Bad financial decisions are fun. In 2022, I leased a car for the first time. A Mazda CX-9. A luxurious and nimble SUV for those who don’t care about brand status. In fewer than two years, I made all 24 payments required. I felt accomplished. For a second, at least. Then I had to give the car back.
After getting just 22 miles per gallon in my gas guzzling SUV, I wanted to go electric. I considered buying any EV not named Tesla. (Tesla’s build quality is rickety and I get the feeling Elon wants to build a whites-only space colony.) New EVs were way out my $30,000 price range. Fortunately, they depreciate quickly.
I settled on a certified 2022 Polestar 2. It originally sold for $63,000. Two years and 19,000 miles later it was $28,000.
Like yours truly, the Polestar is fast, powerful, and sexy. It goes 0 to 60 miles per hour in 4.5 seconds. The interior features a big ol’ panoramic roof and Google infotainment system. And it gets 250 miles on a full charge.
My wife and I flew to Atlanta to pick up the Polestar. The dealership had offered to ship it for $1,000. Nope. Figured I’d save money and use the 600-mile road trip to learn more about my new whip.
The drive home was simple. (Outside of my yelling when Amber hit a pothole. “AMBER!”) Google told me in advance when I needed to stop for a charge. If I was being hard-headed, it reminded me again. And Polestar’s pilot assist did some of the driving for us.
(Here we are during an overnight pit stop in Lexington, Kentucky. We met Abe Lincoln and ate collard greens and catfish for breakfast.)
One issue during the road trip: fast charging stations price gouge. It’s similar to what gas stations do after natural disasters, except there was nothing unusual going on. I was just trying to get home. Rates at ChargePoint and EVgo were like seven times higher than my home rate. Many of their charging stations were near Walmart. That was interesting. Plug the car in and wander around Walmart for 20 minutes and experience Real America, you damn “EV-driving supporter of Commie Harris and Tampon Tim Walz!”
I’ve owned the Polestar for over a month and have a Level 2 charger installed in my garage. A full charge takes six hours overnight, which I do once every 4 to 6 days. My electric bill was $18 higher this month; $18 gets me a quarter tank of gas in the ol’ SUV. The cost for the charging unit and install was $1,000. That’s not cheap, but the math’s bad if you own an EV without being able to charge at home.
I won’t go back to a gas vehicle. Driving my Polestar like a maniac is one of the biggest dopamine hits I get each day. Right up there with drinking a Victory Golden Monkey while watching Instagram reels forwarded from underemployed friends.
And I definitely won’t lease again. This week I got a bill from Mazda. I owe a $350 disposition fee. They charged me just to return the vehicle.
-Dewan Gibson