2nd Place: 2 020 Polestar 1
The Future of the GT Is Here
In a lot of ways, the Polestar 1 represents
the best of what both Lexus and BMW
have to offer.
Like the Lexus, it’s a beautifully
designed and luxurious three-box grand
touring coupe. Its design was derived
from a 2013 concept by parent brand
Volvo, but it’s nevertheless clean, crisp,
and modern-looking on the road seven
years later. Like the BMW, it’s a super-ef-
ficient plug-in hybrid. Unlike the BMW
and Lexus, it’s a well-balanced sport
tourer with the power and performance
credentials to back up its sheetmetal.
Built almost entirely of carbon fiber
to keep its weight down, the Polestar 1
nonetheless packs on the pounds with
two battery packs totaling a test-best
34 kW-hr of capacity, a front-mounted
super/turbocharged I-4, an eight-speed
automatic transmission to transmit
power to the front wheels and the
batteries, and an electric motor and plan-
etary gearset at each rear wheel.
Total system output is 619 hp and 738
lb-ft of torque, with a Polestar-claimed
electric-only range of 65 miles. If that
number passes muster with the EPA,
that’d make the 1 the PHEV with the
longest electric-only range on the
market. Granted, it’ll set you back
$156,500, but look at what you get.
It would be fair to say that Volvo has
never really been known as a purveyor
of sporting cars, but Polestar, Volvo’s
performance subbrand (and the face of
Volvo and parent company Geely’s new
electrification effort), is. It cut its teeth
building touring cars starting in the
’90s. And given the Polestar’s weight, we
expected the 1 to be a far more capable
grand tourer than canyon carver. Yet the
Polestar delivers on all fronts.“I was really hoping it wouldn’t drive
like a Volvo, and it doesn’t,” Walton
said. “The Öhlins suspension doesn’t do
that brittle/crashing thing other Volvo
Polestars do, the body motions are very
well controlled, and the steering has a bit
of heft to it—the good kind.” Although
the manually adjustable Öhlins shocks
deserve most of the credit for the handling
prowess, the twin rear motors help a ton,
providing instant torque vectoring that
makes the Polestar feel smaller than it is.
The Polestar’s powertrain is even more
impressive. More so than any other car
in the test, the 1 feels like an electric car
first and a hybrid second. The rear motors
make a combined 232 hp and 354 lb-ft
of torque, giving the Polestar plenty of
power and battery capacity to get aroundWe love the ride quality of the Polestar’s Öhlins
manually adjustable shocks (right), but you have
to put the car on a lift to gain access.COMPARISON I Acura NSX vs. BMW i8 vs. Lexus LC 500h vs. Polestar 1
38 MOTORTREND.COM APRIL 2020The Polestar 1
reminds you of its
electron-motivated
rear axle every time
you open the trunk.