In 2017, Volvo, Sweden’s maker of relentlessly safety-conscious, gasoline-powered vehicles, launched Polestar, a stand-alone brand dedicated to…relentlessly safety-conscious, electric-powered vehicles. As 2021 dawns, the second offering from the marque, a luxury crossover felicitously named Polestar 2, will be among us soon.
Starting at $59,000, Polestar 2 is meant to eat the lunch of Tesla’s Model 3 and upcoming Model Y. Having piloted one around L.A. recently, I say, bring them on. Polestar’s remit is to field EVs with Volvo’s fabled integrity intact while torpedoing the marque’s association with granola-tinged self-righteousness. Done and done. The exterior leads with a faceted fascia that evokes Volvo’s traditional grille after a testosterone patch; acceleration is a face-flattening 4.45-second leap to 60 mph. The interior’s muted vegan upholstery is the only concession to Volvo virtue-signaling, and Polestar will swap in leather if you insist.
Then again, why mess with this near-perfect balance of circumspect beauty and beastly performance?
Five more EVs to watch in 2021
Telsa Cybertruck
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“We need something different,” Tesla CEO Elon Musk quipped, unveiling this literally bulletproof brute. We’ll soon find out whether winking Mad Max aesthetics play in the U.S. pickup-truck heartland.
Volkswagen ID.4
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Eager to bury the Dieselgate scandal, VW is investing $37 billion in next-generation EVs. First to hit these shores, the ID.4 brings decent 250-mile range and a retro-future, Jetsons-esque cabin.
Rivian R1S
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Americans are besotted with gas-guzzling trucks, so startup Rivian made its debut EVs a pickup and this seven-passenger SUV with beguiling lozenge-shaped headlamps and 300-plus miles of range.
Lucid Air
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So-called Tesla killers abound, but Cali-based Lucid’s foxy debut sedan has the goods to get the job done: 1,080 horsepower, 517 miles of range, and the fastest charge time of any EV.
Mustang Mach E
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Ford’s iconic pony car is reimagined as a high-performance, compact crossover that gallops from zero to 60 in under four seconds and could be a game changer on the level of its namesake.
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The post With Polestar 2, Volvo’s EV Brand Is Set to Give Tesla a Run for Its Money appeared first on Los Angeles Magazine.