Polestar 2 was the first car on the market to feature Google’s Android Automotive OS with Google built-in when it launched in 2019. It continues to pioneer the intuitive infotainment experience with the addition of Prime Video. Accessible to stream content while parked or charging, Prime Video joins YouTube, which launched in Polestar 2 in June 2023.
You may have already heard of Polestar. The performance wing of Geely-owned Swedish carmaker Volvo has now become a standalone brand, building electric vehicles. The brand recently partnered up with Al Futtaim Automotive to bring Polestar vehicles to the UAE. Their first order of business has been the introduction of Polestar 2 to our shores, set to take on the Tesla 3.
Polestar is Volvo’s performance division, starting off as an independent company and being bought out to now be more or less similar to what AMG is to Mercedes-Benz. After many years of fiddling around with sedate Volvo cars to produce fire-breathing performance machines, Polestar gets its own podium with the release of the Polestar 1, an electric hybrid coupe to rival products from brands like Tesla. As Volvo promised that it will only be selling hybrid or electric vehicles from 2019, the time is ripe for a hybrid Coupe from the brand.
After giving the XC90, S90 and V90 some proper spruce ups, Volvo’s performance division Polestar turned their attention to the Volvo V90 Cross Country. The Polestar treatment was given to the T6 petrol and D3 and D5 diesel engines of the new V90 Cross Country. Volvos are not going to feature its bigger engines anymore, so the Polestar models in the Volvo lineup are intended to fill in the shoes of the now phased-out models that featured engines with more than four cylinders.
Volvo’s flagship SUV, the XC90, now has a Polestar-tuned version. The chosen variant is the top-end T8 Twin Engine model which has a supercharged and turbocharged 2.0-litre, 4-cylinder engine working in tandem with an electric motor. In its standard guise, this powertrain is good for a combined output of 400 hp and 640 Nm.