Polestar 2 vs Volvo ES90

The Volvo ES90 costs £22,350 more than the Polestar 2. For that premium it adds 65 miles more WLTP range, 170 kW faster peak rapid charging and 45 kW more power. On EVcarsguide's combined category scores, the Polestar 2 comes out ahead overall.

The Polestar 2 is £22,350 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 Polestar 2 comes out roughly £22,430 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 286 miles for the Volvo ES90 - both below their WLTP figures, because sustained high speed is the hardest case for an EV. The Volvo ES90 goes roughly 55 miles further between charging stops. Both rapid-charge to 80% in a similar time, around 22-26 minutes.

The Polestar 2 is the easier car for tight UK car parks: it is 83 mm narrower than the Volvo ES90. In a standard 2,400 mm bay that leaves about 541 mm of total clearance for the Polestar 2 and about 458 mm of total clearance for the Volvo ES90. The Polestar 2 also turns in a 0.5 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 Volvo ES90. 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 Volvo ES90's NMC-type pack lasts longest kept to about 80% for everyday use.