Polestar 2 review: the sensible non-Tesla EV, if you're willing to shop through the UAE
3.9/5motorssouq Editorial Team
Buy the Long Range Single Motor, not the dual-motor Performance Pack — the extra power is wasted on Bahrain's speed-bumped roads and the single motor's range is the one that actually matters day to day. Polestar's case is strong on paper: efficient, well-built, genuinely different from a Tesla inside. What it lacks is a Bahrain-based safety net, so budget for occasional trips to Dubai or Riyadh for anything beyond routine tyre and brake work.
Pros
- 2024 rear-wheel-drive switch meaningfully improved real-world range and cut the price
- Android Automotive with built-in Google Maps avoids Tesla's closed software ecosystem
- Standard heat pump is a genuine advantage for Gulf summer range
- Cabin quality and ride feel like a proper premium car, not a tech demo
- Euro NCAP five-star rating
Cons
- No Bahrain showroom or service centre — nearest official support is in Dubai
- Public charging infrastructure in Bahrain is still thin
- DC fast-charging speed tapers earlier than a Tesla's in extreme heat
- Resale market in Bahrain is thin and price-setting is essentially imported from the UAE
Polestar's second car spent its first three model years as a slightly awkward all-wheel-drive-only proposition: heavier, thirstier and pricier than it needed to be against a Tesla Model 3. The 2024 update fixed the actual problem by putting the base motor on the rear axle instead of the front, which is the layout every efficient EV eventually lands on. The Long Range Single Motor now delivers a genuinely useful WLTP range on a battery that hasn't grown, and the price came down with it.
What didn't change is the thing that makes Polestar 2 worth cross-shopping against Tesla in the first place: a cabin that looks and feels like a Swedish product, built-in Google Maps and Assistant instead of Tesla's walled-garden software, and a driving position and ride quality that read as a normal premium car rather than a tech demo.
Buying and owning one in Bahrain
There is no Polestar showroom in Bahrain, and there isn't likely to be one soon — the brand's nearest official retail and service point for GCC customers is in Dubai. That is a manageable inconvenience for a purchase, less so for warranty work: routine items like tyres, brakes and the 12V battery can be handled by any competent independent EV workshop in Manama, but anything touching the drive unit or high-voltage battery means a trip across the causeway or a wait for parts flown in.
Home charging is the same story as every EV here: fine if you own a villa with a dedicated parking spot and can install a wallbox, awkward if you live in a flat with shared, unassigned parking. Public charging infrastructure in Bahrain is still thin compared with the UAE, though EWA has been adding chargers steadily — enough to make Polestar 2's real-world range of roughly 400 km comfortable for daily use and the occasional Dammam or Riyadh run via the King Fahd Causeway. The standard heat pump is not a nice-to-have in a Bahraini August; it is the difference between losing 10 percent of range to cabin cooling and losing 25, though DC fast-charging speeds still taper a little earlier in extreme heat than a Tesla's.
Who should buy one
Buy it if you want an EV that doesn't look or feel like a Tesla and you are comfortable sourcing parts and major service through the UAE network. Skip it if you need a car you can walk into a Bahraini showroom and buy off a lot — that experience still belongs to the mainstream Japanese and Korean electrics arriving through official channels.