then returning to the Tesla Supercharger in Campbelltown which is now open to all electric vehicles.
After driving around town and knowing that EVs consume more energy on the highway, I thought 500 km was going to be tough so I needed a plan B and C. Plan B was the Evie chargers in Sutton Forest for a total distance of around 415 km and plan C was the BP Pulse charger at Marulan which would be around 380 km.
For reference, the longest stretch I’ve managed in my 2019 Tesla Model 3 long range is just over 350 km from the Gundagai Supercharger to home, which consumed just over 90% of the battery. Even plan B or C in the Polestar 2 would be significantly longer than that.
Plugging the first leg of my journey into the navigation system revealed that the Polestar 2 estimated it would require 76% of the battery to travel just 271 km. (Going up hill does impact range). From my previous experience driving older Polestar 2s, I’ve found these initial estimates to be quite conservative so I was hopeful it would be better than that.
Once I set off, the new 2024 Polestar 2 appeared to be similar to older year models, the estimated state of charge upon arrival slowly crept up from 24% to over 30%. The initial estimate of 24% remaining turned out to be quite conservative as I arrived for lunch with 40% remaining and average consumption of 17.7 kWh/100 km.
After a tasty lunch I hopped back in the car and tried navigating to the Tesla Supercharger at Campbelltown. As expected, this was out of battery range but the car handily displayed both plan B and C as available charging stops. However, plan B for the Evie at Sutton Forest was also just out of range according to the initial estimate.
Given the Polestar 2s conservative nature, I decided to try for Sutton Forest anyway, knowing I could always use plan C if necessary. Initially the car estimated I would arrive at the chargers with 0% remaining, which was a little worrying until the estimate again crept up higher as I drove.
In the end I arrived at Sutton Forest and plugged in with 8% remaining so again the initial estimate was quite conservative. Average consumption to this point was 17.4 kWh/100 km and I’d covered a total distance of 413 km according to the trip meter.
This was also a good opportunity to test how quickly the Polestar 2 charges. Charging speed peaked briefly at the maximum 205 kW for long range versions and charged from 8% to 79% in 31 minutes which is marginally slower than Polestar’s claim of 10 – 80% in 28 minutes.
After the charging stop and consuming a further 8% battery on the highway, I’d travelled 485 km with an efficiency of 16.6 kWh/100 km. The efficiency figure was improving on the return journey due to Canberra being roughly 600 m higher in elevation compared to Sydney.
Assuming nobody will actually be brave enough to use 100% of the battery on purpose, you can take the average of 413 km and 485 km and call the real world highway range 450 km, including a small buffer to avoid range anxiety. If you don’t want to worry at all, then the Polestar 2 can easily do 400 km on the highway without breaking a sweat.
When it comes to long distance driving, we’ve all got that friend or relative that insists on driving for several hours more or less non-stop. They ignore all of the sound advice to stop, revive, survive and take regular breaks every two hours. They might take a short 10-15 minute break somewhere near the middle to refuel.
I strongly discourage this type of long distance driving and always recommend people follow the advice to stop regularly. Regardless, I wanted to see how close the Polestar 2 could get to enabling these sorts of long distance trips in an electric vehicle.
With the highway range figures and charging speed shown above, you could drive up to 450 km or around 5 hours before needing to stop. After a 30 minute fast charge back to 80% this would enable another 360 km of driving before a second stop is needed.
In theory, and with working chargers located in the right spot, this could get you most of the way between Sydney and Melbourne or Brisbane, not much slower than an internal combustion vehicle.
Even though some of the new longest range electric vehicles enable quicker long distance travelling, my hope is that people making these sorts of trips in EVs decide to slow down and enjoy the journey, rather than focusing on how quickly they can reach their destination.
All it takes is a shift in mindset, rather than thinking about stopping to charge, think about charging while you are stopped instead. You need to take regular breaks anyway, it makes sense to time these breaks accordingly so your car can charge at the same time.
I have done several long trips in my Model 3 including between Sydney and Melbourne and enjoyed the regular charging stops along the way. With enough time to stretch the legs and grab a bite to eat you genuinely feel refreshed by the time your car is ready to drive again.
Range around town in the updated Polestar 2 is excellent with over 500 km per charge, enabling more than a full week of driving for the average Australian car travelling around 40 km per day. Even using Polestar’s recommended 90% charge for daily driving this equates to over 450 km.
This sort of real world range is overkill for most people, but could be useful for those without the ability to charge at home or work, as they could easily top up their car once a week while shopping, exercising or doing something else nearby a DC fast charger.
In terms of highway driving, the real world figure of 450 km I achieved is also impressive and enables easier and quicker long distance travelling in an electric vehicle. Over 400 km of highway range is not essential, as shown by the number of people successfully travelling all over Australia in vehicles with less range.
However, it could be handy while Australia’s regional charging network is being built and chargers are often out of order. While I have not tested them yet, I anticipate the highway range of the other EV models mentioned above is slightly higher than the Polestar 2, even though their WLTP range is slightly shorter.
As this article explains nicely, vehicle aerodynamics makes a big difference as your speed increases. The Polestar 2 is not the most aerodynamic car with a drag coefficient of 0.278 Cd. With Polestar’s focus on sustainability, I think they should invest more time improving the aerodynamics and efficiency of their vehicles.
In comparison, the Mercedes-Benz EQS is the most aerodynamic electric vehicle currently on sale with a figure of 0.20 Cd. The drag coefficient for Tesla’s updated Model 3 improved from 0.23 Cd to 0.219 Cd, enabling noticeable range improvement from the same size battery packs.
Tim has 20 years experience in the IT industry including 14 years as a network engineer and site reliability engineer at Google Australia. He is an EV and renewable energy enthusiast who is most passionate about helping people understand and adopt these technologies.
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