Polestar 2 vs Vauxhall Astra

The Polestar 2 costs £15,215 more than the Vauxhall Astra. For that premium it adds 63 miles more WLTP range, 80 kW faster peak rapid charging and 55 litres more boot space. On EVcarsguide's combined category scores, the Vauxhall Astra comes out ahead overall.

The Vauxhall Astra is £15,215 cheaper to buy. Running costs are almost identical - about £160 a year either way, at 8,000 miles on an off-peak home tariff. Add 5 years of charging and the Vauxhall Astra comes out roughly £15,175 cheaper overall. These figures cover list price and home charging only - insurance, servicing, tyres and depreciation will move the real total.

EVcarsguide estimates a real-world motorway range of about 231 miles for the Polestar 2 and 191 miles for the Vauxhall Astra - both below their WLTP figures, because sustained high speed is the hardest case for an EV. The Polestar 2 goes roughly 40 miles further between charging stops. Both rapid-charge to 80% in a similar time, around 26-26 minutes.

The two are within 1 mm on width, so neither is meaningfully easier to thread into a tight space. In a standard 2,400 mm bay that leaves about 541 mm of total clearance for the Polestar 2 and about 540 mm of total clearance for the Vauxhall Astra. The Vauxhall Astra also turns in a 1.0 m tighter circle, which helps with U-turns and multi-storey ramps.

Over a 8-year ownership window EVcarsguide's degradation model projects roughly 90% battery health for the Polestar 2 and 84% for the Vauxhall Astra. That gives the Polestar 2 a modest edge in retained real-world range. The Polestar 2's LFP-type pack tolerates daily 100% charging, while the Vauxhall Astra's NMC-type pack lasts longest kept to about 80% for everyday use. Both batteries carry a 8-year manufacturer warranty.