Polestar 2 remote performance upgrade arrives for Australia

UPDATE, May 19, 2022: Performance boost finally arrives for Australia

The long-awaited performance boost for the Polestar 2 Long Range Dual Motor has finally arrived in Australia.

The upgrade is now available for customers with eligible cars in the Polestar Extras web shop as a software download that is delivered remotely to their Polestar 2 via an over-the-air update.

“The upgrade highlights how connected technologies can transform the relationship a car company has with its customers. The driving experience in Polestar 2 is something we are really proud of. It is such a fun car to drive already, but with this upgrade we can offer even more to our customers who might be after a little extra excitement," said Thomas Ingenlath, Polestar CEO.

Read below for further details of what the boost entails.

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April 1, 2022: Upgrade due this month

A performance upgrade for the 2022 Polestar 2 is likely to arrive on local shores this month, Wheels has learned.

It's also understood that Apple CarPlay, previously not available on the vehicle from launch, will be rolled out using an over-the-air update in the third quarter of this year.

The story to here

December 8, 2021: Polestar is taking the fight to Tesla with a software upgrade which brings a 50kW and 20Nm boost over the factory performance figures.

Made available in certain European countries for now, the remote software update enables an extra 50kW and 20Nm, which is deployed between 70km/h to 120km/h in the Polestar 2 Dual Motor.

The upgrade also improves throttle response with minor performance gains at lower speeds. Overall, the 0-100km/h dash is 0.3 seconds faster than before at 4.4s. For overtaking, the 80km/h to 120km/h sprint is a full half-second quicker at 2.2s.

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While performance takes a boost to help the Polestar 2 in its fight against the Tesla Model 3, the Swedish company has not confirmed if quoted efficiency or the 480 kilometre driving range claim are affected, although a lack of detail in this department means they are unlikely to be any better after the upgrade.

For now, it’s available to install in Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK. It costs the equivalent of around $1600 in Europe to buy and download and upgrading is done remotely, meaning you don’t need to take the vehicle to a service centre.

Polestar has confirmed that the software will be made available to the US and Canada at a later date. In Australia, the latest OTA upgrade on Polestar’s official website does not include the performance boost, with minor bug fixes and improvements being the focus.

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Unlike traditional combustion-engine cars, which require tuning and hardware upgrades for such considerable gains, CEO Thomas Ingenlath says the Polestar 2 upgrade “highlights how connected technologies can transform the relationship a car company has with its customers”.

“The driving experience in Polestar 2 is something we are really proud of,” Ingenlath continued.

“It is such a fun car to drive already, but with this upgrade we can offer even more to our customers who might be after a little extra excitement.”