In their marketing Polestar Australia promise that all versions of their Polestar 2 MY24 (2024 model) electric car are capable of a 11 kW AC charging time (3-phase 16A) AC charging rate.
At home using a single phase 7kW charger the promised charging time from 10% to 100% is approximately 7 hrs (standard range 69 kWh version) and 8 hrs (long range 82 kWh versions).
I tested this at my local shopping centre Ocular AC charging station, using my 7m Type 2 to Type 2 EV Charging Cable (22kW, 32 amp) cable and a Polestar 2 Dual Motor Long Range Performance MY24 (which I had on loan for a week to review).
I plugged one end of the cable into the car charger port.
I plugged the other end of the cable into the Ocular brand AC charging station.
After a few seconds charging started and I saw that the Polestar was charging. Interestingly the manufacturer chooses to display the charge rate in km/hr rather than the raw kW/hr rate.
By the time I returned from shopping the total amount sent to the battery was 13kWh in 72 minutes, which is roughly 10.8kW/hr and quite close to the promised 11kW rate.
As a side note one common question about the Australian Polestar 2 is can you can set the maximum charge percentage level using an app?
The answer is No. As far as I can tell the only way to set and change the maximum charge percentage is from the in car tablet screen.
However using the app you can change the charge rate and set a schedule. It would be nice if the app showed what time the last battery charged percentage number was sent from the car as I had to close and open the app again to get that number to refresh so it was accurate.
Also as you can see below the Polestar 2 has a manual stop charging button. This is handy if the charger doesn’t want to let you disconnect.
According to reader Rob who owns a Polestar 2, the button to stop charging so you can remove the charging cable only works if you have the key nearby or your car is unlocked. This is handy because it means strangers can’t stop your charge while you’re away.
Type 2 to Type 2 Cable Buying Tips
I recommend buying your Type 2 to Type 2 cable from an Australian retailer like EVSE or Jetcharge so you have a good warranty and are supporting the local EV accessory industry.
You could get a shorter, cheaper 5m cable but I find the 7m length is handy as you never know how far the charging station will be from your car charging port.
Some electric vehicle (EV) owners buy a Type 2 to Type 2 EV Charging Cable (7kW, 32amp) to save a little bit of money.
This is a slower slightly cheaper cable available for purchase for cars like the BYD Atto 3, MG ZS EV 2021, MG4 Excite 2023 and Hyundai Kona EV 2021 that don’t support 11kW AC charging.
However if you later buy a newer electric car that is capable of 11kW AC charge rate or rent an EV capable of 11kW AC charge rate (eg common rental models Tesla Model 3 and Polestar 2) then this wastes an opportunity to charge that EV much faster at an AC charging station.
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