Polestar 2 vs Renault Scenic

The Polestar 2 costs £8,215 more than the Renault Scenic. For that premium it adds 30 kW faster peak rapid charging, 40 kW more power and a 1.5s quicker 0-62mph time. The Renault Scenic is not just cheaper - it also offers 48 miles more WLTP range and 138 litres more boot space. On EVcarsguide's combined category scores, the Polestar 2 comes out ahead overall.

The Renault Scenic is £8,215 cheaper to buy. Running costs are almost identical - about £160 a year either way, at 8,000 miles on an off-peak home tariff. Add 5 years of charging and the Renault Scenic comes out roughly £8,095 cheaper overall. These figures cover list price and home charging only - insurance, servicing, tyres and depreciation will move the real total.

EVcarsguide estimates a real-world motorway range of about 231 miles for the Polestar 2 and 274 miles for the Renault Scenic - both below their WLTP figures, because sustained high speed is the hardest case for an EV. The Renault Scenic goes roughly 43 miles further between charging stops. A rapid charge to 80% takes around 26 minutes in the Polestar 2 and 37 in the Renault Scenic, so the Polestar 2 loses less time at each stop. So the Renault Scenic stops less often while the Polestar 2 stops for less time - pick on which you would rather do.

The two are within 5 mm on width, so neither is meaningfully easier to thread into a tight space. In a standard 2,400 mm bay that leaves about 541 mm of total clearance for the Polestar 2 and about 536 mm of total clearance for the Renault Scenic. The Renault Scenic also turns in a 0.6 m tighter circle, which helps with U-turns and multi-storey ramps.

Over a 8-year ownership window EVcarsguide's degradation model projects roughly 90% battery health for the Polestar 2 and 84% for the Renault Scenic. That gives the Polestar 2 a modest edge in retained real-world range. The Polestar 2's LFP-type pack tolerates daily 100% charging, while the Renault Scenic's NMC-type pack lasts longest kept to about 80% for everyday use. Both batteries carry a 8-year manufacturer warranty.